{"id":401241,"date":"2026-04-16T07:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/401241\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T07:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:52:07","slug":"corks-viaduct-inn-to-become-transport-and-travel-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/401241\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork’s Viaduct Inn to become transport and travel hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

An iconic venue on the outskirts of Cork<\/a> has been acquired in what is understood to be a multimillion-euro deal.<\/p>\n

West Cork businessman Damien Long has purchased The Viaduct Inn, with a multi-million investment planned to transform the site on the N71.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something I\u2019ve been working towards for a long time,\u201d said Mr Long, who also owns transport companies West Cork Connect, Kinsale Connect, and TravelMaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Viaduct, to me, marks the gateway to West Cork. When you pass through those arches, you\u2019re arriving into West Cork. I\u2019ve always felt it should represent that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“In fact, I believe the bridge is so iconic that, when we started West Cork Connect back in 2019, we even incorporated it into our logo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The venue had been listed for \u20ac1.6m, and it is understood it sold for in excess of \u20ac2m.<\/p>\n

Owners Cliste Hospitality put it on the market almost four years after buying it for an undisclosed sum.<\/p>\n

Its new owner will inherit a substantial premises of just under 7,000sq ft (646sq m) on a site of 2.84a (1.1ha), with over 110m of profile on the N71 Bandon Rd.<\/p>\n

Currently operating as a restaurant, the building will be turned into a multi-purpose space, promising a \u201cfirst-of-its-kind\u201d transport and travel hub to create a new way for people to travel to and through the area.<\/p>\n

A statement on behalf of Mr Long said the first element of the hub will be a Dublin Connect bus service, which will offer a daily direct link from The Viaduct, linking West Cork, Cork City, and nearby areas to Dublin City and Dublin Airport.<\/p>\n

A dedicated park-and-ride service will operate every 30 minutes from 6am to midnight, running in a loop from The Viaduct and taking in Cork University Hospital, Wilton, University College Cork, Mercy Hospital, and Kent Station.<\/p>\n

The third element will see the restaurant turned into a \u201croadside plaza\u201d, similar to those on many motorway routes, along with a bar and 24-hour shop.<\/p>\n

Mr Long added: \u201cWe want to create a place that works for everyone, somewhere safe, well-lit, and accessible at all hours, where you can grab a coffee from the modern roadside plaza, use proper facilities, and travel with confidence, whether you\u2019re heading into the city centre or making a longer journey to Dublin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further details, including opening timelines, will be announced shortly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An iconic venue on the outskirts of Cork has been acquired in what is understood to be a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[79,42,43,40,38,41,39,2738],"class_list":["post-401241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-cork-news","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-transport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}