Nostalgia: Sun finally sets on much-loved former Cork hotel

THE demolition of the old Sunset Ridge hotel in Killeens began last Monday, but in the end it was a mercy, as the place had long since fallen to dereliction, being boarded up for the past several years and becoming something of a magnet for anti-social behavior.

In 2011, when it was under the jurisdiction of Cork County Council, planning permission was granted for a mixed-use development on the site, including retail and office units, as well as a pub and restaurant, but the development never occurred and planning lapsed in 2016.

Coming under the remit of Cork City Council after the 2019 boundary extension, the former hotel was placed on the derelict sites register in 2021. It has been gutted in suspicious fires on Bonfire Night in 2021 and again in 2022.

This March, planning was granted for the demolition of the former motel, and the construction of 43 residential units and a two-storey commercial building with a pharmacy and medical consulting rooms.

The sight of demolition crews taking down the last of the ruins of the Sunset Ridge this week will have served as a sad reminder to locals of the site’s former glory days 30 and 40 and 50 years ago, when it was run by the Cronin family and considered the place to be in Cork.

For some prominent local voices, the final end of the Sunset Ridge marked something of a bittersweet moment, as an overdue future finally began to catch up with a past long beyond its sell-by date.

Fine Gael Damien Boylan told The Echo he had celebrated his 21st birthday there and he felt the demolition was good news for the locality, and marked the beginning of the renewal of Killeens. “It was a much-loved hotel. It was so popular and held so many functions,” he said.

Perhaps trumping his ward colleague’s recollections, independent councillor Kenneth O’Flynn pointed out that his parents had their wedding reception at the Sunset Ridge.

“The Sunset Ridge was the 'go to' hotel,” he said. “It was opened in the late 60s by the Cronin family. We celebrated many family events there and I have lots of happy memories.” For the former Sunset Ridge site, a new future awaits, but for many Cork people, a fondly remembered past remains alive.