How a cycling holiday led a Cork family to set-up Sheila's Hostel in city

Who knew that a family cycling holiday up the west coast of Ireland in 1984 would lead to three generations of a hospitality enterprise in Cork city?

That’s what happened to the Maher family, who run Sheila’s Hostel in Wellington Road and Gabriel House in Summerhill.

Sheila and Frank Maher opened Sheila’s Hostel in the 1980s, and their son Liam took it over when they retired in 1996, while also opening Gabriel House that same year.

Now Liam’s children are also involved in the family business.

The two destinations are constantly on the map for visitors near and far travelling to Cork, offering a great choice of hospitality.

Turkeys, hens, and geese wander at will when I arrive at Gabriel House

“Mind your step,” the pleasant receptionist greets me as she brews coffee.

Sitting out the sun in his productive garden, courtesy of gardener, Barry, with family dog, Zita, at his feet, Liam Maher tells me about the remarkable family journey thus far.

It began in 1984 when Liam and his parents, Sheila and Frank, went on a cycling holiday.

“We left our mobile home in Garryvoe, and we cycled to Limerick,” recalls Liam.

“We arrived at an An Oige Irish youth hostel where travellers could use an independent kitchen,” adds Liam, who is married to Kaye.

“It was great. My dad, a schoolteacher from Aghada, was curious, and so we cycled on to Kinvara to another independent hostel.

“Talking to the friendly caretaker, dad discovered that there was no such hostel operating in Cork at the time.”

What did Liam’s dad say to that?

“He said there will be one next week!”

That was the origin story of Sheila’s Hostel.

How was Cork operating economically-wise then?

“It was the year that Ford and Dunlop closed,” says Liam. “Recession had hit. It was out of necessity that mum and dad went down another avenue from the bedsit market and into the hostel market.

“They owned two premises in Belgrave Place and on July 22, 1984, my parents welcomed their first two guests from the USA to Sheila’s Hostel.”

The hostel has accommodated thousands of visitors in the years since.

“It has gone through many changes over the years,” says Liam

Some things didn’t change.

“We are still welcoming visitors from places like Indonesia and Bolivia,” says Liam. “So many countries are represented internationally.”

He was clued into the hospitality business.

“Yes. I worked as a chef in Trabolgan,” says Liam.

One day, when he was walking past Gabriel House atop Summerhill, he decided to ‘put his head in the door’.

Then what?

“Then I asked if the house was for sale,” says Liam, who doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet.

“Gabriel House resembled a Victorian House, and it was run as a guest house by Monica King.

What were Liam’s thoughts sealing the deal for €700,000?

“It was a lot of money 20 years ago,” says Liam. “But I thought the location was just beautiful.”

The timing was right.

“Jury’s Hotel on the Western Road had closed,” says Liam. “The hotel was holding an auction to sell off all the effects. Myself and my business partner, Frank McNamara, went along to it and we bought actual bedrooms, complete with fixtures, fittings, beds, doors, sockets and switches.

“We stripped the whole lot. We were obliged to leave the windows! There were four 40ft containers out in the car park for all the stuff, and we rented storage space on the old Ford site.

“We intended doing up Gabriel House floor by floor, keeping each floor open as we went through five storeys from the basement up,” says Liam.

They had lofty ideas for Gabriel House.

“Under our stewardship, we were bringing the immediate plushness of a four-star hotel to Summerhill.”

Who arrived there to stay and sample the famed breakfast, offering porridge made with Baileys Irish Cream and fresh eggs sunny side up from the home-grown fowl?

“A lot of cyclists arrived here,” says Liam. “Small Irish tour operators offering bespoke tours block-booked rooms for their clients. They all loved the garden, and we often hosted barbecues there, and we still do.

“Our garden room is a relatively new addition. We became famous for our Irish breakfast and quality rooms. Our mantra is ‘do it best’.”

Staff, treated like kin, have done their best at Gabriel House too.

“A number of our staff are here with me since the beginning,” says Liam, who, by the way, swam solo across the English Channel in 2010 in a fantastic time of 13 hours and 11 minutes

“One of our most memorable core members of staff was Kit Walsh, an amazing housekeeper and an amazing woman.”

Communication has changed format in the hospitality over the years.

“Back in Sheila’s day, there was no email, no mobile phones,” says Liam.

“People had to ring reception to make a booking.

“Now they can do a virtual booking with a virtual assistant without meeting anyone face- to- face.”

Liam promotes face-to-face communication like his parents always did.

“I like meeting the residents who come here,” he says. “I like telling them where to go in Cork and what to do here.”

Barry does a lot here in the garden?

“Usually!” says Liam.

How so?

“I came out to the garden one morning and Barry had nothing done,” says Liam. “He was giving a tour of the garden and showing guests his fresh produce that he grows here, tomatoes, and vegetables. He introduced the guests to the chickens, the ducks and the rabbits.

“Then he took them to the aviary to show them our variety of birds. Barry was in his element!”

Liam is in his element here.

“I say to my friend, we are in the ‘go-go’ years,” says Liam, whose children are Emily, Tom, and Grace.

“We avoid shortcuts,” says Liam. “Our fresh produce we serve our guests and our delicious West Cork sausages and pudding are renowned at Gabriel House.

“We so enjoy hosting our customers from home, from all over the world, and building relationships with them.”

The Maher family, starting out with Sheila’s Hostel in 1984, have built a beautiful establishment, operating for 20 years, on Summerhill that gives tourism a bounce.

“Tourism is on the bounce in Cork,” says Liam.

No wonder he has a bounce in his step.