As a child, John Brennan wasn't an obvious candidate for success. School was a difficult, upsetting place and he was always at the bottom of the class. His battle with dyslexia meant that he felt stigmatised by a society that didn't understand him. Yet his determination to not be defined by his dyslexia created an ambition that has been matched by his business acumen. Now in his mid-fifties, John's optimism is still flowing. It is a measure of his character that, on being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the first thing he did was to buy a very run-down Dromquinna Manor on 46 acres of overgrown grounds. Ten years later, in the midst of a world pandemic that saw hotels closed all over the world, John again bought a new hotel. This is a fascinating account of a man with the vision to create his own life against the odds that will inspire people everywhere to find their own way too.
John Brennan is the owner of Dromquinna Manor and co-owner of the Park Hotel Kenmare and The Lansdowne Kenmare. He co-hosts RTÉ's At Your Service with his brother Francis, and lives in Kerry with his wife and two children. It is John's hope that his story will encourage parents and young people who struggle in the educational system to realise that there is not simply one path to success, and to inspire business people to always think about doing things differently!
