Kilcullen native Shane wants more school leavers to try career in hotel industry

Kilcullen native Shane Fitzpatrick, who now lives in Mallow, won a general manager of the year award for western Europe at the Carlton Rezidor Shining Star Awards in London for his guidance of the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Little Island, Co Cork.

Radisson Blu operates in almost 1,000 locations in more than 70 countries, and is a subsidiary of the Carlton Rezidor Hotel Group, which employs an estimated 88,000 worldwide.

Mr Fitzpatrick said he hoped his progression through the ranks would inspire men and women to think about a career in the industry.

"I’m with the Radisson Group the last 12 years. I have been in Limerick, Dublin and Athlone, and I finally ended up here in Cork," he told the Irish Examiner.

“I was in college in Cathal Brugha Street and I worked my way through bars and restaurants.

"I joined Radisson as food and beverage manager and worked my way up. Prior to that, I had done the bar jobs, the weekend work and the functions, hotels and restaurants and a year in Australia,” he said.

The hospitality industry has been seen as a stop-gap for young people in the past as they work their way to another career — something Mr Fitzpatrick would like to see change in the future.