One of Ireland’s largest privately held companies, Harcourt Developments, has unveiled the results of the first phase of a €20 million investment in its hotel portfolio - The Harcourt Collection, at County Donegal’s five-star Lough Eske Castle.
The new additions are named “The Donegal Suites” and showcase furnishings, artworks and amenities sourced and created by local craftspeople and businesses. Overseen by Harcourt Developments Creative Director, John Doherty, interior features include working with world famous local tweed weavers Magee 1866.
A short film about the amazing artist Angela Conner FRBS who created a series of large kinetic sculptures for Park West Business Park in Dublin including the 40m (129ft) high, 20-tonne 'Wave' - the tallest kinetic sculpture in Europe, which is powered only by the wind. Our chairman Pat Doherty was delighted to be interviewed by the filmmakers Laura Warner and Dreweatts 1759.
Hollywood, Los Angeles - the team at Titanic Belfast were delighted to accept a THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement – Visitor Experience Re-envisioned at the ‘Oscars’ of visitor attractions.
The THEA Awards, organised by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), recognise achievement, talent and personal excellence from those who bring incredible experiences to life for people around the world. This is the first time an attraction has won twice in its 30-year history.
Belfast City Council - He sums up its work as bringing “step changes” to Northern Ireland, such as the emergence of a new film and TV industry in the 2000s after Harland & Wolff’s old Paint Hall was transformed into Titanic Studios.
It's among the milestones for Titanic Quarter witnessed by James Eyre since he joined Titanic Quarter Ltd, the company behind the massive seafront development, as a surveyor in 2006.
James, who studied estate management at UIster University, was last week named its new chief executive – the first at the company since a restructuring in 2015.
The Daily Mail - It's on the site of a filming location for Captain America: The First Avenger - and it's a marvel of a place to stay.
Titanic Hotel Liverpool won the Large Hotel of the Year gong at this year's VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. And I can confirm that it was a worthy recipient, with the location's Captain America cameo adding an extra dollop of allure.
Irish Times - Globoforce, an Irish software firm that operates employee reward and incentive schemes for many of the world’s leading companies, is planning to move to a larger headquarters building in Park West beside the M50 in west Dublin.
The company has been based in a 929sq m (10,000sq ft) block in the park since 2006, but is now relocating to another building almost five times that size.
The British Music Experience is the UK’s Museum of Popular Music. Featuring state-of-the-art effects, iconic memorabilia and artefacts from almost every major artist and musical movement since WWII, the attraction is located in the spectacular Cunard Building, one of Liverpool’s landmark Three Graces lining the city’s waterfront.
Your Move Magazine - It’s just a matter of days before Britain’s only dedicated museum of popular music opens in Liverpool.
The British Music Experience (BME), which arrives at its new permanent home on Liverpool’s waterfront after five years at London’s O2, charts the rise of popular music from 1945 up to the present day with over 600 rare music heritage items on display.
Daily Telegraph - Titanic Belfast has been crowned the best tourist attraction in the world.
The museum, which opened in 2012, staved off competition from Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, the Las Vegas Strip and Peru's Machu Picchu to clinch the accolade at a ceremony for the World Travel Awards in the Maldives.
Irish Independent - I can't imagine anything more intense than getting your portrait painted. Just sat there for hours on end, eyeballing someone while they analyse every imperfection on your mug.
"It's certainly an experience," Donegal man Pat Doherty (above) said at the launch of IMMA's new Lucien Freud Collection. Pat sat for Lucien on three separate occasions. "The first painting took 100 sittings, the second was 85 sittings and the third sketch was 35 sittings," he said. "Each sitting took three hours. So it was a lot of time."
And what did he make of the final product? "Well, they're not pretty. I told Lucien I might grow into them - in 30 years' time."
Irish Times - Cúil Dúin is a development of 220 houses by Harcourt Developments. It is located within a five-minute walk of the Citywest stop on the Luas red line, part of the 4.6km tram-line extension to Saggart.
Belfast Telegraph - It's fast becoming one of the most exciting, attractive and economically powerful parts of Belfast. But when Titanic Quarter was launched a decade ago, few would have believed it had the potential to transform a neglected and desolate part of the city.
Belfast Live - It has become one of Northern Ireland’s most iconic landmarks - and now plans have been revealed for hundreds of millions of pounds worth of further redevelopment at Titanic Quarter.
Launched 10 years ago - with almost £360million of investment sailing in during the past decade - Titanic Quarter has breathed new life into what was a forgotten but essential part of Belfast’s history.
Tatler - If you're anything like me, you're fed up with making decisions. What are we going to call the baby? What soup are we going to eat? Where should this lamp thing I bought go? Who's coming for supper? Should I give up sugar or gluten? I'm DONE with deciding stuff. It's all I do, all day long...
ArtDaily - Titanic Belfast has won an Outstanding Achievement Award from the world’s top themed entertainment association, based in the United States. Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), recognises excellence in the visitor attraction...
Donegal News - The International property company owned by Buncrana born developer Pat Doherty has just agreed a deal to sell its five-star hotel overlooking Chelsea Harbour in London for €77.6 million.
Harcourt Developments closed the deal to sell the Wyndham Grand Hotel to Millennium and Copthorne Hotels, a British based hotel operator.
The luxury hotel which comprises 158 suites, a spa and a restaurant overlooking Chelsea marina was put on the market as the capital’s only five-star luxury all-suite hotel.
Billionaire Edouard Carmignac is one of France's richest men, and his €50bn company, Carmignac Gestion, is now the second-largest holder of Irish bonds after Michael Hasenstab at Franklin Templeton.
The Rolling Stones played a private gig for his top clients recently and he plays polo where he hangs out with Prince Harry and Harcourt Developments' Pat Doherty...
BBC News - The number of visitors to Titanic Belfast has exceeded all expectations, according to Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness. The first and deputy first ministers were at the attraction to mark its first anniversary.
According to figures compiled by Stormont, more than 800,000 people from 128 countries visited Titanic Belfast in its first year. It had been predicted it would need 290,000 visitors a year to break even.
BBC News - It is the biggest launch Belfast's waterfront has seen in a 100 years. The last one was the Titanic itself.
Now a century later the slipways are dominated by the imposing Titanic Belfast centre designed to commemorate the most famous vessel ever built.
Independent - A century after Titanic set sail from Belfast prior to her tragic maiden journey, a £97m tribute to the ship and her makers is almost ready.
"That's where she was built. That's where she was designed. That's where the workers lived." Noel Molloy is a man with a mission to explain – and entertain. He is project manager for Titanic Belfast, a structure as monumental as the ship it commemorates.
Like a magnificent liner in the final stages of construction, the shell of Northern Ireland's new landmark is complete. Sprouting from a quay overlooking Belfast Lough is an angular, aluminium-clad eruption. Imagine if Ikea made a flatpack ship, and someone had made a right old muddle of the instructions: that's roughly how Titanic Belfast looks.
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