About Us

1740

The Ffrenches were an Anglo-Norman family who first settled in Ireland in Co. Wexford and from there gradually spread to other parts of the island. The family first arrived in Galway in the early fifteenth century. It is said that the family descend from Sir Maximilian Ffrench, the first of the name, whose descendants accompanied their kinsman, William the Conqueror, into England and fought at the Battle of Hastings.

The house was originally known as Kentfield House, before becoming Glenlow or Glenlo House, deriving from the Irish Glean Locha, meaning ‘Glen of the Lake’.

1790

The adjacent Abbey was constructed in the 1790’s as a private church for the family but was not completed and never consecrated. It is typical of eighteenth-century Church of Ireland chapels, which are often found on large demesnes.

1846

The house and surrounding 138-acre estate were put up for sale, being described as an “admirable and unique mansion, wanting scarcely anything that art or taste can suggest” and as having “every accommodation a family of distinction can desire, including, three Reception rooms, nine Bed Chambers,  Cellars, Kitchen Pantry, Laundry, Servants Hall and sleeping rooms, with very appropriate and well-built offices, Stewarts’ Apartments Garden, Farm Yard”.

1897

It was eventually purchased by the Blakes, another of Galway’s illustrious tribal families. In 1897, the estate was purchased by the Palmers who remained there for the following 90 years.

1980

In the 1980’s the house and estate were again sold, this time to the Bourke family who lovingly restored the house and converted it into a hotel.

1990

In the 1990s, two original carriages from the Orient Express were purchased and placed on the grounds of Glenlo Abbey Hotel & Estate.  Dating from 1927 these carriages served on the Paris to Istanbul to St. Petersburg route; one of the pair was used in the making of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Today serving as the Pullman Restaurant, the carriages offer a unique dining experience.

2013 to the present day

In 2013, Glenlo Abbey Hotel and Estate was acquired by Galway Hotelier John and Marie Lally. Significant investment has been made to the  hotel and estate grounds. In 2020, twenty three guest rooms were added to the portfolio extending the number of rooms and suites at Glenlo to seventy three also added to the portfolio is   Glo Spa and a new causal eatery Palmers Bar and Kitchen.

The Lally’s continue to curate and restore this magnificent property and estate making it one of the leading luxury hotels in Ireland.