Without a shadow of doubt my family, but mostly my parents.

My Dad retired almost 2 years ago. He worked as a Bus Driver for 40+years, he has always inspired me to stay committed and “keep the faith”. My Father has shared commitment to Meath GAA, our local community and many other causes or organisations over the years – of course when you grow up witnessing this first hand, you can’t help but embody it yourself. My Mam of course, there are no words. She let my siblings & I pursue our dreams, no matter what they were – she stood on sidelines, attended parent teacher meetings, graduations, every event or occasion, she was by our side – wonder woman, to be honest.

Being from the Midlands, I always knew about the Heritage Hotel, it is a fabulous venue!!! (I might be more bias now than I was before)

I heard about the role online, applied, was called to attend an interview and as soon as I arrived at the hotel, (My Mam came with me as company for the drive) I pretty much fell in love with it! Had an interview at the time with the Revenue Manager and then Weddings/Events Manager and I just remember being super comfortable and both ladies were employed by FBD Hotels & Resorts for several years, and I could see how genuinely happy they were and how it was a great place to work.

I got a call the following morning to say I was successful and was offered the job. I didn’t even hesitate: the timing was perfect, and I just knew this was the right move for me.

I completed my Leaving Cert and went to Athlone Institute of Technology (now TUS Athlone) where I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Hotel and Leisure Management. The course was a 3-year course and gave me the skills I needed to fulfil my career path. I did love that the course is specific to Hotel Management, most of our lecturers had worked in the hospitality industry which really helped me to understand Tourism and Hotels. We did a couple of months work experience as part of our course at the time, just before we entered our final year which really helps.

In recent years, I completed a Certificate in Revenue Management & CRM with Tralee Institute of Technology, Certificate in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA) and I recently complete a Roadmap to Revenue Management with the IHF.

I received an award recently as the Manager of the Year here at the Heritage, definitely a very proud moment for me. To be recognised by our Senior Management Team, it made my year to be honest!

If I could be anything in the world, I would love to be a lecturer.

You need to be good with people, be a good communicator, an organiser, a good timekeeper and motivated. Do any courses and workshops you can.

Communication Skills – it is at the hear of everything we do from our guests to our colleagues.

Empathy – to learn to understand guests and colleagues, to help you create memorable experiences.

Reservations Manager at The Heritage Hotel in Laois.