Killeavy Castle Estate has been crowned ‘Newcomer Of The Year’ at the Georgina Campbell Awards held in September at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin.
Celebrating 21 years in their current incarnation, the Georgina Campbell Awards recognise and honour Ireland’s standard-bearers in food and hospitality. The rigorous programme of anonymous assessment visits are a year-round process and winners are nominated solely by an independent assessment team.
The accolade of ‘Newcomer Of The Year’ was awarded to Killeavy Castle Estate after it opened to the public at Easter time in County Armagh with the goal of encouraging travellers to discover the stunning Ring of Gullion.
Speaking about the acknowledgement, General Manager of Killeavy Castle Estate Jason Foody said “Killeavy Castle Estate opened seven short months ago and a lot of hard work has taken place behind the scenes to bring guests the experience they can enjoy today. We believe this is all thanks to the vision and determination of the Estate’s owners, Mick Boyle and his wife Robin, who restored what was a derelict 19th century Castle to create a stunning, boutique venue and, alongside it, a modern hotel of character and heritage.
Killeavy Castle Estate is a perfect getaway set in one of Ireland's loveliest, yet least known, areas just minutes from Newry. Sustainability is at the heart of our operations throughout all aspects of the business. We are unique in that the food you enjoy in our restaurant is grown in our walled garden, farmed on the land or foraged from the Slieve Gullion forest. We are delighted to have been acknowledged by the Georgina Campbell Awards as the ‘Newcomer Of The Year’ and look forward to what the future holds for Killeavy Castle Estate.”
According to Georgina Campbell, one of Ireland’s foremost food and hospitality writers, Ireland’s success in food, tourism and hospitality is a very exciting and ever-developing story. She said “It is a very exciting time for hospitality in Ireland, standards are increasing at every level from ground-breaking new restaurants to casual dining destinations. So much so, in fact, that selecting the shortlists for these awards was an even more demanding task than usual.”
“Killeavy Castle Estate is an exceptional new business that treasures provenance, heritage and sustainability, three key principles we value most in a business. We were blown away by our visits to the Estate and the ground-breaking hospitality experience they offer with exceptional food and accommodation. We wish Jason and the team all the best for their first year in business!”