Colm Neville (Proprietor), Jim Maher (General Manager) and staff in a happy mood at the Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy. Pic: Christy Farrell.

A €1.6 million investment in a new conference and banqueting suite and an additional 20 luxurious guest bedrooms at the 4-Star Riverside Park Hotel at Enniscorthy reflects great owner confidence in the future of this hotel and its staff.

An entire new wing to the landmark property beside the River Slaney will create an additional 15 new jobs at the hotel, bringing the number of staff employed to 145.

The official opening of the new suite, named after one of Enniscorthy’s patriot sons, Seamus Rafter, was unveiled by the nephew of the Volunteer who died in 1918, by his nephew and bearer of the same name, Seamus Rafter.

Mr Rafter commended the hotel on its success and “the steady business it has enjoyed since it opened” and on the new extension.

“It is named appropriately after the late Seamus Rafter, one of Enniscorthy’s most famous sons and one of Ireland’s greatest heroes,” stated his nephew who went on to document his life and recalled that he lived in Enniscorthy for over 30 years and was a very successful businessman.

Full story in this week’s WEXFORD ECHO Group of Newspapers.