By Sinead Dalton
Copyright evoke
The Brennan brothers have certainly made their mark in the hospitality world, both on and off the screen, but in recent times, John has teamed up with a new partner.
In 2023, they decided to put two of their establishments up for sale, The Park Hotel and The Lansdowne Hotel in Kenmare, Kerry, but they haven’t stepped away from the trade completely.
A new partner in crime has been added to the mix as John’s wife, Gwen, has come on board, with their son, Adam, as they tackle the Dromqunna Manor together. But many may ask how this power couple met?
How they met?
We are sure that many of you can guess where the couple met, and yes, hospitality was at the very heart of it.
It was the late eighties/early nineties when John was working at the Sligo Park Hotel. Gwen would often pop in, and after some time, he asked her out.
The couple married in 1993 and have two children, Adam and Ruth.
The secret to a happy marriage?
Some may say that working with your other half is asking for trouble, but for John and Gwen, they have it sussed.
In recent years, Gwen, who originally worked in insurance, decided to make the jump over to the world of hospitality and is running Dromqunna Manor along with their son Adam.
EVOKE popped into this year’s Irish Food and Hospitality Awards in Dublin to catch up with the hotelier.
While he may have the recipe for running the perfect hotel/restaurant, John knows the secret to a successful marriage.
He said: ‘Gwen never worked in the hotel industry until we bought Dromquinna Manor. When we went home in the evening at 10 o’clock after working for 10 hours or 12 hours in the Park Hotel, you never go home because you’re always talking business.’
He continued by stating that ‘the impact on a relationship/marriage is quite intense because these businesses don’t close. Generally speaking, the hotel elements of them don’t close, and that 24-hour, 365-day intensity takes its toll.’
The key is that ‘you have to be very strong and draw lines and say, fine, we’re not discussing business today, and it’s very hard to do that.’
And while John and Gwen are concentrating on their latest project, John hasn’t abandoned his brother Francis.
The dynamic duo will be back for the next series of the much-loved show ‘At Your Service, on RTÉ, with John giving us a little insight into what is to follow.
‘We’re in the middle of four new shows… and there are two more,’ he told us. Hoping to air in January of next year he said ‘two of them are proper hospitality businesses run by couples, which is really great.’
While we still have a few months to wait, we can’t wait to see what they will have in store!
