Employee of the Year award for Saidhbhe

Saidhbhe Donegan, front office assistant and trainee duty manager at the Headfort Arms Hotel, Kells, has been announced as the 23/24 Irish Hotels Federation Mourne Boyne Lakes Branch ‘Employee of the Year’.

The announcement was made at an awards lunch in the Headfort Arms Hotel, where guests gathered to celebrate and recognise eight nominees from hotels and guesthouses across counties Cavan, Louth, Meath and Monaghan who have made an outstanding contribution to their workplace.

John O’Neill, IHF Mourne Boyne Lakes Branch, said the judges highlighted Saidhbhe's ambition, compassion and commitment to developing her skillset when selecting her as the winner.

Saidhbhe Donegan (above), began working at the Headfort Arms Hotel as a student on a 12 week placement in 2018 and has since developed into a key team member at supervisory level, recently completing the ‘Leadership and Management Development Programme’ with IHF Skillnet.

Colleagues say Saidhbhe is an amazing team player who has been known to drop customers home and deliver lunches to elderly customers.

The other nominees were Piotr Bilinski, City North Hotel; Brian Mc Nally, Hamlet Court Hotel; Aoife Brennan, Cabra Castle; Collette McCormack, JohnsEstate Hotel and Spa; Antoniya Todorova, Castle Leslie Estate and Alan Gilhooley, Slieve Russell Hotel.

The members of the IHF Mourne Boyne Lakes Branch wish Saidhbhe Donegan the very best of luck as she goes on the upcoming National IHF Employee of the Year Awards at the IHF's Annual Conference in February 2024.