Working document built by reports from former staff. Please email or DM your own situation and let’s hold them accountable.

[email protected] @ConnollyYM

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, Dublin

All workers

Part time workers given no hours before closures for 1-2 weeks

€20m profits last year in venue alone (according to staff).

Owned by LRC/Amaris Group, an Israeli property group, opperating acrocss Europe. Last year they bought 600 buy-to-let homes across Dublin, Cork and Galway from a US private equity fund. Along with 19 apartments in Stillorgan, this January, for €1.3m under the guide price.

Paddy Power / Betfair

No promise of jobs to return to.

Parent company, Flutter Entertainment, had net income of £111.9m in 2019.

CEO is British businessman, Peter Jackson, est annual pay of $2.1m. Recieved a bonus of up to £1.32m in 2018.

Panda Waste

Cut wages of remaining workers, 10-20%. When workers complained, they were told they could be easily replaced, according to a report from staff.

Refuses to invest in equipment to allow remaining 30+ commercial staff work from home.

Owned by Eamon Waters, est net worth of £7.6m.

Atlantic Language, Dublin & Galway (Education)

All teaching staff. Management used to run online courses.

They’ve also refused to refund student course fees, according to former staff.

Jump Zone, Dublin

No warning, no help or information, workers told via email.

Some are still on zero hour contracts.

Opened 2 new venues in the past 18 months. Owned by Paul Quinn.

Jackpotts Bingo, Dublin

Told workers via a group chat

Opperated by Capital Entertainment & Leisure which is owned Wil Byrne (Wil is the Principal and Managing Director of Wilton Capital, a gaming, real-estate and private equity firm based in both Dublin and Chicago. Wil played a leading role in the €9bn flotation of eircom and the €4.5bn sale of eircell to Vodafone.) and Iain Finnegan (Iain is routinely involved in large scale real-estate transactions acting for high profile private clients and investment funds and has been involved in over €1bn of transactions in recent years.).

IMC Cinemas

Workers told via email, addressed ‘Dear Employee’.

2019 Profits exceed €10m.

Ryanair (office workers)

Workers promised half pay until May, this was taken back and many told there would be no job for them from the end of March,

The Key Collections, Dublin (Hospitality)

est 300 Workers – Management excluded

Profits of €1.2m in 2017. In addition, The Key Collections manages and operates a number of apartment blocks including the IFSC Dublin City apartments, Jervis apartments, and Dorset Street apartments, all of which are located in Dublin.

Debenhams

Workers told on the day.

Company refused to apply for gov subsidy scheme for supported paid leave, even though the UK wing has done, forcing staff onto lower emergency public funds – according to staff.

2016 revenue in Ireland, €181m. Underlying profit of £33.2m in the UK. Total revenue of £2.2bn in 2018.

Owned by Celine Uk Newco 1 Limited. Debenhams CEO Stefaan Vansteenkiste left the job on March 12th, less than a year after starting.

The Moriarty Group (The Court Yard Hotel, Kildare. The Bracken Court Hotel, Dublin)

Owned by former Fianna Fáil candidate, Luke Moriarty.

Also owns SuperValu supermarkets, in Balbriggan, Skerries and Palmerstown.

No pay, staff were told to apply for Supervalu jobs.

Iconic Media Group (Donegal Democrat, Kilkenny People, Leinster Leader, Leinster Express, Limerick Leader, Longford Leader, The Nationalist, Tipperary Star, Tullamore Tribune and the Midland Tribune)

Owned by British Businessman net worth of £1.7m Malcolm Denmark.

Former managing director is FF TD Joe Flaherty.

Keywords International LTD, Dublin

No pay, two day notice.

65% rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to €37.9m in 2018

Menzies Aviation, Dublin

Sent letters to all staff (except management) (17,500 fired in the UK)

Operating profits 2018 of £55.1m. CEO, Giles Wilson, is on est £961,000 pa.

Wetherspoons

40k workers across Ireland and the UK

Suggested staff apply for jobs in Tesco.

