Rose of Tralee CEO Anthony O’Gara.
THE Executive Chair of the Rose of Tralee International Festival, Anthony O’Gara, has announced that the Festival will enter the bidding process to purchase Fels Point Hotel.
The hotel on the Dan Spring Road in the town has been the home to the Rose of Tralee International Festival since 2007.
Backing for the project has been secured to enable a cash purchase.
Anthony O’Gara said: “Such a move would be key to the long-term development and viability of the Festival in Tralee. Ownership of the hotel would be a pre-requisite for the development of a permanent Dome on the adjacent Fels Point site. If the bid is successful, it would allow us to unlock the full potential of the Festival.”
A new Rose of Tralee Festival Trust is being established with a view to eventually managing the overall project and the hotel may be rebranded as the “Rose of Tralee Hotel”.
Mr O’Gara said that he is confident that the bid will have the support of the people and business community in Tralee.
He expressed a view that local ownership of the hotel, together with the development of a permanent Dome on the Fels Point site, would provide a major boost to the local economy in Tralee and Kerry.
He added that it would allow the town to benefit from the strength of the Rose of Tralee on a year-round basis.
