The story of a disabled man being asked to leave The Savoy Hotel in Limerick has sparked outrage online.
Jay Reddin took to Facebook last night to share the story which involved his friend Ronan.
“Just over an hour ago I went to the Savoy to meet a friend of mine Ronan who travelled up in a wheelchair from Killarney to Limerick to hang out. The Savoy were nice enough to contact my phone on Ronan’s behalf to let me know he arrived,” he wrote.
Jay mentions that in the past, The Savoy have been kind and accommodating to Ronan’s needs. On this particularly night however, Ronan was told he needed to vacate the area he was in as he was blocking customer traffic.
“Ronan was forced to leave in the lashing rain even though they served him food and he had a half a pint with two straws when I arrived. Ronan was a paying customer and there was plenty of room in the lobby for him to wait but no, out into the fucking rain they wanted him and I was there as witness this all myself,” writes Jay.
The manager of The Savoy Hotel, Ronan Branigan, spoke to Her and confirmed an incident had taken place but that it was misunderstood.
“One of our wheelchair guests was asked to moved a few feet to a safer part of the lobby where he would be more comfortable and where access to the fire passage/escape was not being blocked. It was a health and safety issue that I’m afraid was misinterpreted and misunderstood.”
The manager spoke about the hotel’s relationship with Special Olympics Ireland.
“As you may know the Savoy is famous for guest comfort and hospitality. We are also the gold standard in relation to wheelchair access and functionality here in the city. Our sister hotel, the George, also in Limerick won the best disability hotel in Ireland 3 years ago. We have the most accessible public areas and full access to every floor in the hotel with 13 bedrooms fully accessible. We have the best wheelchair access from the front door into the hotel and also protect that for access to people with disability who may not be guests of the hotel on a daily basis.”
Branigan also added that the hotel have reached out to Ronan to explain the circumstances.
“We’re very sorry that the information was misconstrued in that way, but it was certainly not the intention,” he concluded.
