The historic Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin today made 227 staff redundant as it closed its doors for a multi-million euro refurbishment programme.
The landmark hotel, which is located on St Stephen's Green, said that severance packages had been worked out with unions and staff over the past few weeks.
A spokesman for the hotel, which is home to the Horseshoe Bar, said: "Negotiations have been ongoing with unions and staff. They reached agreement late last night and they decided to go with it today. The hotel will be closing its doors and staff have been informed."
The 227 staff - some of whom have worked in the hotel for 40 years - can reapply for their jobs when the hotel reopens. However, the hotel said it would not be able to give a guarantee to anyone that they would be re-hired.
The hotel, which has been serving people since 1824, is to close for an estimated 18 months for the 40 million euro upgrade and is expected to reopen in autumn 2006, in time for the Ryder Cup.
"The hotel had hoped to stay open while work was going on but it would have taken around 18 months and have been too messy," the spokesman said.
The hotel, where Michael Collins helped to draft the 1922 constitution of the Free State, is managed by the Marriott Hotel Group.
Management decided that closing down for massive refurbishment was the preferred option.
The hotel, which says it will retain some of its old features after the makeover, had been scaling back its books and informing events and weddings of its plans for temporary closure. The spokesman said that as a result there were no overnight guests currently staying at the site.