THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT

by Tom Kenny

Our main photograph today (which comes courtesy of the National Library) is an aerial one of part of Salthill taken in 1953. The main feature is the Warwick Hotel, the white building in the foreground. To the left of it you can see Hotel Summerset Hotel and the little shop, An Bearna, run by James and Maura Codd. Behind the Warwick you can see Lenaboy Park and towards the top of the photograph, the newly built houses of Devon Park.

All of this land was originally part of the O’Hara Estate. A Mrs. Holmes was related to the O’Haras and managed to persuade them to sell her some of their land, the ‘lower pasture lands’ furthest away from their house, down near the original gates to their estate. This land is known as Lenaboy Park today. She built herself a house called ‘Greenmount’ on the main Salthill road and ran it as a B&B for a number of years. It eventually became too big for her, so she converted some farm buildings in the park into a house for herself. She asked the Council to supply water and sewage and roads estimating the cost to be not greater than £900 and she in turn made over to the council the right of way between the park and what we now know as Devon Park. She then began to sell off plots in the park to people whom she approved of and thought they would be ‘nice’ neighbours.

She eventually sold ‘Greenmount’ to Jack Keogh and he converted it into a hotel called The Warwick after a painting of a ship of that name that he owned. He had been a commercial traveller and stayed in all sorts of hotels, so he decided to run one himself. He started with lots of hope, £250 of his own, the assistance of the bank and ten rooms. Our second photograph is of the original building and as you can see, to the right of it, he has already started extending it.

It was centrally heated throughout, had hot and cold water in all the rooms, dressing and shaving lights and Hiltonia mattresses in the bedrooms. There were eight tennis courts free to all the visitors, there was parking for 40 cars and the telephone number was Salthill 29.

Jack Keogh developed it into one of the finest hotels in the west with a number of extensions and changes. After he died, the business was run by his son Austin and later by his grandson John. It was a commercial house, always busy no matter what the season. They hosted weddings, bridge clubs, the ballroom was a great place for student hops and dances, there was a very popular singalong session every Saturday night, the Galway Lions Club used to hold Late Late Breakfasts there and it became very associated with the Arts Festival. Sinéad O’Connor played there as did Coldplay, Christy Moore, The Hot House Flowers, The Stunning, Kirsty McCall, Van Morrison and the Undertones. Big visiting acts to Leisureland would invariably end up in the Warwick after their gigs. It was like a home from home for the Sawdoctors. No wonder it was called “Party Central”.

A local D.J., ‘Doc O’Connor started running student nights in the ballroom and these went so well, he decided, with his wife Sandra, to buy the hotel and they set about refurbishing it. Things went very well for a while but then it became a victim of the crash and had to close down. It lay derelict for some time and was demolished in 2019. The Summerset Hotel was demolished a short time later. They are both sad looking empty sites now.

Some of those who lived in Lenaboy Park were, in no particular order, Mrs. Holmes, the Shaw family, the O’Sullivans, Anna Sandys, Ó Brolacháins, Smiths, Claude Chevasse, Kynes, Ó’Murchús, Doyles, O’Gormans, O’Clerys, Hickeys, O’Reillys, O’Learys, Geraghtys, Kirbys, Bells, NcNallys, Kirwans, Horgans, Butlers, O’Connells and Kellehers. Hurleys lived in the house in the centre of the park.