CEO John Hutson is paid over €1m a year. Chairperson, Tim Martin (Timothy Randall Martin) has accrued a tidy estimated net wealth of almost £500m. Operating Profit was up by 20.6 per cent to £76.6 million in 2018.

SEDA College, Dublin

All teachers, no pay

One of the biggest language schools in Ireland. Estimated Annual Revenue $5.9m.

The English Studio, Dublin

All fixed term contracts

David Andrews became Director across Ireland & the UK when his company, Lioncourt Investments, acquired the studios. He also owns USIT Travel, Budget School and Group Tours.

N7 Maxol, Kildare

3+ Workers

Owned by Jason and Rachel McMullen’s, ‘Forecourts’, who operate Maxol, had a pretax profit for 2018 of more than €15 million. €37m invested in refurbishments in 2019.

Paragon Executive Intelligence, Dublin (Recruitment)

4+ Workers

No warning, no pay

Founded by Colin McGhee, the business specialises in hedge fund, banking, wealth and asset management.

Specsavers, Dublin

Cut from April, no guaranteed pay but still expected to be called in.

Specsavers’ overall global revenue rose to £2.61bn, including total UK revenue of £1.39bn, in the financial year ended February 2018. The multiple has published its annual review for 2017–18, which reveals a 7% increase in overall global revenue when compared to 2016–17.

Dollard & Co, Dublin

Up to 20 workers

Told the day of their last shift, no pay

Owned/Operated by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Press Up group / Orsen Ltd, which made an operating profit of €6.4 million in 2018, directors are on over €200k pa.

Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast

Temporary lay off for some staff, but others have just been sacked.

The Tourism NI Quality Grading Scheme gave Crumlin Road Gaol a 5 star accreditation in 2017.

Smartling Inc, Dublin (software company)

20 Workers, no notice

US firm with an estimated Annual Revenue of $35M.

Carphone Warehouse, Belfast

2,900 across the UK

Dixons Carphone revenues expected to rise to £10.6bn in 2019. Dixons Carphone Ireland’s combined profits for the year jumped by 61% to €4.6m.

Kane Group (The Spaniard, Muriel’s Cafe Bar, Pablos, Panama City Garden Cafe, The Jeggy Nettle and The Chester Bar), Belfast

90 Workers

Kane Group Building Services saw pre-tax profits treble to £2.97m during the 12 months to March 31 2019.

O’Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd, Strabane

750 Workers

Shareholder funds totalled £10.7 million and its cash pile increased from £993,748 to £4.8 million in 2019.

Press Up Entertainment Group (Office Staff)

Owned/Operated by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Press Up group / Orsen Ltd, which made an operating profit of €6.4 million in 2018, directors are on over €200k pa.

City Wonders ltd, Dublin

Dozens of staff, told on the day

Operates more than 150 tours across 9 major European cities. As of 2017, City Wonders had the number 1 booked tour in the world on TripAdvisor. Revenue €50 – €100m per year.

Skechers Ireland (Retail)

300 Workers, not permitted to use holiday pay.

Haven’t responded to staff emails.

Threatened staff if they told anyone about their situation.

For revenue, Skechers expected to bring in $1.1 billion to $1.125 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Jurys Inn

All part time and flexitime workers, some full time staff

Swedish & Israeli groups bought the hotel portfolio in 2017 for €908m. CEO of the Israeli group, David Fattal, posted a notice before the sacking quoting Churchill, ‘A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty’. He owns 190 hotels and the Fattal Hotels Group’s operating profit in the first nine months of 2018 was up 31.7% to €83m.

Magee 1866, Donegal & Dublin (retail)

50-70 Workers

‘Many have been with the company for 40+ years’

Told via WhatsApp and emails

In 2017 accumulated profits at the firm climbed to €6.7m. Directors pay in the same year was €282,812.

Knightsbrook Hotel, Meath

Most staff ‘apart from managers’

Some told hours beforehand

Cusack Hotel Group also own Castle Arch Hotel, Ardboyne Hotel and Newgrange Hotel, all Meath.

