Tributes to late Kilmore hotelier Mealiff

Tributes have been paid to the late Ross Mealiff, former local politician and proprietor of Cavan’s Hotel Kilmore.

Mr Mealiff passed away peacefully at his home at Altertate, Clones, Co Monaghan, surrounded by his family last Monday morning, October 2, following an illness bravely borne.

As a mark of respect, Monday’s meeting of Monaghan County Council was adjourned for a short period. Chairperson David Maxwell proposed a vote of sympathy to the Mealiff family, seconded by Sinn Féin’s Pat Treanor.

“Ross was a gentleman in every sense of the word and will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him,” said Cllr Maxwell in a statement issued on behalf of the Monaghan local authority.

Widely known in the hospitality and business sectors and for his support of local causes and sporting organisations, Mr Mealiff’s funeral will take place at the Sacred Heart Church, Clones, tomorrow (Thursday), October 5, followed by private cremation at the Lakelands Crematorium.

A funeral cortège will leave his family home at Altertate at 10.15am and travel through the town via The Diamond, Clones, to the church.

Predeceased by his father Jim and sister Linda, Mr Mealiff is survived by wife Kate (formerly Catheriona Caraher, Ballybay), children James (Eimear) and Hannah, mother Joan, sister Sandra (McGuigan), brothers David and Sammy, extended family, staff and colleagues at the Hotel Kilmore, and many friends.

Aged just 22 years, Mr Mealiff became one of the youngest councillors in the country when co-opted to Clones UDC following the untimely death of his father and former chairman in late 1992. He was elected to successive terms thereafter until the authority’s dissolution in 2014.

Though much younger than his fellow councillors, only six months after his initial co-option Mr Mealiff was elected vice chairman of the then UDC in June 1993.

He was elected Mayor of Clones Town Council for back-to-back terms between 2007-09, and also served as treasurer of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland (AMAI) for 10 years.

An ardent supporter of independent politics, throughout his time Mr Mealiff fought for greater investment in tourism for small rural towns, including campaigning for the reopening of the Ulster Canal, and for greater supports for disadvantaged businesses and communities in the Border region.

Business

Not long after a young Mr Mealiff entered politics, he took up another role that would soon define his career - working with local businessman Séan Quinn.

Mr Quinn was among those to pay firm tribute to the late Mr Mealiff, having hired the Clones-native as General Manager after buying the Hillgrove Hotel for around £1 million in 1992.

Mr Mealiff joined Quinn Group with a known pedigree, his family having run the Lennard Arms Hotel, and his first role was to oversee a major refurbishment of the Hillgrove’s 44 bedrooms, 90-seat dining room, main ballroom, three bars and conference facilities.

“Inside 12 or 18 months, certainly inside two years we’d appointed Ross as General Manager. He was only in his 20s at that stage. He managed it exceptionally well.”

In 2004, the Quinn Group sought to offload the Hillgrove and Meath’s Ardboyne Hotels by public auction, the former’s accounts being in rude health with net profit of €440,000 on a turnover of €5.2m.

It saw Mr Mealiff move briefly to a senior management role at Quinn Direct.

‘Fantastic job’

“We then done a deal. Him and I,” remembers Mr Quinn of an agreement struck to sell Mr Mealiff the Hotel Kilmore in May 2005 for a consideration, reported in excess of €7m.

“Again, no more than the Hillgrove, he did a fantastic job with it, and an even better job with the Kilmore. He built it into a fine hotel, doubled the size of it. He’s one of the best hoteliers ever I met.”

A former chair of the Mourne Boyne Lakes branch and the Irish Hotels Federation’s National Council, Mr Mealiff was a vocal contributor to the Government’s Hospitality and Tourism Forum.

In 2019, he was one of 15 business people from the region invited by the then Taoiseach to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Dublin’s Farmleigh House to discuss the fallout of Brexit and its potential impact on those living and running a businesses near the Border.

He was equally vocal about the need for additional State help for the hospitality sector during the pandemic also, before ill health forced his retreat from public life.

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, described Mr Mealiff as a “close friend, a larger than life character with a big heart that was full of kindness” whose presence will not only be missed in Cavan and Monaghan but around the country.

‘Great community man’

“Apart from being a very successful businessman and hotelier, Ross really was a great community man,” said Minister Humphreys, a former member of Monaghan County Council. “Ross was a Clones man, first and foremost. But he was also a very committed member of the Cavan Business community. He had a very busy and successful life and he really had so much more to offer.”

Minister Humphreys said she knew Mr Mealiff as a teenager working at the Leonard Arms, but got to know him much more over the last decade, especially during her term as Minister for Business during Covid when she’d speak with him “very often”.

“We were making big decisions at the time about closing down businesses. And that had particularly far-reaching consequences for the hospitality sector.

“And I have to say, he was a good sounding board – someone who I could speak to on a confidential basis and someone who would always give you good advice. Of course, Ross would give you a good steer. It wouldn’t be sugar-coated but he would certainly give you good advice and tell you how it was.”

The Minister adds that Mr Mealiff achieved “such great things” with his ownership of the Hotel Kilmore - “a place for everybody to stop on their journey”.

“I know for a fact when the President was travelling up to Donegal or in that direction, he always liked to stop in the Hotel Kilmore where he met Ross, had the chat and got a lovely warm welcome. He was sorry to hear about Ross’s passing when I told him the news. Ross will be deeply missed by so many.”

Outside of politics and his work, Mr Mealiff worked extensively with the GAA, the former Cavan Chamber of Commerce, and Clones Credit Union, on which he served as vice president for a period.

He also served as President of Monaghan Lion’s Club in 1999, and in 2022 he joined the Board of the International Fund for Ireland.

St Tiarnachs’ Clones GAA Club added their tribute to the late Mr Mealiff in a post shared online, stating: “Ross was a much appreciated supporter of our club over many, many years and our thoughts are with his wife Kate, son James, daughter Hannah, and all his family and friends at this very difficult time.”

For more tributes, see tomorrow's print edition of The Anglo-Celt.