Gleesons Roscommon

Gleeson’s Roscommon is that most authentic of establishments – a historic building lovingly transformed into a townhouse, restaurant and café. It’s a family business run with guests in mind.

Built in the 1870s as a Presbyterian manse or minister’s residence, the classic stone fronted building is beautifully proportioned and retains its original façade. The stone work is ‘ashlar’, the highest quality of cut stone generally reserved for public buildings. Fittingly, its companion building next door, once the Presbyterian Church, is now Roscommon County Museum and Tourist Office. A touching memoir of the Welshmen who built both, is a Star of David, their patron saint, which can still be seen in the window over the front door.

It was a local doctor’s house in 1970s and Eamonn and Mary Gleeson fell in love with it. Seeing its potential when it came on the market in the 1990s, the entrepreneurial couple took a leap of faith, selling their family home, buying the town centre property and converting it into a coffee shop with accommodation. Simultaneously they transformed their own careers; leaping from the security of teaching to the unpredictable but addictive world of hospitality. Their three children were under 7 years old at the time and became part of the family business as soon as they were able.

Gleeson’s was immediately popular with locals and its reputation soon grew in Ireland and around the globe. Eamonn and Mary developed the building and the business carefully and respectfully into the thriving boutique hotel, restaurant and café it is today. One cornerstone of Gleeson’s is the consistently exceptional quality of their food, supporting local suppliers at every opportunity. Mary has a regular chef slot on local radio and been invited to do demonstrations at events across the globe. Gleeson’s are particularly proud of their local lamb and are heavily involved in the annual Roscommon Lamb Festival.