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The Ireland-U.S. Council is pleased to present its Award for Outstanding Achievement
in 2008 to Paddy Kelly for the remarkable business success he has achieved and the
creditable work he has done in building the business relationships between America
and Ireland.
The members and directors of the Council are very pleased to formally recognize
the extraordinary achievements of Paddy Kelly whose business interests have shaped
a unique two-directional flow of investment ventures across the Atlantic between
the United States and the Emerald Isle.
Mr. Kelly's privately-held family investment corporation is pivotal in over $2 billion
in development projects either completed or underway in the United States. His Redquartz
Developments is a principal investor with Dublin-based Boundary Capital, in structuring
RQB Partners, the Ireland-based consortium that purchased and is expanding the TPC
Sawgrass Marriott development complex in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The property
has over 500 rooms and will develop a new club wing, and has entitlement for 500
additional condo units. . In Sarasota, also in the Sunshine State, Kelly is the
prime mover in a major redevelopment project in the city's waterfront area that
will involve the building of 1.5 million square feet of hotel, offices, residential
and retail space.
The Council is pleased to recognize the great contribution that Paddy Kelly has
made to building investment flows in both directions across the Atlantic. His business
deals have seen a major expansion of U.S. hospitality franchises entering Ireland.
His company is the lead shareholder in Choice Hotels Ireland which operates the
three Choice Hotels franchise brands from the United States: Clarion Hotels in the
four-star market segment, Quality Hotels which offers three-star service and Comfort
Inns which caters to the budget-conscious travel consumer. The company sold the
operating business of Quality and Comfort brands in 2006 to a consortium led by
Pat McCann, formerly of Jurys Doyle Hotel Group for $70 million. Choice Hotels Ireland
now has 2,571 rooms in Ireland and the UK. He is also the main shareholder in Prem
Group, which has 2,531 Rooms and 464 Apartments in Ireland, UK and Europe.
In addition to a major presence in the Irish real estate market, Paddy Kelly's four
decades of consistent and successful investing have been characterized by his notable
philosophy of partnership as a way to access expertise and resources and, at the
same time, reduce the risk profile of projects. In building relationships in the
United States, in Ireland and in other places around the world, such as Russia and
Italy, he has moulded partnerships, consortiums and joint ventures that have brought
him great success and generated ambitious and highly-regarded real estate developments.
Paddy Kelly lives in Dublin with his wife Maureen. They have four children and six
grandchildren.
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