Irish Medical Times

Oliver St John Gogarty once asked ‘What would Dublin do without the Shelbourne?’. Gogarty who had consulting rooms in a building that has now become part of the famous hotel posed the questinon at a time when The Shelbourne was in all its pomp and glory. Dublin may have seemed to many to have become a little soulless since the famous hostelry closed its doors some two years ago for major renovations. Now, however, the wait is over and the hotel is poised to resume its position as spiritual home to politicians, layers, race-goers and the occasional aberrant medical student. After its two-year renovation, costing 100 million euro, the country’s most celebrated hotel is to reopen under Irish ownership. Over the years and through many upheavals the Shelbourne has assumed major literary, political, and historical significance. Since it opened in 1824, the Shelbourne has been host to many famous guests including Orson Wells and James Mason who frequented it while acting with the Gate Theatre in 1930s.