Emergency services, including Waterford City Fire Service, responded to a large fire which broke out at the disused Ard Rí hotel in Co Waterford.
The hotel formerly operated under the Jury’s banner and is prominently located atop a hill overlooking Waterford City. This is the fourth fire to damage the structure.
The hotel, closed since 2005, was purchased by Melbourne based Seamus Walsh in 2017 along with 20 acres of land for €1.5m through a receivership process against other bidders such as Treacy Hotel Group It added to his existing land acquisitions estimated to total 40-50 acres, with intentions to develop a five-star hotel and other uses on the acquired land.
Walsh never proceeded with plans to refit the old building into a 5-star hotel with a leisure village in the surrounding grounds with a cable car system linking the Waterford North Quays development to the hotel. He put the hotel back on the market in September 2021 at a guide price of €8-9m.
It was the first hotel to be purchased during the Jurys hotel group’s expansion in the 1990 before being resold to Bundoran hoteliers Seán and Brian McEniff and renamed the McEniff Ard Rí Hotel in 2002.
Following a fire in 2005, the hotel ceased operations, leading to its demolition of most of the original structures except for the distinctive six-storey accommodation block.
Cork businessman Tom Coughlan bought the hotel for €15m in 2006, and obtained planning permission for mixed-use development that expired by 2015.
After further fire in 2010 led to calls for the hotel to be torn down, agreement on demolition could not be reached. Various plans were made to modify the appearance of the wrecked site, including one to turn the building into a giant clock in 2011. Famously, the entire building was turned into a giant mural created by artist Joe Caslin as part of the 2016 Waterford Walls festival.
Following a further period of neglect and vandalism, the hotel was put on the market in 2013 at €750,000. It was covered up with white panels to make it look more appealing before a third fire burnt through the white panelling.
View across the city
