Situated in the Georgian heritage town of Birr, Co Offaly, the County Arms is right up there with the best hotels in the Midlands for relaxing getaways, weddings, special occasions celebrations and meetings & conferences. Hotel & Tourism caught up with General Manager Barry Kennedy to hear all about this four-star hotel which offers its guests elegant accommodation with warm and friendly service.
These are busy times at the County Arms and the plan for its General Manager Barry Kennedy and indeed the entire team based at Railway Road, Seefin, Birr, Co Offaly is to keep things that way for the foreseeable future.
With the building’s origins dating all the way back to the 1800s, the ‘County Arms’ has been operating as a hotel since the 1960s, with its current owners, Eoin and Carol Garry, having taken over in 2019.
After the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted once and for all, this hotel re-opened with a new management and its traditions for elegant accommodation and excellent service, of course, remained the same.
The County Arms’ location sees its set on a nine-acre estate which is ideally situated for guests to enjoy all that the Midlands has to offer.
When it comes to the hotel’s facilities, ‘The Springs Leisure Club & Wellness Suites’ offers a pool, steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi and gym, with a host of wellness experiences to rejuvenate body and mind.
Dining options include the lively ‘Bar 62’ and the stunning Hackett’s Eatery, where local, seasonal produce is served up. The Shaker Room Cocktail Bar gives guests the perfect spot for socialising or they can have Afternoon Tea in the stunning Georgian Drawing Room and also enjoy a stroll through the beautiful 18th Century Walled Garden.
Right now, the County Arms employs just over 150 staff, a figure which has increased from 62 employees in August 2021, and the team takes tremendous pride in the fact that around 95% of the staff are inside the local community and live within 15 minutes of the hotel itself.
Every single member of the team is key at the County Arms according to GM Barry Kennedy, whom took time from a busy schedule to fill Hotel & Tourism in on the details.
“The County Arms has always enjoyed a strong reputation as a leading venue for weddings, good hospitality which we are now working hard at maintaining and hopefully enhancing,” he said.
“The current owners here are Eoin and Carol Garry. Eoin grew up in Birr and is still heavily invested in Birr and is a very proud Birr man. I joined the team in August 2021 as GM, having worked here in my first ever job in hotels from 2001 to 2008.
“I also grew up in Birr and it’s such a pleasure for me now to lead the team here in my hometown hotel.”
“Over the past three-and-a-half years, we have grown the business levels at a very strong rate and, alongside this, have more than doubled the amount of local people employed, as well as carrying out an extensive refurbishment program to almost all areas of the property.”
When it comes to weddings at the County Arms Birr, the hotel offers different packages depending on the needs of the couple celebrating their big day.
The approach that the County Arms likes to take is meeting each couple and discussing what they would like their wedding to be and, after that, the hotel’s Wedding Co-Ordinator Dee Smyth and members of her team will design a bespoke package for them.
It means that no two wedding packages are the same at the County Arms, as the hotel looks to personalise each wedding to match the couple’s needs. It does, however, aim to make it an easy process for the bride and groom, so therefore most packages include all that they could require from the venue.
Towards the end of last year, the County Arms’ fantastic work in this regard was recognised on a national scale when it scooped not one, but three prestigious wedding awards.
First, it was named Offaly’s Best Wedding Venue for 2024 by WeddingDates.ie before being awarded ‘Leinster’s Best Wedding Venue’ at the Hi-Style Best in Hospitality Awards at a Gala Awards Dinner in Cork on November 30th. Then Dee Smyth was awarded the Wedding Coordinator of the Year (Leinster) by Weddings Online.
The awards win helped to cap off an excellent year for the team at County Arms and, looking back on the success, Barry Kennedy said it reflected the team’s continuous effort towards excellence.
“Firstly, the awards represent really deserved recognition for all of the hard work by the entire County Arms team that has gone into growing and delivering weddings over the past three years,” the GM outlined.
“It also represents a level of consistency with our wedding delivery that we really pride ourselves on, we always say that we are only as good as our last wedding and these awards represent that we must be doing something right!”
Indeed, the awards have been rolling in recent times for the County Arms, with this past November having also saw Barry himself winning ‘Best Hotel Manager’, Dee Smyth scooping ‘Wedding Coordinator of the Year’ and Gerard O’Riordan landing ‘Chef of the Year’ at the annual Midlands 103 Hospitality Awards.
“Best Chef at Midlands Hospitality Awards was a big one as Gerry has put so much work into the food offering here over the past three years, and he cares so much about what we do here, so we we’re all delighted for him,” said Barry.
“What actually pleases me most is the consistency in nominations we receive. It’s obviously lovely for the team when we win something, but seeing the County Arms shortlisted for so many awards over the past three years to me represents a real level of excellent consistency which means our team are performing well week after week, which is what it’s all about really.”
Since coming onboard as GM of the County Arms in 2021, Barry says that the support which the team has received from the owners has been excellent and points out that their ambition to also drive the hotel on has been “enormously positive”.
It’s a partnership which has helped the hotel’s strong growth trajectory over the last three to four years and the hopes now are for further expansion and growth next year.
The plans for 2026 include a full refurbishment of the County Arms’ Moorpark Ballroom during the first quarter of the year, along with an extension that is set to include eight additional suites, as well as a larger staff area with a bigger canteen and changing rooms.
Next year is also set to see the hotel adding extra carparking space for its guests.
So, all of that considered, the burning question is what has been the secret behind the success of the County Arms to date?
How has this hotel, which came under new ownership a little over a half decade ago, continued to carry on in a busy manner and indeed further grow its reputation for excellence in hospitality?
“I suppose we are one of what is now a rare thing; a family owned, country town hotel that is thankfully thriving and growing,” Barry stated. “But I will always say that what makes County Arms special is our people and how much they care about what they do.”
The GM added: “It comes from the team. We all care about what we do and, as I mentioned, we all live locally and take great pride in how people view our hotel.”
“We also regularly speak about how lucky we are to be trusted with looking after people’s special occasions such as weddings, funerals, confirmation, communion etc. But really, it is the team who drive their own high standards here.”
Always viewed as a strong hotel for good food and traditional hospitality, the County Arms Hotel is the perfect stay with some of Offaly’s most luxurious rooms and suites and, of course, that core value of excellent hospitality which its team aims to achieve every single day at the hotel.
County Arms
Railway Road,
Seefin,
Birr,
Co Offaly (R42 Y568).
Tel: +353 (0) 57 9120791
Web: countyarms.ie
E-mail: [email protected]
This article was published in Hotel & Tourism Magazine, Summer 2025, Vol 1 No 1
