THE HIGH Court has appointed a liquidator to a number of well-known hotels in the west of Ireland. The court was told the businesses, which had been in examinership since June, had no prospect of survival.

Mr Justice Barry White consented to the appointment of William O'Riordan as official liquidator to three hotels owned by the Dunne Hotels Group (DG Hotels) including the Clybaun Hotel, Galway, Patrick Punches' Hotel, Limerick, and the Woodstock Hotel, Ennis, Co Clare.

In June the hotel group, which employs more than 200 people, successfully petitioned the High Court to have six companies it operates placed into examinership. Mr O'Riordan, of the chartered accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, was appointed as examiner.

However, Rossa Fanning BL, for Mr O'Riordan, said his client was now of the opinion that five out of the six related companies had no prospect of survival as there was "no investment package available".

Counsel said it was agreed on consent that a provisional liquidator be appointed to three companies, Clybaun Hotel Ltd, Patrick Punches Hotel Ltd and Bar None Ltd, the company that operates the Woodstock Hotel, Shanaway Road, Ennis, Co Clare.

Mr Fanning asked that the court do nothing in relation to the Ridgepool Hotel in Ballina, Co Mayo, and the Two Mile Inn in Limerick. The court heard that Bank of Scotland (Ireland), which is the main secured creditor, intends to appoint a receiver for those two companies.

The sixth company, Seno Hotel and Property Company Ltd, c/o The Two Mile Inn Hotel, Ennis Road, Co Limerick, is to remain in examinership as it had a reasonable prospect of survival.

Mr Fanning also asked the court that Mr O'Riordan be allowed to continue to operate the hotels in order that they can honour existing bookings.

Mr Justice White made the matter returnable to October 13th.

DG Hotels, which ran a chain of seven hotels, went into examinership after running out of cash and amassing sizable debts. The company is owned by Brendan Dunne and Hilda Dunne. The family-owned business had revenues of more than €36 million in 2006 and has properties valued at €86 million.

However, it suffered a downturn in business, which it attributed partly to a fall-off in visitors from the United States. The firm said the weakening of the US dollar and strengthening of the euro, coupled with the emergence of cheaper holiday destinations, had led to a drop in the number of American visitors to Ireland.