Sligoman Pat McCann stepping down as CEO of Dalata hotel group



Sligoman Pat McCann is stepping down as CEO of the Dalata hotel group, which he founded in 2007, becoming Ireland’s largest and Britain’s fastest-growing hotel operator.

Revenue at the hotel chain fell 68% last year, leading to a loss of more than a €100m due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Pat McCann, a native of Bunninadden, in south Sligo, has had a storied career in the hotel and hospitality business.

He began working in hotels at 16 while a student at Colaiste Mhuire in Ballymote.

His first job was as a porter in the Yeats Country Ryan Hotel in Rosses Point.

He later worked with the Ryan hotel group, becoming chief executive of the Jury’s Doyle Group.

He had intended to retire in 2006 but was approached by a group of private investors to form Dalata, which owns Maldron and Clayton hotels, including the Clayton in Sligo.

Its business now comprises 44 hotels and more than 9,200 bedrooms. It’s planning to have about 13 new hotels with 3,300 bedrooms.

Since the start of 2021, all of its hotels remain operational and are providing accommodation for frontline and essential workers and those requiring quarantine.

John Hennessy, Dalata’s chairman, said Pat McCann had been instrumental in growing the company and its Clayton and Maldron brands, into a leading player in the hotel sector in Ireland and the UK.

So, is it really retirement for Pat McCann on this occasion? He spoke to Ocean FM News this afternoon.

The current deputy chief executive of Dalata, Dermot Crowley, is to succeed Mr McCann as CEO.

 



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