The proprietors of Rockhill House outside Letterkenny have announced the appointment of Donal Cox as General Manager.
The weeks are counting down to the May 2017 opening of the venue as an exclusive wedding and special events venue.
Rockhill House – an iconic, grand Georgian Country House set in 100 acres of woodland – is currently undergoing a magnificent renovation and is on schedule to open later this spring.
The owners, the Molloy family, are excited by this new appointment and draw great confidence from it – the operation of Rockhill as an exclusive private wedding and events venue is now in the safest of hands.
Donal, (who comes to Rockhill from Solis Lough Eske, where he was Operations Manager), is someone with in depth 5 Star experience and a passion to deliver high-level hospitality.
Donal knows Donegal through and through and shares the vision of Rockhill as a rich asset to the region and a real part of authentic Donegal.
He fully embraces the Molloy family’s vision for the development of Rockhill’s artisan food hub; for the ways in which Rockhill will showcase Donegal crafts and culture; and for the very particular welcome that Rockhill will come to be known for. He will be instrumental in the rollout of projects including the reestablishment of the estate’s woodland walks; the shaping of Rockhill’s distinct food offering; and the rebirth of the old walled garden and traditional farmyard.
As Donal says himself, he has fallen in love with the place – and is thrilled to be driving its growth as a destination property, driven by a Sense of Place.
The proprietors are confident that, under Donal’s management, Rockhill’s future as an important asset to the local and regional economy and sustainable source of local employment is very much assured.
Commenting on his appointment, Donal said: “The opportunity of Rockhill came on the horizon and I had to go for it. I fell in love with the property when I saw it. The chance to be a part of this, at the start, with a building and a development like this – that really inspired me. It’s a big learning curve, too – and that’s exciting.
“I feel we can make a real difference with this property – to the locality; to its people and to Donegal.”
As an aside, he laughed: “The possibility of nipping home for lunch is pretty novel as well! I’d got used to a lengthy commute, but home is a stone’s throw from Rockhill.”
BACKGROUND:
Donal Cox hails from Garvary, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, and is a graduate of Thames Valley, London. His professional career began as head waiter in banqueting at the Castle Hotel Windsor, where the Duke of Wellington dined after defeating Napoleon at Waterloo. He has worked in the industry in County Donegal since 1990, managing the Mt Errigal, Letterkenny, for many years; and spending time as General Manager in An Chúirt, Gweedore, when it first opened. Donal ran two of his own café and restaurant businesses in Letterkenny before joining Lough Eske in 2011, where he rose swiftly through the ranks to become Operations Manager. He was instrumental in the growth and success of the hotel during some of its most formative years.
Donal has also worked on secondment to Eske’s sister Capella property in the Caribbean.
