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The Midland Great Western Hotel, (Later to become The Great Southern Hotel Mulranny), first opened its doors in the late 1800’s as a Resort Hotel to cater for the many tourists and travellers using the train to travel to resorts such as Mulranny & Achill. It was then Part of a chain of Hotels which were in the ownership of the Railway Company, with hotels at locations such as Galway, Bundoran, Sligo, Killarney & Parknasilla. All of the above hotels were developed along the same lines as Mulranny, with view providing rest & relaxation for the weary traveller.


The Hotel at Mulranny prospered for many years and its spectacular location featured high in its successful market attributes. It boasts many famous guests including John Lennon and Yoko Ono who visited in June 1968 with colleagues from Radio Caroline. The area of Mulranny was then and still is a strong area for markets such as the U.K., Northern Ireland & Continental Europe. Over the years there were many changes in the ownership of the Railways in Ireland which led to the amalgamation of the various railway companies into state owned C.I.E.


C.I.E. hotels assumed into ownership the hotels listed above and re-branded them as the Great Southern Hotel Group. A subsidiary company was formed in the early 1970’s; Ostlanna lompar Eireann, OIE, who operated the hotels until they were assumed under the ownership of Aer Rianta in the late 80’s. As part of its group the Mulranny Hotel traded well up to the early 1970’s when a combination of events, such as “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland and the oil crisis sent the Irish tourism into freefall. Many hotels did not recover.


The O.I.E. group, on foot of this serious down turn, decided to dispose of some of its hotels in order to acquire the capital necessary for the refurbishment of the rest of its other hotels. A government decision in 1976 cleared the way for the sale of the hotel at Mulranny along with others from the group such as Bundoran, Sligo & Kenmare.


Subsequently the hotel passed into private ownership and traded until 1990. The property which is a listed building situated on a 42 acre woodland site, lay derelict until it was purchased by the present owners in 2003. Opening in March 2005 and retaining much of the character and charm of the original building, the completely refurbished hotel now combines the very best from the past with contemporary comfort and style.


When the hotel re-opened its doors in March 2005, after 15 years of closure and worsening dilapidation, it was by any standards pretty posh again. Given the elegant design of the historic building and its setting, perched on a hill facing south across Clew Bay towards Croagh Patrick, those charged with returning it to glory had something of a head-start.

The Mulranny Park Hotel now employs more than 60 full time staff, and 60 part time staff. It brings increased business to local pubs, B&Bs and the holiday homes. It has also changed the social life of the area. In the past many people from the area of west Co. Mayo from Achill into Newport would have traveled the considerable distance to Westport for weddings and other large functions.

The restoration takes full advantage of the views. The lounge and bar, reception room, function room and new dining room all have large windows looking out over the sea.

One of the main external beauties is a causeway built by the railway company a year after the hotel opened. It runs from the road in front of the hotel out to the sea, to enable guests to get directly to the beach.