Lough Erne Hotel, Kesh

The Lough Erne Hotel Building

The Lough Erne Hotel began life as a Royal Irish Constabulary barrack in 1862. It was built by the govenors of the Vaughan Charity who then owned the village of Kesh. The building cost £650 and the police paid £30 per year for rent.

A year after the barrack was built it was burnt down in an accidental fire. Some repairs were done immediately but further work was carried out in 1921. For example stabling for horses that was provided behind the hotel in what is now the Glendurragh Suite.

One of the RIC officers stationed in Kesh, Constable McCormick, was a very famous boxer. In fact he once fought the British Heavyweight Champion, Billy Wells. Another local man, Bob Irwin, was also a famous boxer in those days, once beating the Welterweight champion of the Rhine Army.

Perhaps one of the most famous incidents in the life of the RIC barrack in Kesh was the armed raid on 4 November, 1921. This happened one night when a boxing match was on in Enniskillen and most of the poice were watching their own Constable McCormick. The officers manning the station were tied up while guns and money were stolen.

The part of the bar that is ‘The Clink’ was in fact the actual prison cell in the RIC station. The door and iron bars are the genuine article! Many famed stories are circulating as to how many people actually stayed in the cells though it is known that it wasn’t exactly over-used as Kesh was never really a hot spot for trouble.

In 1937 the barrack was sold by its owners, the Vaughan Charity, to a local businessman, Blakely McCartney, who leased it to Handwork Tapestry Ltd., a company set up by a Jewish fancy goods retailer in London. It’s opening was given huge publicity and a special train was even laid on from Belfast.