Carey’s Amusements, Donegal

All staff sacked, told a day beforehand

Included a link to a HSE tweet about the pandemic in their notice.



Guinness Storehouse, Dublin

Temporary contracts

In 2019, Diageo operation profit rose to €4.48bn.

On March 17th Guinness announced a €1.5m donation, but to businesses affected by the pandemic.



AVIS, Belfast Airport

4 Workers, told via a phone call

Avis Budget Group has spent 22 years on the Fortune 500 list. 2019 TTM Revenue $9.17bn. Net Worth of CEO Shon Larry D De is at least $13.1m.

RKD Floral Displays, Kildare

Owned by Ray Dowling snr and family. According to former staff, ‘there has been no drop in work’.

Waterford Castle Hotel & Golf Resort, Waterford

100+ Workers

Told via a note attached to a final payslip

Venue bought by South Kilkenny businessman Seamus Walsh for €6.3m in 2015. He also owns the Ard Rí Hotel, Walshs Bridge Inn & One The Waterfront.

Swissport, Dublin Airport

80+ Workers

No pay, no notice

Swissport achieved an operating EBITDA of €273.2m in 2018, an increase of 24.1 percent over the previous year.

Imperial Hotel, Cork

In 2018 Flynn Hotels has just finished a €3 million overhaul of Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny, while it was also funding the upgrade of 100 rooms in Cork.

Yellow Door, Portadown

50-60 Workers

Refused to give staff contracts or paid leave

Beannchor Group (The Dirty Onion and Yard Bird, The National, Bullitt, the Ulster Sports Club and the Park Avenue Hotel), Belfast

800 Workers

Operating profits at the hospitality group almost doubled during the year that ended on June 30, 2018, rising to £11.2 million while turnover increased 9% to £25.8 million. Headed by Bill Wolsey (OBE).

MLM Group, Newry (Marine Refurbishment)

300+ Workers

Founded by Brian McConville, it’s most recent accounts for 2018 showed a £17m pre tax profit on turnover of £100m.

Mallaghan Engineering Ltd, Dungannon

20-99 Workers

Its turnover in 2017 rose to more than £47 million and its bottom line profit almost doubled from £1.7 million to £3.2 million.



Square Bistro, Lisburn

40 Workers

Owned by Stephen Higginson. One of Lisburn’s most popular restaurant’s for over a decade.

The Westin, Dublin (Hospitality)

Zero hour contracts still in operation

Owned by global hotel giant Marriott International, which generated approximately $20.97bn in revenue in 2019. They also own the Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, Shelbourne and Powerscourt Hotels. The Marriott family has a net worth of over $7bn.

Starbucks, Derry

No Notice

Starbucks makes profits of €4.5bn internationally.

Lifestyle Sports

Fired anyone who wasn’t a supervisor.

Online shop remains open, making money for shareholders.

Ireland’s largest sports retailer. Accumulated profits September 2018 totalled €30.37m. Directors’ pay at the Lifestyle Sports firm last year increased from €220,080 to €256,686.

CEO Mark Stafford also owns Campus Oil.



Odeon Group (4 Dame Lane, Odeon & Dakota), Dublin

Told two days before

Owned by Paul Keaveny & Derek Phillips. Odeon Bar currently looking into massive renovations.



Carraig Donn (Retail)

300+ Workers, told the night before

No paid leave offered

Estimated annual turnover €40m. Refused to take up the COVID-19 Refund Scheme.

Sport Ireland Campus Gym, Dublin 15

State subsidised

No paid leave

Department of Education, ROI

Irish sign language / English interpreters are receiving no paid leave while most other education staff are.



NolaClan Group (House Dublin, 37 Dawson Street, Xico, House Limerick, House Belfast, The Oak etc)

Staff told on the day

No paid leave

Alan Clancy, NolaClan’s founder, recently linked up with ‘super-rich’ developer Jerry Conlan (who had assistance from NAMA during the last crash) to fund its growth. Viztip, a company linked to Mr Conlan with US institutional backing, has invested about €3.5m for a share of NolaClan.

