The Ormond Hotel in Dublin's north inner city was bought in trust on Wednesday by Mr Finbarr Smyth who has interests in the Temple Theatre, formerly St George's Church, and the Lansdowne Lodge guesthouse in Ballsbridge.

Mr Smyth said yesterday that the 63-bedroom hotel, which features in Ulysses, would be modernised. "That side of the city has changed and is on the up, so we have to move with the market that is there," he said.