From Glengarriff to New York: A Family Story Woven into the History of The Lansdowne Kenmare
Remembering Mary Kiely and Patrick O’Sullivan, and the enduring bonds of an Irish family across the Atlantic.
Every hotel has a history, but the history of The Lansdowne Kenmare has always been about so much more than the building itself. It is a story of family, friendship, hospitality and the wonderful people who have passed through its doors over the generations.
For three decades, The Lansdowne was owned and lovingly run by Bobby and Breda Hanley, who welcomed countless guests and created memories that remain part of the hotel's story to this day.
But behind the scenes, there was another family whose presence, warmth and generosity helped make The Lansdowne what it was.
Breda was one of nine children born to Denis and Catherine O’Sullivan of Glengarriff, County Cork. The O’Sullivan siblings shared an extraordinarily close bond, one that endured despite the distances that would eventually separate them.
Like so many Irish families of their generation, some of the siblings emigrated to America, building new lives and raising families thousands of miles from the place they called home.
But no matter how far they travelled, Ireland remained home in their hearts, and The Lansdowne became a very special gathering place for the extended O’Sullivan family.
When Breda's brothers and sisters returned from America, visits to The Lansdowne were always part of the journey. They stayed with Bobby and Breda, joined in family celebrations, attended parties and, in true Irish family fashion, were never afraid to roll up their sleeves and help.
Whether it was cooking, organising an occasion, planning something behind the scenes or simply lending a hand when needed, they were part of the life and spirit of the hotel.
There was always something happening, always someone arriving home, and always another reason for the family to gather.
Those were the wonderful years when family and business were so closely intertwined, when a hotel was not simply a place of work but an extension of the family home.
Bobby and Breda sold The Lansdowne in 2000, bringing to a close thirty remarkable years of family ownership. But the memories of those years, and of the people who helped make them so special, have never faded.
This October, the Hanley and O’Sullivan families suffered the heartbreaking loss of two of those very special people.
Breda's beloved eldest sister, Mary Kiely, passed away peacefully in Yonkers, New York, on 1st October 2026, aged 89.
Just nineteen days later, on 20th October, her younger brother Patrick O’Sullivan passed away, also in New York, aged 78.
Two much loved siblings, whose lives had taken them across the Atlantic but whose hearts, family connections and memories remained so deeply rooted in Glengarriff and Kenmare.
Their passing marks the end of two extraordinary lives, but their stories deserve to be remembered and celebrated.
Long before the O’Sullivan family became part of the story of The Lansdowne Kenmare, their story began in Glengarriff, County Cork. This treasured photograph of Mary Keily (née O’Sullivan) with her brothers captures a moment in time when family life revolved around home, the countryside and the close bonds between brothers and sisters.
Little could they have imagined the extraordinary journeys that lay ahead, or that some of those children would one day build lives and families thousands of miles away in New York.
Yet despite the distance, the passing decades and the many changes life would bring, the O’Sullivan family remained remarkably close. And when the family gathered at Bobby and Breda Hanley's Lansdowne Hotel in Kenmare, it was as though the miles between Ireland and America had never existed.
A Family That Never Let Distance Come Between Them
The story of the O’Sullivan family is also the story of a generation of Irish emigrants whose courage, determination and extraordinary sense of family helped build communities on both sides of the Atlantic.
Mary emigrated to America in 1955, followed by Patrick in 1967, when he was just nineteen years old.
They built successful and fulfilling lives in New York, surrounded by family, friends and the vibrant Irish community that became such an important part of their world.
Yet despite the passing years, the O’Sullivan siblings remained exceptionally close.
The Atlantic Ocean may have separated them geographically, but it never diminished their love for one another.
Their journeys home were occasions to be treasured, bringing together generations of family, renewing old friendships and creating new memories. And so often, those memories were made at The Lansdowne.
For the Hanley family, Mary and Patrick were not simply relatives who visited from America. They were part of the wonderful extended family whose laughter, generosity, kindness and presence helped shape thirty years of life at the hotel.
They belonged to a generation that understood the importance of family, of showing up for one another and of helping without ever needing to be asked.
Those values are as much a part of The Lansdowne's heritage as the building itself.
A Legacy That Lives On
Today, as we remember Mary and Patrick, we also remember those wonderful decades when The Lansdowne was filled with the comings and goings of the extended O’Sullivan and Hanley families.
The reunions, the celebrations, the laughter around the table, the work that went on behind the scenes and the countless acts of kindness that made family life so special.
For Breda, the loss of her eldest sister and her beloved younger brother within just nineteen days is a profound sadness.
Our hearts are with her, with her surviving siblings Kitty, Teresa and Dan, and with the entire O’Sullivan, Kiely and Hanley families on both sides of the Atlantic.
Mary and Patrick may have spent much of their lives in America, but they will always have a place in the history of The Lansdowne Kenmare.
Not because their names appeared above the door, but because they were among the people who made it a home.
And that, perhaps, is the most beautiful thing about a family hotel.
Its history is not simply measured in years of ownership, renovations or generations of guests, but in the people who filled its rooms with life, laughter and love.
Mary and Patrick were two of those people. May they rest in eternal peace.
Mary and Patrick now join their beloved siblings who went before them: their sister Margaret Heffernan (née O’Sullivan), who passed away in 2010, their brother Con in 2015, and their brother Denis, who had also made his home in New York, in 2020.
For a family of nine children who shared such an extraordinarily close bond throughout their lives, each loss has been deeply felt. Today, four siblings remain: Kitty, Breda, Teresa and Dan, carrying with them a lifetime of treasured memories, family stories and the enduring love of the brothers and sisters with whom they shared their childhood in Glengarriff.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse.
With love and heartfelt sympathy from all of us at The Lansdowne Kenmare.
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