Power Gym & Mayson Hotel Gym, Dublin

4-10 Workers

Breach of 1 week notice clause in contract

Manager claims sacking is due to ‘not meeting necessary standards’

Owned/Operated by Matt Ryan & Paddy McKillen jnr of Press Up. Operating profit of €6.4 million in 2018, directors are on over €200k pa.

Clarks Intl (Retail)

All temp contract workers fired

Pressure from higher ups to do so

C&J Clark, with net assets of £322.5m, is worth £600m. Owner Lance Clark has a net worth of $247.5m.

Stella Theatre, Dublin

Told the day before

Owned/Operated by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Press Up group / Orsen Ltd, which made an operating profit of €6.4 million in 2018, directors are on over €200k pa.

Coastline Gaming (Atlantic Arcade – Waterford, Blackthorn Amusements – Donegal, Caesars – Galway, Empire Casino – Dublin, Sands Amusements – Donegal, Silver Strand – Wicklow, Sdtar – Donegal)

250 Workers

Told less than a day before

‘Multi million profits each week’ according to former staff.

Camden Court Hotel, Dublin

Dozens of staff with no warning

Kept paying ‘supervisors and friends of the owner’

Formerly owned by Donegal Fianna Fáil Councillor Seán McEniff, it’s now run by his son John.

Chapters Bookstore, Parnell St, Dublin

‘Fired all part time staff’

Didn’t even tell workers, each found out via group chats. Emails eventually sent days later.

Captain Americas, Bison bar & Clarance Hotel (Hospitality)

All staff except managers (Press Up’s PR has been in touch regarding this point at the Clarance, awaiting confirmation to update).

Owned/Operated by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Press Up group / Orsen Ltd, which made an operating profit of €6.4 million in 2018, directors are on over €200k pa.

Clarence Hotel owned by U2’s Bono and the Edge along with McKillen snr (jnr’s/Press Up’s property tycoon father).

Shockvoyce, Cork (Customer Service)

35 Workers

‘Suspicion is they wanted to make cuts and used the virus as an excuse’

Voxpro founders Dan and Linda Kiely aalso own Shockvoyce. Voxpro is the largest customer service business in Ireland & the UK. Its underlying profits soared by 168pc in 2015 to just over €3m in 2017.

The Grafton Hotel, Dublin

20 Workers

Emailed on the day of sacking

Owned by Eamon Waters, also the CEO of Panda Waste, he had Bord Pleanála reject his plan for windowless hotel rooms in 2018. €20m recently spent on refurbishments. Some Panda Waste staff also fired.

Superior Security, Monaghan

50-99 Workers

The company’s directors are Fiona Dullaghan & Padraig McEneaney and also own Orbit Security, Superior Broadband, Nightowl Security, Micad Security, Superior Castleguard, Ffm and 6 more businesses. McEneaney also owns Celtric Pure Water, which just finished up an €18m investment into the company.

BrewDog Outpost, Dublin

Founders James Watt and Martin Dickie own 17 bars across Ireland and the UK, plus a hotel in Scotland.



Ink Café, Dun Laoghaire

All workers told on the day of sacking

Owned by property services/operators, Apleona, with revenues of €2bn a year.



TGI Fridays

100s of Workers (Hospitality)

Refused to pay staff leave

The Butler Brothers’ Entertainment Enterprises also own Leisureplex & Starbucks Ireland, the latter of which paid zero corporation tax and makes profits of €4.5bn internationally.



The Old Music Shop and Castle Hotel, Dublin

20 Workers

Two days notice

The Castle Collection, owned by Fionn MacCumhaill, owns multiple hotels across Ireland & the UK. Last year he purchased a hotel in Scotland for over £2m.

