Sean Lomasney – Abbeyville House

Tell Us About Your Business

Abbeyville House Bed and Breakfast at Abercromby Place, Fermoy which was formally known locally as St. Annes, opened it doors for business in April 2006, after more than two years of careful restoration by its new owners Sean and Mary Lomasney. Abbeyville House has since then built its reputation for being the premier accommodation provider in the area and was awarded the distinction of being the only Five Star property in North Cork by Failte Ireland.

When and why did you decide to start the business?

We decided to open Abbeyville House as we saw a need for luxury accommodation for Fermoy town and the location and the historic nature of the building at Abercromby Place lent itself to our business plans at that time. Its close proximity to the town centre with its restaurants, bars, shopping and of coarse the majestic Blackwater River, famed for its fishing, is an ideal place to stay whether your stay is for business or pleasure.

What’s it like to do business in Fermoy?

Doing business in Fermoy as in many towns in this economic climate is not easy but as North Cork is not on the radar of many of our foreign and domestic travels alike, we have to make extra efforts to attract customers to our business. While word of mouth is an important part in promoting any business, we must look at other methods of getting our message out to our prospective customers and embrace new forms of communications such as the internet, social media and continually developing ideas for the future. Fermoy is a wonderful place to work and especially to live in with its abundance of things to do through its large number of leisure and sports clubs.

What would you change about the town?

I would like to change the mindset of some of the community in Fermoy and try to get them thinking and acting more positively in their town. Fermoy is a really attractive town, as we hear from our foreign guests all the time, but we believe with little cooperation from our townspeople we could make it a special place to both visit and to live in. Our river is completely underutilised and our streetscapes are not as welcoming as they could be. There are a number of voluntary bodies doing great work in the town which must be recognised and some way of acknowledging and improving their efforts must be found.

What advice would you give to anyone starting a business?

Do your research, put a business plan in place, smile at your bank manager and most of all be enthusiastic and believe in your idea or product because  you will be knocked down along the way and you must have the confidence to get up and go again .