US PRESIDENT-elect Barack Obama will be able to stay in his own hotel should he visit Ireland during his term of office, provided a businessman gets the green light for his plans to build a hotel named after the incoming US leader.
Developer Liam Carroll is proposing to build the Barack Obama hotel in Moneygall, the small village on the Tipperary-Offaly border linked to Mr Obama’s ancestors. Planning permission is to be lodged soon for the 150-bedroom hotel which Mr Carroll hopes will become the focal point of the Obama connection with Ireland.
Mr Carroll (34) is from Moneygall and believes the proposed new hotel, which may include features such as a White House bar and, of course, a presidential suite, will create jobs in the locality.
“There has been huge excitement since it was first established that Barack Obama’s ancestors came from here so this is one way of taking the link on to a new level,” said Mr Carroll.
“The hotel will cater for people who will come to see where the president’s people came from and it will also be a boost locally as it will create a lot of jobs.”
The hotel will be located 40km from Limerick and 120km from Dublin, and Mr Carroll hopes that the future US president will one day visit Moneygall. “It would be such a great day if he was to come and see where his relatives are from and hopefully he will be able to stay in his own hotel when that happens,” he said.