Mercantile Group (Café en Seine, The Crafty Fox, The George, The Mercantile, NoLita, Opium, Pichet, Whelans), Dublin

330+ Workers (Hospitality & Office)

No sick leave

2017 trading profit of €5.1m. Owned by Michael Breslin, who made $100 million in construction, and massive US investors.

Royal Saint George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire (Hospitality)

5+ Workers

Zero hour contracts still in use

The head chef was ‘threatened’ by members when they tried to close the kitchen.

Workmans Club, Dublin (Hospitality)

12 Workers

Told two days beforehand

No sick pay

Owned/Operated by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Press Up group / Orsen Ltd, which made an operating profit of €6.4 million in 2018, directors are on over €200k pa.

KSG – Kylemore Services Group, UCC (Catering)

€1.7 million profit in 2019

Guinness/Diageo Drivers (Transport)

45 Workers

Told the night beforehand

In 2019, Diageo operation profit rose to €4.48bn.

National Pen, Dundalk (Manufacturing)

CEO Peter Kelly saw €4.8 million profit in 2019.

Codemove (Mobile Computing)

50 Workers

The Devlin, Ranelagh, Dublin (Hospitality)

60 Workers

Owned/Operated by Paddy McKillen jnr’s Press Up group / Orsen Ltd, which made an operating profit of €6.4 million in 2018, directors are on over €200k pa.

Doyle Collection (Dublin: The Westbury, The Croke Park. Cork: The River Lee) (Hospitality)

100+ Workers

No sick pay or paid leave

Doyle Hotels Ltd in 2018 made a pretax profit of €11.6 million. Owned by Bernie and John Gallagher, they live in a mansion in Blackrock in south Co Dublin and made €1.8bn during the 2000’s housing bubble.

West Coast Shipping, Dublin

200 Workers

Informed two days prior

Walled City Brewery, Derry

Staff found out via a Facebook post.

Unsure if they’ll see pay they’re owed.

Jill McKillop is Executive Chef Walled City Brewery and owner Grainola Goddess and James Huey from Walled City Brewery is Chair of the LegenDerry Food Network.

Porterhouse, Dublin (Hospitality)

15 Workers

Noyfield Ltd, which trades as Porterhouse Central Bar, recorded profits of €2.8 million in 2017. A sister company, Iskasinc Limited, which operates the Porterhouse Pub on Parliament Street near Temple Bar, reported profits of €2.66 million with accumulated profits rising to €4 million.

Fallon & Byrne, Dún Laoghaire & Exchequer St (Hospitality)





Ireland is internationally labeled as a corporate tax haven. Apple owes the 26 county state 13bn. These profits have been made by these tax breaks and now it’s the Irish people who again have to pick up the pieces as they fire their workers at the first opportunity. Last week 140,000 estimated jobs were lost. Why should public funds be used rather than the profits of millionares?



Workers, especially in Hospitality, must take this opportunity to correct wealth inequality and horrible working conditions. Join a union, stand up with fellow staff and demand a return to you job with the same (or improved) terms. Make sure your job can never simply discard you when they should be using their profits on your paid leave. You made those profits.

We believe the Irish State must take the following measures immediately:

1. All private hospitals, clinics and health providers to be taken under public ownership for usage in tackling the virus and treating those in need.



2. All payment of rent, mortgages, university fees, debt payments, services, subscriptions etc abolished between 16th of March and 16th of April.

3. All idle residential buildings to be appropriated and placed into public ownership for the housing of those in need.

4. Appropriate quarantines for most affected areas and implementation of social distancing in major urban areas.

6. Employers should pay regular wages of staff. Anyone that cannot should apply to the Labour Court and the state should assist where needed.



7. Abolish Ireland’s low corporate tax rate and demand unpaid taxes from US tech and pharma corporations.

8. All banks to be taken into public ownership in the face of the impending financial crisis.

9. Provision for those in emergency accommodation or sleeping on the street to be made either via clinics or appropriated residential buildings.

10. Full disclosure of business finances if they’ve attempted to fire staff during the emergency.

Corrections