Ray Byrne opened Wineport Lodge with his wife Jane in 1993. Initially trading as a restaurant, the business added rooms and a spa and is now established as an award winning boutique hotel.

In the mid noughties Ray set up a small consultancy business to advise the investor community on opening new hotels. This resulted in the creation of The Ice House in Ballina and Lisloughrey Lodge in Cong – which has since become The Lodge at Ashford Castle.

Ray created NHance with his business partner Eoin Doyle in 2013 to exploit opportunities as the hospitality sector grew rapidly. NHance own and operate an eclectic portfolio of hotels and bars including the REZz micro-hotel brand that they created and The Club Hotel at Goffs.

Although Ray claims to be a workaholic, a lot of his time is spent in the proximity of golf courses, cafes, marinas and car showrooms…

Eoin Doyle is co-owner of the BrookLodge Hotel & Macreddin Village in County Wicklow, Ireland, a ground breaking 4 star, 86 bedroom destination resort 70 kms south of Dublin. Eoin also co-owns a number of hospitality businesses in Ireland. As part of a European Tourism Research and Education initiative involving The Smurfit Business School in Ireland, Eoin has guest lectured on Branding & Marketing in the hospitality business, as well as guest speaking at the annual Irish Hotels Federation Conference.

Lorcan O’Rourke honed his financial accounting skills in Farrell Grant Sparks, one of Irelands leading audit, tax and advisory firms, where he gained extensive experience in audit and advisory with particular emphasis in the hospitality and leisure sector.

Lorcan plays a pivotal role in the project management of a number of assignments.  Specifically, he provides monthly management accounts, along with budgets and forecasts to aid business planning. His audit background ensures there are strong internal controls in place in each trading unit and his Management Accountancy expertise ensures financial data is reported both timely and accurately to all relevant stakeholders.

Eamonn Fleming has a Higher Diploma in Hotel & Catering Management and is a member of the Institute of Account Technicians in Ireland.

Eamonn is the “go-to-guy” for all the important, sometimes tedious, administrative tasks; drawing on his operational, financial and managerial experience to keep the organisation on track and ship-shape. His County Cavan heritage has served him well when leveraging significant purchasing power to deliver strong gross profit margins to the businesses we operate.

Outside of work, this “new-age” father of two, football coach and keen music fan finds relaxation in the simplest of pleasures; a country hike or a good book! Not the electronic form but the good old paperback.

Malcolm Martyn has 20 years accounting experience, almost all of which is in the hospitality sector. During this time, he has worked on all aspects of the financial control function in upwards of 30 companies. Nothing gives him greater satisfaction than to present a set of ‘healthy’ management accounts. 

Growing up on a farm in county Laois, he learned from an early age the value of hard graft along with an ability to use his own initiative and multi-task different activities at the same time. During his school years his best subjects were, Business, Accounting and Draughtsmanship. For practical purposes he chose to concentrate on accounting, believing it would offer better opportunities.

After school, at nineteen he secured a Green Card Visa and worked in the United States. Eventually, he started to miss the Emerald Isle and returned home to study for his chartered accounting qualification and qualified with an ACCA at Griffith College.

Ray Hingston was introduced to the world of hospitality through his Dad, Pierce, who was an Executive Chef under P.V. Doyle, Ireland’s legendary hotelier.

His industry training included postings in The Shelbourne Hotel, St. Stephen’s Green, Michelin starred L’Ecrivain Restaurant and a solid management career with Radisson Hotels in Ireland and the U.K.

Ray is a hands-on practitioner in the industry. He is at his most comfortable in a busy environment and manages from the front with a relentless focus on guest expectations, and inspiring staff to always give their best. He is always available, day or night, seven days a week, to ensure that businesses under his remit are successful.

Ray’s persistence stands out in his success at running the Dublin Marathon. He has crossed that finishing line on many occasions, and the prospect of achieving a personal best still keeps him focussed on the challenge. His quirky sense of humour ensures that if he ever gets tired of the hotel scene he can try his hand at a stand-up comedian.

Shannon Smullen is a skilled marketeer with a BSc in Marketing and an MSc in Digital Marketing, bringing creativity and data-driven strategy to every brand.

With a strong foundation in hospitality, having grown up in her family’s event catering and equipment hire business, Shannon has honed her expertise across multiple industries. She excels particularly in PR, social media strategy, brand design, and data-driven integrated strategies, focusing on creating measurable results that impact the bottom line.

Shannon blends innovative digital marketing techniques with traditional strategies allows her to craft campaigns that not only resonate with audiences but also deliver tangible, trackable outcomes.

Saoirse Flynn holds a BSc in Commerce with a specialization in marketing in her final year and is pursuing a Marketing Master's at Smurfit Business School. She has a strong background in marketing, social media management, and market research.

Growing up working in her family's B&B in Galway, Saoirse developed a passion for the hospitality industry. She is eager to continue learning and exploring opportunities in both hospitality and marketing.

In her free time, Saoirse enjoys photography and expanding her skills in the field. She also has a passion for sports and has joined a Gaelic team in Dublin.