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The Shannon Oaks Hotel in Portumna was once the heart of tourism in South East Galway enjoyed by tourists and locals alike and a vital part of the local economy. Since it was devastated by fire in 2011, it has remained a ruinous blight on the town. Despite numerous promises and planning permissions, the hotel’s redevelopment has been marred by delays and inaction, reflecting an abject failure in both private initiative and public oversight.
As the clock ticks down on the valid planning permission which expires in March 2025, it’s difficult to see anything other than the town of Portumna being left waiting while the billionaire owners wait for the right time to make a profit.
TEN YEARS ago in 2015, the Comer brothers, prominent international property developers originally from Glenamaddy, Co. Galway, acquired the site. Their acquisition sparked widespread optimism within the community, as they pledged to restore the hotel to its former glory. in 2016, locals were hopeful of redevelopment when machinery started clearing rubble from the site in 2016, but still we wait.
In March 2018, Luke Comer announced plans for a €2 million redevelopment, aiming to reopen the hotel by the end of that summer. He emphasised the hotel’s prime location and potential, stating, “We want to turn it into a new state-of-the-art hotel in Portumna where we feel it has loads of potential.” All that has been built since is a state-of-the-art fence to hide the shame which includes a now toxic swimming pool and a den for drug abusers with syringes said to be littered throughout the property.
Two years later in 2020, the Comers applied for planning permission for a new hotel (Galway County Council Planning Reference: 19864) leading to renewed hopes for redevelopment. Five years on, with the planning permission set to expire, nothing has happened.
Galway County Council designated the former hotel site as a derelict site in 2023. This designation imposed a levy of 7% of the property’s market value for each year it remained in disrepair, intended to incentivise redevelopment. But just months later, this derelict designation was lifted – it appears that the erection of a fence around the property was sufficient to save the Comer’s the 7% annual levy, thereby removing any incentive for the Comers to redevelop the site.
Last year, Luke Comer admitted to the Sunday Business Post that they have no intention of redeveloping the hotel at this point. He was at pains to point out the many successes the Comer Group has had in Galway as some kind of palatable excuse for the disgraceful mess that has been left on Portumna’s doorstep.
Look over here, don’t look over there! is the message from Luke.
Galway County Council’s failure to enforce the levy under the Derelict Sites Register undermines its credibility and effectiveness.
For Portumna to thrive, decisive action is necessary. The owners must fulfill their commitments or transfer the property to parties willing to invest in its redevelopment. At the same time, local authorities must enforce regulations consistently to prevent such prolonged periods of dereliction. The community deserves more than empty promises and bureaucratic inertia; it deserves a new hotel that can once again serve as a cornerstone of local tourism and pride in the town.
