Siobhan Byrne Learat, founder and CEO of Adams & Butler, official DMC for Connections Luxury in Ireland reveals what’s in store for our delegates.

How did Adams & Butler come to be?
“I worked as a hotelier for eleven years before becoming the managing director of a property company. We used to buy castles and period houses and renovate them before selling and marketing them on behalf of the new owner.

“When we were marketing the properties for exclusive hire, we found it difficult to get all the back-up services we required – nobody was providing these services at a high-end level in Ireland. There was a need for somebody to be more curative, and orchestrate everything so that it was seamless.

“I was doing an MBA at the time, and I decided to create the business plan for Adams & Butler.”

Tell us about the type of travel experiences you provide
“We can arrange for clients to be hosted by an Earl in his castle, as his only guests – we are the only people in the world who are doing this. We arranged for an Arabian princess to fly in a helicopter over the Cliffs of Moher and land on a beach for dinner in a cave with a violinist. And once, we were asked by a Russian client to arrange for a falcon to deliver a Black American Express card.

“We’re known for hosting celebrities, ministers and VIPS, but we can also do four-star and and four-and-a-half star itineraries. A lot of people like the fact that we have close connections with the aristocracy, so that is an area we focus on, but we’ve also arranged, for example, for a Treasury Secretary from the US who was renting Lismore Castle owned by the Duke of Devonshire, to be transported on the back of a tractor with local farmers to visit an oyster farm. The client talked about the tractor ride for the rest of the year!”

What have you got in store for Connections Luxury in Ireland?
“We’ll be working a lot with the Powerscourt Hotel, the host venue for Connections Luxury, and focussing on the wonderful experiences to be had there and at Powerscourt House & Estate nearby. Things like meeting the owners of Powerscourt House – the Slazenger family – seeing the property’s movie locations, arranging for the head gardener to walk and talk the delegates through the garden and a foraging walk with a local culinary expert.

“And we’ll be visiting Dalkey, a medieval village, for a re-enactment, and for a medieval archery demonstration – as opposed to modern archery. Dalkey village is home to a lot of artists and writers – Maeve Bunchy lived there, and there’s a connection with James Joyce. So a lot of literary talent from the area that we’ll be harnessing for the experiences.”

Adams & Butler is the official DMC for Connections Luxury Ireland – our next event tailored specifically for the luxury travel market – to be held in a few days. To enquire about attending an upcoming Connections Luxury event, please contact Micaela Giacobbe on micaela@weareconnections.com