Photos: Martin, Mark and Glenn McGowan
What began with one family taking a chance on a landmark Drogheda building has grown into a hospitality business spanning Scholars Townhouse Hotel, Peggy’s, Sunday Street and Geraldine’s.
At the centre of it all is the McGowan family, whose involvement in hospitality in Drogheda now stretches across more than two decades and two generations.
From the more traditional hotel and restaurant setting of Scholars to live music and food at Peggy’s, and the newer Sunday Street and Geraldine’s concepts, the family has gradually built a group of businesses catering for different parts of Drogheda.
Despite that growth, the McGowans say the same principles remain central to how they operate: good food, genuine service, investment in staff and a strong connection with the town.
From one building to a family business
Martin and Patricia McGowan took on the Scholars building at the beginning of the 2000s.
Their original intention was to develop a nursing home, but when planning permission did not work out, the family returned to an industry they already knew well.
Hospitality was already part of their background. Martin’s family had operated pubs on Baggot Street and in Phibsborough, with McGowan’s in Phibsborough still run by relatives today.
Scholars officially opened as a hotel in 2005, according to the hotel’s own history, following the McGowan family’s purchase of the former Christian Brothers building.
Opening the business was a significant step, and the years that followed brought challenges including the financial crash, COVID-19 and the wider pressures facing hospitality businesses.
The family continued to invest throughout those periods.
Today, Scholars has 16 bedrooms alongside its restaurant, bar and gastrolounge. Its food offering includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the hotel saying the majority of its ingredients are sourced within the Boyne Valley.
Martin and Patricia Mc Gowan
The next generation
Brothers Mark and Glenn grew up around the hospitality business and come from a long line of publicans.
They began working in the family’s previous pubs from a young age and were already familiar with the demands of the industry by the time Scholars opened.
Both later gained further experience managing pubs and restaurants in Australia before returning home with new ideas around service, concepts and customer experience.
The pair now oversee the day-to-day running and strategic direction of the wider business.
Patricia continues to manage bookkeeping and financial administration, while Martin remains actively involved, contributing his experience, ideas and guidance.
For the family, one of the biggest advantages of working across two generations is the level of trust that already exists, although they acknowledge that running a family business naturally brings its own challenges.
Peggy’s brings a different offering
The acquisition of Peggy’s became another important stage in the growth of the business.
With the bar at Scholars reaching capacity and limited room to expand within the building, taking over Peggy’s nearby offered the family another way to grow.
It also complemented the accommodation available through Scholars while introducing a very different type of hospitality business.
Peggy’s has developed its own identity as a relaxed pub offering food, accommodation and regular live entertainment for both local customers and visitors. Its own website describes it as part of the Drogheda community for more than a century.
Sunday Street and Geraldine’s
More recently, the family developed Sunday Street, Geraldine’s and The Warehouse.
Sunday Street was deliberately created as something different from the family’s existing businesses, with Neapolitan pizza, globally inspired small plates, cocktails and wine forming the basis of its evening offering.
Its current offering also includes boutique accommodation alongside its restaurant and event spaces.
Geraldine’s brings the building to life earlier in the day with coffee, breakfast, lunch and pastries.
The name keeps an important connection with the building’s past.
Geraldine had operated her hair salon there for many years and was well known locally. Rather than erase that history when the premises changed use, the family retained the name for the café.
The original salon character has also been incorporated into the new business, with features including the old turquoise counter and retro hairdryers retained.
The Warehouse completes the development as a flexible space for private functions, corporate events and entertainment.
Around a year on from opening the newer businesses, the family says one of the most encouraging aspects has been seeing people use the building in different ways throughout the day.
Different venues, shared standards
Each of the businesses has been given its own character.
Scholars offers a more traditional hotel and dining experience, Peggy’s is centred around the atmosphere of a busy pub, Sunday Street has a more modern and social feel, while Geraldine’s has developed as a relaxed daytime meeting place.
What connects them, according to the McGowans, is the approach to hospitality behind each business.
Warm service, quality food and attention to detail are expected across the group, while individual management teams are given room to maintain the character of their own venues.
The family is also keen to emphasise that the development of the business has depended on far more than the McGowans themselves.
Long-serving managers and staff play a major role across the venues.
Mark O’Donnell and Aisling Madden have been instrumental at Scholars, Kyran Flanagan leads Sunday Street and Cathal Dillon heads Peggy’s.
In the kitchens, David Kelly leads Scholars, Olson Bajraktari leads Sunday Street and Noel McVeigh leads Peggy’s.
The family’s philosophy is straightforward: look after staff and they, in turn, will look after customers.
Twenty years of change in hospitality
The hospitality industry has changed considerably since Scholars opened.
Customer expectations have increased, while businesses have faced growing pressure from energy, food, wages, recruitment and inflation.
One of the McGowan family’s responses has been diversification.
Across the businesses, income now comes from accommodation, restaurants, coffee, events and live music, allowing the group to reach different customers at different times of the day.
They have also continued to invest in menus, service and new ideas, drawing inspiration from hospitality businesses in Ireland and abroad.
But their approach is not simply to follow every new trend. The family believes new ideas have to improve the experience for the customer if they are to be worthwhile.
A business built with Drogheda
The family also credits support from people in Drogheda with allowing the businesses to develop.
Over the years, their venues have hosted weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, business events and countless everyday meals.
The businesses have also supported local charities, schools, sports clubs and community organisations, while providing employment, work experience and college placements.
For the McGowans, that relationship works in both directions.
They say Drogheda has supported their family businesses for more than two decades and they want those businesses to continue contributing to the town in return.
That connection with the wider hospitality and tourism sector remains part of the family’s work. Drogheda Life recently reported on Mark McGowan’s involvement in the launch of County Louth’s new tourism strategy, where he took part as Managing Director of Scholars Townhouse Hotel.
Looking ahead
For now, the focus is less on adding more venues and more on developing the businesses already in place.
Scholars will continue to invest in its hotel and restaurant offering, while Peggy’s will build on its food, music and accommodation business.
Sunday Street, Geraldine’s and The Warehouse are newer additions, leaving the family room to continue developing those concepts.
New ideas are always being discussed, but the immediate priorities remain raising standards, investing in staff and giving both locals and visitors more reasons to spend time in Drogheda.
There is also the possibility that another generation could eventually become involved.
Charlie and Amelia have already begun doing some work within the businesses, following a similar path to previous generations when they were young.
For the McGowan family, what began with one Drogheda hotel has developed into a collection of distinctly different businesses while remaining family owned, independent and rooted in the town.
