Last month, we posted the first in the new blog series Proud To Be Part Of It, which celebrates the many unique stories from people who work within The Doyle Collection.

From the people who have worked within the hotels for thirty years, to those who have come from halfway around the world, you don’t need to dig too deeply to find inspirational tales.

Today’s post focuses on Pierce Lowney, who has worked in The River Lee since 2010, when he started as a bar worker straight out of college.

Since then, he’s moved his way up to the role of Bar Manager at The River Lee, working in various roles within the company through the years. Pierce also took advantage of the excellent secondment opportunities within The Doyle Collection, which took him over to Washington D.C. for a spell in The Dupont Circle. We chatted to him to find out more about his professional journey, his progression within the company and his time in the States…

“Before I worked in the Doyle Collection, I was in college in the Cork Institute of Technology, studying for a degree in business marketing. My first two years of the course were in Tourism Business. As I hail from West Cork, I worked in our local bar Kevin O’Neills for seven years while I was in school and college.

I have had many great experiences while working with the Doyle Collection, but the most notable for me would definitely be the travel opportunities. I have proverbial “itchy feet” and so really see travel as one of my goals. The Doyle Collection has been really accommodating in this respect. In 2015 I decided I wanted to take some time to go backpacking around the world. (You can read about Pierce’s travels in this blog post)

I was able to avail of a sabbatical programme from my current job, which allowed me to do this. This was great, as I didn’t have to choose between my travelling and my career.

Also, I was lucky to get an opportunity to work in the USA for a few months in The Dupont Circle, in Washington DC. As someone who never did a J1 in college, this was always a chip on my shoulder, and I was delighted to have been able to tick this off my list.

Working in our sister hotel The Dupont Circle was such a career highlight, as I got to work in another iconic city with a great team of people. I now feel like Washington is my home away from home!

For me I feel a career in the Doyle Collection is a great fit. I like working with a company that has a sense of style and a modern outlook, both from a business point of view and culturally. I like the varied nature of the work, which is never boring, and allows me to grow different areas of experience. At one point, my role included overseeing Health and Safety in The River Lee. This allowed me to study and work in a field I had never even thought about before, and network with industry counterparts. I am now halfway into a Masters Degree in Occupational Health at University College Cork, purely because of this.

I am proud of many aspects of my time at the company. I feel proud of the specific blend of service we deliver on a daily basis – it’s stylish and efficient while still being warm and personal. While this comes off effortless, a lot of work goes in to training and developing to get to this point.

I am proud of the growth and development I have been able to achieve, both personally but also for my team, some of whom I have been with my since I started all those years ago.”

Read our first post in the Proud To Be Part Of It Series, an interview with John Sheridan, the Head Chef at The Croke Park, and the creator of the Proud To Cook initiative.