The Atlantic Hotel is a former hotel in Spanish Point, County Clare, Ireland. It was built around 1810 by Thomas Moroney, a member of the family of local landlords. For quite a while it boasted the title "Biggest Hotel on the British Isles". [2]
The Atlantic Hotel is a former hotel in Spanish Point, County Clare, Ireland. It was built around 1810 by Thomas Moroney, a member of the family of local landlords. For quite a while it boasted the title "Biggest Hotel on the British Isles". [2]
In ca, 1845, Thomas Moroney extended the hotel to sixty rooms with luxurious hot and cold baths and spacious halls. [3] The quietness and luxury made it a popular refuge for Irish and English gentry. [4]
After a nine-hole golf course was established at Spanish Point, they soon started a collaboration. Guests of the hotel could play for free, others had to pay a green fee of 2 shillings 6 pence. [5]
In 1838, the British Government issued the Irish Poor Laws to take care of the poor people and, in emergencies, to take control over destitute people. After the outbreak of the potato blight ( Phytophthora infestans ) and the failure of the potato crops, the system almost cracked under the pressure. Spanish Point fell under the Poor Law Union of Ennistymon. The Poor Law Union had set up a workhouse between Ennistymon and Lahinch. When the real trouble broke out due to the famine, the workhouse was soon overwhelmed. The Poor Law Union leased several other big buildings to serve as auxiliary workhouses. The Atlantic Hotel was one of them, and from September 1848 it housed 500 women and children. [6]
In 1893, the hotel was owned by Mrs. E.L. Moroney. [7]
The hotel also played a part in the story of the 1907 rescue of the French three-masted ship Leon XIII . During a very severe storm the vessel ran on a reef near Quilty. Despite the extreme danger of storm and heavy sea, the fishermen from Quilty manned their currachs and came to the rescue. Over three days they managed to save most of the crew members, except the captain. With a broken leg he could not be moved. He was rescued later, after the storm, by a naval vessel.[ citation needed ]
The French Government was very impressed. At an event in the Atlantic Hotel, the Government presented the gallant fishermen with bronze medals. [8]
In 1930, the hotel was permanently closed. It had largely depended on the English gentry but they did not dare to travel to Spanish Point after the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War. [9] The building was still mentioned in the 1942 ITA Survey, but not as a hotel. [10]
After the closure of the hotel, the site eventually became derelict. Nowadays, just a few pieces are left. [4]
In the 1970s a new hotel, the 85-room Armada Hotel, was built on the site. [11]
County Clare is a county in Ireland, in the Mid-West Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 at the 2016 census. The county town and largest settlement is Ennis.
Doolin is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in its pubs, making it a popular tourist destination. There are numerous nearby archaeological sites, many dating to the Iron Age and earlier. Doonagore Castle and Ballinalacken Castle are also in the area. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht prior to the 1950s, and maintains a connection with Irish-speaking areas - including via its maritime connection with the Aran Islands.
Ennistymon or Ennistimon is a country market town in County Clare, near the west coast of Ireland. The River Inagh, with its small rapids known as the Cascades, runs through the town, behind the main street. A bridge across the river leads to nearby Lahinch, on the N67 national secondary road. The town is connected to Ennis by the N85, continuing the settlement's main street.
Lahinch or Lehinch is a small town on Liscannor Bay, on the northwest coast of County Clare, Ireland. It lies on the N67 national secondary road, between Milltown Malbay and Ennistymon, roughly 75 kilometres (47 mi) by road southwest of Galway and 68 kilometres (42 mi) northwest of Limerick. The town is a seaside resort and is home to the Lahinch Golf Club. It has become a popular surfing location.
Liscannor is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland.
Spanish Point is a village in the parish of Milltown Malbay in County Clare on the west coast of Ireland. It has many holiday homes, and in winter a significantly smaller population. It is also one of the better known surf breaks in County Clare. The name refers to the wrecking of some ships of the Spanish Armada off the coast.
The Spanish Armada in Ireland refers to the landfall made upon the coast of Ireland in September 1588 of a large portion of the 130-strong fleet sent by Philip II to invade England.
Johnny Doran was an Irish uilleann piper.
Milltown Malbay, also Miltown Malbay, is a town in the west of County Clare, Ireland, near Spanish Point. The population was 829 at the 2016 Census.
Quilty, historically Killty, is a small fishing village between Milltown Malbay and Doonbeg in County Clare, Ireland. Lobster, salmon, bass, herring and mackerel are landed at Quilty, formerly known for its curing industry. The area was officially classified as part of the west Clare Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking community, until 1956.
Glin is a village in the northwest of County Limerick, Ireland. It is on the south shore of the River Shannon's estuary, on the N69 road between Foynes and Tarbert. The population of the village in 2006 was 566.
Seamus Mac Cruitín, was a 19th-century Irish poet and bard.
Nonie Lynch was an Irish traditional singer from Milltown Malbay, County Clare.
The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark is an internationally designated area of geological interest in The Burren region of County Clare, Ireland. It was the third Geopark to be designated in Ireland, and is recognised at both European and global levels.
The Laichtín Naofa Céilí Band is a former céilí band based in Milltown Malbay, County Clare, Ireland.
Garret(t) Barry (Irish: Gearóid de Barra was a blind Irish uilleann piper from Inagh, County Clare, among the most famous players of the 19th century.
Kilmurry Ibrickane, also known as Mullagh , is a parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe that is located in west County Clare, Ireland. A civil parish of the same name also exists which is part of the historic barony of Ibrickane. The parish derives its name from the tiny settlement of Kilmurry in Ibrickane, the location of the church before Cromwellian times.
Ennistymon House was a former country house in the village of Ennistymon, County Clare in Ireland. Built on the elevated site of a medieval castle it has now been incorporated into the Falls Hotel.
Kilfarboy is a parish in County Clare and part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe in Ireland. There is also a civil parish with the same name. The largest population centre in the parish is Milltown Malbay.
Coordinates: 52°50′41.28″N9°26′13.39″W / 52.8448000°N 9.4370528°W
