europa hotel belfast bombing
But it wasn’t only the staff that proved resilient. When the Europa first opened its doors, in the summer of 1971, against a backdrop of rising political violence, it did so with a flourish. Ab 77€ (1̶1̶6̶€̶) bei Tripadvisor: Europa Hotel - Belfast, Belfast. And the fact that the press corps were based there, guaranteed maximum publicity for any attack. The Europa Hotel is situated on Belfast's Golden Mile, beside the Grand Opera House and facing the Crown Bar, the National Trust's only public house. It has hosted presidents, prime ministers and celebrities, including President Bill Clinton during his visits to Belfast in 1995 and 1998. It’s nothing short of a miracle that the Europa Hotel in Belfast is still standing. There was a standing order with a warehouse that had every pane of glass duplicated or triplicated, so they could be immediately replaced. It’s a place alive with history, a testament to the hope and resilience of Belfast and its citizens. With magnificent views of Great Victoria Street below, the Piano Bar serves an impressive range of cocktails. Belfast, UK. “After dinner, the men would drink brandy, the women would drink Tia Maria with just a little bit of cream on top, and then they would both share After Eights. Not only will the Europa be the only international hotel in Northern Ireland, but also the largest and most luxurious.”. Provisional IRA bomb Europa Hotel Belfast 1975 | Images4media Aftermath of last night's Provisional IRA bomb blast at the Europa Hotel, Belfast, N Ireland, in which 5 people suffered minor injuries. In the Grand Ballroom, each candle is perfectly straight in its ornate silver candelabra. General manager Harper Brown, dapper in his tuxedo, presided over it all with charm and iron control. They were served and entertained by the Penthouse Poppets, a posse of young Belfast women in brown velvet leotards, intended as a a racy but fundamentally wholesome provincial version of the famous Bunny-girls. If a customer produced a cigarette, the bar man should be instantly at his side, offering him a light. Very deep piles had to be driven into the bed of the Blackstaff river to ensure sound foundations for the Europa. The late Simon Hoggart, of the Guardian, described it as “a headquarters, a training school, a private club and only marginally a hotel … Everyone came to the Europa – the press mainly, but everyone else came because of the press. Please subscribe to sign in to comment. The Europe Hotel & Resort is now seasonally closed and looks forward to re-opening its doors as soon as government restrictions permit. The Europa was the home for many journalists during the Troubles. Awaken Ireland! They were hope, John Wilson: Bargains from Ireland’s favourite wine country, Ireland’s car design star who underpinned Jordan’s racetrack success. Great Victoria Street, where the hotel is located, was regularly flooded until the early 1970s. Thank God nobody was seriously injured.”. "It is still there given the trials and tribulations it has had," said its current manager James McGinn. The Europa Hotel has 240 bedrooms and is claimed to be the biggest in Northern Ireland [ 1 ]. Former BBC journalist John Sergeant called it “a big modern hotel with no normal clients”. It was the information exchange.”, Retired bar manager Paddy McAnerney remembers the period well. Actor Elliott Gould, famous for his roles in US sitcoms Friends and Mash, is seen here with former manager John Toner at the Europa. When you have reset your password, you can, Please choose a screen name. You got phone calls almost every day, telling you to search your area [for suspect devices], in my case the bar. It is known as the "most bombed hotel in Europe" and the "most bombed hotel in the world" after having suffered 28 bomb attacks during the Troubles. If you were a politician, or a soldier, or even a paramilitary, you knew that was where to put the word out. But the Troubles were coming, and the British army arrived on the streets in 1969, shortly before construction of the building began. Each time, the staff swept up the debris and carried on. “We are always moving forward, keeping things fresh and innovative. Experts check the seat of the explosion on the second floor for any signs of structural damage. Hillary Clinton’s latest 'mis-speaking' gaffe exposed over Belfast hotel bomb claims. The aftermath of an IRA van bomb attack on the Europa on 20 May 1993. In one week alone in 1974, the hotel was hit twice by the provisional IRA. Apr 9‐16: luxurious Europa Hotel in downtown Belfast is damaged by bomb on Apr 8; blast also damages nearby bldgs; 100‐pound bomb explodes earlier in another part of city; bombing … But for devoted customers and long-serving staff, the Europa will never be just another blandly generic hotel. This name will appear beside any comments you post. During the first three years of its existence, the Europa suffered damage from more than 20 bombs. The hotel is located near the city centre and is situated next to the Grand Opera House. Even in these trying circumstances, Harper Brown insisted on his workers being impeccably turned out. Die Preise wurden am 1.2.2021 bei einem Ankunftsdatum am 14.2.2021 errechnet. But then the windows got blown out that many times, the steel frames got warped, so they had to cover them up with hardboard instead. And the thrill of Bill and Hillary Clinton coming to stay at the Europa, during their visit to Belfast in November 1995, reinforced the feeling that things were, at last, beginning to look up. Six of those killed were female ancillary workers and the seventh was a Roman Catholic military chaplain. By this time, the hotel was in receivership. Between 1970 and 1994, the hotel was hit by no fewer than 33 IRA bomb attacks. The Europa was the hotel where reporters would stay when they were coming to Belfast. Today, the Europa is not only standing proud, it’s thriving, and looking forward to a successful 2017. In 1993, the Europa was blown up by a Provo bomb and was so badly damaged that the owners decided to sell up for just €5m. The bomb attacks on the hotel abated during the 1980s, but two devastating explosions in December 1991 and May 1993 almost finished off the Europa. That having been said, the Europa would always get 20 mins notice to evacuate the hotel. The last two times the Europa was attacked were the most devastating. In another archive image ITN presenter Trevor McDonald, in the centre of the picture, runs across Great Victoria Street shortly after a bomb explosion outside the hotel. Between the Christmas bomb in 1991, and the sale of the hotel in 1993, there were 250 bomb warnings. Gift Vouchers & Hotel Merchandise are available to purchase during the hotel's current closed period by visiting our online Gift Shop or by contacting the team on 064 66 71300 or via email to reservations@theeurope.com A combination of the pressure they were under and the exuberance of youth, I suppose.”, The Europa was a target for the IRA because of its high visibility as a landmark building, symbolising investment in the city. I do remember people asking – ‘what would make you apply for a job in the most bombed hotel in the world?’ ”, He, too, recalls the journalists’ occupation of the place. We run the hotel like an extension of our own homes. Belfast’s Europa Hotel does not merely offer its visitor a warm welcome and tremendous hospitality, it offers a storied past and an unsurpassed history. “We took it that this was his endorsement of Belfast and the peace process.”. The Europa Hotel is a four-star hotel in Great Victoria Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. A £1 million makeover has transformed the bedrooms, bars and restaurants. Bar staff were expected to be equipped with a wine opener, a watch and a cigarette lighter. Between 1970 and 1994, it was damaged by explosions 33 times, gaining it the dubious title of “the most bombed hotel in the world”. The Europa Hotel is a four-star hotel in Great Victoria Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. “Hardboard Hotel, that’s what they called it. The story of this remarkable hotel is the story of Belfast itself: wrecked, shattered, yet somehow still standing, and finally finding a new spring in its step. “Frequently when I came in for an early shift at 6.45am, I could hear their voices still echoing downstairs, they’d been up all night. Instead of the affluent tourists and travellers that the Europa was designed to accommodate, it became a home-from-home for journalists who had been sent to cover the trouble in Belfast. “When I stood at my desk in the lobby, I could look straight through and see the Opera House stage,” recalls Martin Mulholland. It was Belfast’s tallest structure at the time and for many years afterwards. We need to own it, challenge it, change it’. When Grand Metropolitan Hotels first opened the doors of the Europa in July 1971, Belfast was a small, dreary town sorely in need of some glamour. A car bomb exploded at a hotel in south Belfast last night. “It destroyed all the buildings, including our offices. The Europa Hotel in Belfast, said to be Europe's most bombed hotel, is celebrating its 40th birthday. The Irish Times Women's Podcast - Ep 482 Sarah Everard and Lockdowniversary: what if more women had been in charge? Work is currently underway on a new Hastings-owned hotel in Belfast city centre, the Grand Central, due to open in May 2018. I had passed the Europa Hotel in Belfast many times, I heard lots of things about it and had heard that it had been bombed a few times during all the years of the troubles but from the outside you could never tell that they had ever had any problems. The account details entered are not currently associated with an Irish Times subscription. “This was the most powerful man in the Western world, and he was staying not at Hillsborough Castle, where visiting dignitaries normally go, but with us, at the Europa,” says Mulholland. This image shows the building under construction before its opening in 1971. Bei Tripadvisor auf Platz 13 von 53 Hotels in Belfast mit 4,5/5 von Reisenden bewertet. James McGinn, the hotel’s general manager, and another long-serving member of staff, or “lifers” as Martin Mulholland jokingly calls them, says that the secret of the Europa’s longevity is the way it constantly reinvents itself. But for those who know and love it, the Europa will always come first. It has hosted presidents, prime ministers and celebrities. is the theme of this year’s St. Patrick’s Festival, March 12th-17th, When he died at 62 tributes poured in from parents and children from the Derry school, She pushed for a pardon for nine Black men caught in 1931 miscarriage of justice in the Jim Crow South, Sign up to be the first getting the offers, competitions, and a sneak preview of what's coming up over the weekend. It said one word: YES. “Oh yes, this was the centre for the press – Kate Adie, Trevor McDonald, Richard Ford – I looked after all those high-falutin’ press people,” McAnerney says. Now in the hands of the Hastings Hotel Group, which bought the devastated building at a knock-down price, it closed for six months for complete refurbishment. The Europa was conceived in the economic optimism of the 1960s, when Belfast really was starting to boom. “That’s because in July we open the Europa Hotel. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill, Dr Howard Hastings in the Europa Hotel bobby. He found himself greeting politicians, prime ministers, musicians and movie stars: Bob Dylan, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, U2. As the Europa Hotel celebrates its 40th birthday, we reveal 40 fascinating facts about Belfast's most famous place to stay and the favourite haunt of … Photographer: Ciaran Donnelly. So I decided to put it into liquid form.”, At one point, the Irish Times’ entire Belfast desk decamped to the Europa after a huge car bomb wrecked the paper’s base on Great Victoria Street. What will €650,000 buy in Spain, Scotland, South Africa, Belize and Howth? You should receive instructions for resetting your password. Although it has only been open for forty years, it has played a massive role in the life of the city and also in the lives of many who worked in Northern Ireland during the troubles. The room in which the couple slept has since been renamed the Clinton Suite. The formidable Harper Brown was determined that the hotel would not close its doors. The Europa Hotel, once dubbed "Europe's Most bombed Hotel" is one of the biggest and most important of Belfast's hotels. A month after the hotel opened in July 1971, the Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner, introduced internment, and violence in the city flared dramatically.