Tributes paid following death of Rodney Watson

Rodney Watson (59), MBE, the co-owner of the Killyhevlin Hotel near Enniskillen, died suddenly in his sleep at his home in early September.

Mr. Watson was a well-known and respected figure in the local hospitality trade. Raised into the hotel business in Armagh, his mother, Pearl, had been the manager of the Drumsill House Hotel. His father, Archie, bought the Drumsill in 1970 and the family continued to run the venue very successfully until 1976 when they took on the Killyhevlin and re-located to Enniskillen.

A former president of the NI Hotel Federation and a past chair of the NI Lakeland Hotels Association, Mr. Watson sat on the board of Fermanagh Lakelands Trust and was involved with the steering group for the Destination Fermanagh initiative – a 10-year tourist development strategy for the region that was launched in 2006.

Mr Watson – who married his wife, Leigh, in 1991 – also played an active role in many clubs and societies including the Round Table, the 41 Club, Rotary, Fermanagh Harriers, various golf clubs and the Freemasons.

And he was well-known in horse racing circles with a special love for point-to-pointing and horse welfare issues, a tradition he carried on from his father.

He received his MBE in 2008 for services to tourism.

There have been many tributes to Mr. Watson following his death. Tourism Minister, Arlene Foster, described him as “a leader in the hotel industry in Fermanagh and Northern Ireland” and Pubs of Ulster chief, Colin Neill, said that he was “a true character in NI hospitality” that would be sorely missed.

In a statement following his death, the Killyhevlin Hotel said: “Rodney was loved and respected and known far and wide for his generosity – a big man with a big heart, wit and also his forthright manner.

“He always called a spade a spade and his organising talents were always to the fore.

“We all knew there was no point in arguing when he told you where you were to be seated at the table and also when it was time for you to go home.”

Licensed and Catering News interviewed Mr. Watson at the end of last year during which he expressed very frank opinions about local tourism and the prospects for growth in the Fermanagh area:

“The real problem for us is that there are not enough out-of-state visitors coming into Northern Ireland,” he told this magazine. “We’re not attractive enough as a destination because of the economic situation and the ridiculous level of out VAT at 20 per cent against our competitor’s nine per cent in the Republic.”

Originally owned by Raymond B. McCartney, the Killyhevlin was a successful 30-bedroom hotel when the Watsons bought it in the mid-70s. Rodney was aged 21 at the time, having studied at the former catering college in Portrush before taking a position at Drumsill House as bar manager and working his way up.

“We found out about the Killyhevlin after a friend of my father told him that it was for sale,” Mr. Watson told LCN recently. “We came down for a look and straight away, we saw the potential of the place and its stunning location. It was great and much better than we had in Armagh, we felt, so we bought it and then we ran both hotels for a while before selling the other one on.”

During their time at the Killyhevlin, the Watson’s have instigated three major expansions and, in 2005, they spent £4m to add leisure facilities and 30 additional bedrooms to the venue. Trading throughout the Troubles, the hotel was targeted by the Continuity IRA in 1996 when they detonated a 1400lb bomb there, destroying a large part of the fabric of the newly-refurbished building and injuring 17 people.

It took the family around a year to put right the damage caused by the blast, but they traded throughout by keeping their function room and a small number of bedrooms open.

Mr. Watson, who was cremated earlier this month, is survived by his wife Leigh and the wider family circle.