The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Kerry wins big at annual CIE Awards
IT was a superb night for Kerry’s representatives at the 2018 CIE Tours International Awards of Excellence, as the kingdom scooped three gold prizes from an impressive tally of 16 awards.
The awards aim to honour the best hotels, entertainment venues, and tourism destinations in Ireland, and if the prize-giving ceremony was anything to go by, Kerry is near the top of the tree on all those fronts, bagging almost a fifth of the night’s 84 prizes.
A total of 14 Gold Awards were handed out to various groups, including three from the Kingdom alone. Davitt’s Kenmare took the top prize in the ‘Best Lunch’ category, while Killarney Horse and Carriage Tours won ‘Best Tour Feature’.
And Kerry’s third Gold Award of the night went to Killeen House Hotel in Killarney, which was recognised as home of Ireland’s ‘Best Special Dinner Feature’.
The county’s wins were far from just restricted to national recognition, however. No less than seven hotels claimed Merit Awards – all of them based in Killarney – and these were Aghadoe Heights Hotel and Spa; The Brehon; The Malton; the International Hotel, Killarney; the Killarney Plaza Hotel; the Killarney Avenue Hotel; and the Killarney Towers Hotel.
In the equivalent section for ‘Munster Visits’, Killarney again took three awards on behalf of Kerry, but the county was also represented by winners from Kenmare, west Kerry, and Listowel, as Tangey Tours Jaunting Car; Gabriel Kavanagh Sheep Dog Trials and Famine Cottage; Kissane Sheep Farm; John B Keane’s Pub; Muckross House and Gardens; and Muckross Schoolhouse were all honoured.
The annual CIE Tours International Awards were presented to Kerry’s many winners by Chairperson Vivenne Jupp and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Crabill, who described the honoured parties as exemplary contributors in welcoming visitors to Ireland.