This article was originally published in the winter issue of Hospitality Ireland magazine, in December of 2024.
Ronan Galligan, chief people officer at the Wright Group, talks to Hospitality Ireland about a bumper year.
Christmas came early for the Wright Group, which won a series of awards recently, recognising its contributions to Ireland’s hospitality and nightlife. The impressive food-and-beverage hospitality group now operates 18 units, including the award-winning Marqette at Dublin Airport T1 and Wrights Anglers Rest, in Co. Dublin, and received seven awards across different categories, valuing excellence, innovation and people.
Hi, Ronan. Please tell us a little about yourself – your background and career so far.
I have spent all of my working life dealing with people in all aspects of life. For the last nine years, I have brought that experience, along with a problem-solving mindset, to the hospitality industry and the Wright Group. My main focus has been to build a positive space for our people and customers to feel at home and welcomed by establishing core values that promote training and development, clear career paths, and a passion for quality service. This has led to the successful build of a progressive and highly adaptive community of over 700 people, who all feel like an important part of the organisation.
What first drew you to hospitality?
Hospitality is all about people. Helping our people develop their life skills for themselves and to give our customers a memorable experience is very rewarding.
When did you join the Wright Group?
I joined the team nine years ago.
Please tell us about your recent awards.
It’s been a record year for us, in terms of industry awards, and we’re really proud to be recognised for excellence and innovation across several categories, winning seven awards. I was named as winner of the Chief People Officer of the Year award at the Business Post Leadership Excellence Awards. While I work to deliver strategic foresight to support business capability, our people are the true champions of our brand, and they are the real winners of this award. They are the ones who help drive business innovation every day, delivering a positive customer experience and creating a wonderful sense of community.
Wrights Cafe Bar, in Swords, was crowned Best Late-Night Bar in Ireland at the recent National Irish Pub Awards. Hogs & Heifers Swords was named Best Restaurant at the Fingal Business Awards 2024, and Gilbert & Wright picked up the award for Best Bar/Pub 2024. Hogs & Heifers Liffey Valley picked up Best Place to Eat at the South Dublin Chamber Awards 2024, and Erin William Waters from UCD Centra was awarded Rising Star and the Pride of Centra Awards 2024. Marqette at Dublin Airport T1 was awarded best Airport Hospitality Provider at the recent Aviation Industry Awards, which celebrates excellence and innovation in the industry.
What does it mean to be recognised in these ways?
The recognition of these awards is not only a reflection of our team’s commitment to what we are all about, but also a testament to the continued support of our valued customers. It is an honour to receive awards when we are up against other great businesses and industries. In 2023-2024, we focused on strengthening our teams through hiring, training and development, and continuing to ensure the best quality. The awards are a reflection of those strategies paying off.
Please tell us about the evolution of the group over the last ten years.
The Wright Group has expanded into different branches of hospitality over the last ten years, as we have explored our unique voice within the industry. Whilst always having roots in bars and restaurants, like Wrights Anglers Rest, the Bloody Stream, Findlater and Hogs & Heifers, we opened Marqette, Dublin Airport T1, in 2015, and since then, we have continued to branch into new areas of F&B, with the likes of Kilkenny Cafe, in partnership with Kilkenny Design, Phoenix Park Cafe, and UCD FoodHall.
Please tell us about the latest additions to the group.
We are absolutely delighted to have worked with the DAA again, on Fruitality Juice & Smoothie Bar at Dublin Airport, T2. They were faced with the challenge of introducing more healthy F&B options for travellers, and Fruitality has tackled this challenge head on. Fruitality is already proving to be a success, and we can’t wait to watch it grow in 2025.
What do you see as the changing trends in hospitality – people’s expectations, new elements, etc.?
The biggest trend we have seen in the last few years is that ‘unpredictability’ is the new normal. Ensuring consistency across our brands and products has helped reassure customers. We continually listen – through reviews and feedback – to our customers and use this to lean into trends where necessary, but we have found consistency in our own brand voice to be more powerful.
What are the major challenges at the moment?
There continue to be many challenges for our industry, for example, overheads, staffing and footfall, which has affected us all. The change in social habits and lifestyle has also had a big impact, however, there are still many opportunities for businesses in our industry. Being agile and prepared to evolve and nurture customer needs whilst focusing on human connection and experience continues to be a focus for us.
What are the main opportunities?
This year we focused on developing our people and culture, and adding value to the overall experience.
Ending the year on a high with the awards, the launch of Fruitality in T2, and new openings in the pipeline have been a testament to that strategy paying off. Twenty twenty-five [2025] is set to keep that momentum going.
