Celebrating 75 Years

In 2026, we celebrate 75 years of hospitality education. Founded in 1951 by Dr Brendan O’Regan, Shannon College of Hotel Management has grown from an ambitious idea in the Shannon region to become a world-renowned school as part of University of Galway which has a distinctive place in Irish and global hospitality education.

We hosted an event on May 13th 2026 to mark this milestone and welcomed over 150 alumni, partners and friends back to Shannon College. We were especially glad to welcome Dr Brendan O’Regan’s family as well as former staff members. Our students who have finished college for the year volunteered to come back and help out on this very special occasion which made it extra special.

The event was centered around the launch of a new ambitious vision for the future of Shannon College, including an outline of plans for a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art learning building and the launch of a new undergraduate degree – Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) in Global Luxury and Experience Management.

Read all about both of these exciting developments in this brochure - Shannon-75th-Anniversary-Booklet.pdf

As part of our celebrations, we hosted 2 panels. The first panel was titled ‘Down Memory Lane‘ and included graduates and a current student. Daniel McLoughlin (Class of 2012), Kate O’Connell (1980) and current Year 3 student Erin Brady. It was moderated by Tracy Hegarty (Class of 1990, Deputy Head of Shannon College) and was a great conversation of chatting about their different experiences as students – so much has changed but the core remains the same. Lots of laughter and the audience certainly got a feel for life as a SCHM student from 1980 to 2026!

The celebrations then moved into the Forte Auditorium where Head of Shannon College. Adrian Sylver welcomed all attendees and opened the session. The President of University of Galway, Professor David Burn, then spoke and shared the vision for the future of Shannon College, including an outline of plans for a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art learning building. He also launched of a new undergraduate degree – Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) in Global Luxury and Experience Management.

Following his exciting speech, we welcomed a Panel of Alumni – all working in the luxury sector. Nicky Logue (1995), Christine Murphy (1998) and Ruth Scanlan (2001). Andrew Langford (2002 and Head of Placement Studies) moderated the session and all 3 spoke about their careers, the impact Shannon College has had (and continues to have) and their endorsement of the new degree just launched.

The session was closed by Professor Alma McCarthy, Executive Dean of the College of Business Public Policy and Law in the University of Galway and all attendees then made their way to the atrium where the students were serving delicious light bites and bubbles.

Former Head of Shannon College Dr Phillip J. Smyth proposed a toast to mark the occasion and the oldest graduate attending – Liam Silke (Class of 1964) cut the cake along with 2 Year 4 students – Hannah O’Flanagan and Laura Shanahan.

It is an incredibly exciting time for Shannon College of Hotel Management, and we are so grateful to everyone who joined us on the day to celebrate both our legacy and the beginning of an even brighter future.
A special thank you to our students who volunteered their time and energy to help prepare and deliver the event. Our students are the true reflection of why Shannon graduates continue to succeed across the world.
Thank you also to our dedicated staff for your enthusiasm and commitment, and finally, to all our guests who travelled near and far to celebrate this milestone with us.
Here’s to the next chapter.