Bank seizes control of leading Galway pub

Date Published: 04-Apr-2013

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

Ulster Bank has seized control of Kelly’s Bar on Bridge Street, which is understood to owe the bank and other creditors in the region of €5 million.

The bank appointed Myles Kirby and Martin Ferris of Ferris & Associates as joint receivers and managers of the premises – formerly known as The Living Room – last week.

It had been run by Dave Kelly until his death in a car crash in October 2009, and was subsequently operated by his widow Joan Grealish-Kelly.

The most recently available accounts for operating company Castlebank Taverns – up to the end of December 2011 – show an outstanding bank loan of €4.37m, while trade creditors were owed more than €165,000 and a bank overdraft of almost €147,000.

That year, the company suffered losses of almost €867,000 and had a deficit in shareholders’ funds of €1.9m. However, the directors (Mrs Grealish-Kelly and her brother Paul Grealish of the King’s Head, which is in no way connected to or affected by the receivership) said they were confident that the business could return to profitability.

In 2011, the value of the property was written down from €7.3m to just €2.7m – a drop of €4.6m.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.