Francis Brennan is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

hotelier A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to management of hotel staff, bu ...

and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

Personal life

Brennan was raised in Balally Drive, just off Sandyford Road and close to Dundrum,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. He went to Holy Cross National School, Dundrum, CBS Westland Row and

Catholic University School Catholic University School ''(C.U.S.)'' is a private (voluntary) secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1867 by Bartholomew Woodlock as a preparatory school for the Catholic University of Ireland, the predecess ...

(CUS) in

Leeson Street __NOTOC__ Leeson Street (; ) is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland. Location The street is divided into two parts by the Grand Canal: Lower Leeson Street, in Dublin 2 is to the north of the canal, linking to St Stephen's Green, with ...

where he was taught by the Marist Fathers. Brennan has never married or had children, and has described himself as being on the asexual spectrum.

Career

Hotelier

Brennan is the owner of the five-star Park Hotel in

Kenmare Kenmare () is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of ''Ceann Mara'', meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. Location Kenmare is located at the head of Kenmare ...

and the Dromquinna Manor Hotel in

Templenoe Templenoe () is a civil parish in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated four miles from Kenmare, on the N70 road to Sneem, which forms part of the Ring of Kerry. Templenoe is the location of the Ring of Kerry golf club. There is a Gaelic Athle ...

, both in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. He runs the hotel with his brother John.

Television

Brennan rose to fame in Ireland in 2008 after starring in

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

series '' At Your Service'' with his younger brother John, in which the Brennans provided advice to the owners of struggling businesses in the hospitality sector. Francis is known for his meticulous attention to detail. The brothers appeared together as guests on ''

Tubridy Tonight ''Tubridy Tonight'' is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest mu ...

'' in October 2008 and on ''

The Saturday Night Show ''The Saturday Night Show'' is a talk show hosted by Brendan O'Connor broadcast on RTÉ One between 2010 and 2015. The show features guest interviews, audience participation and live music. ''The Saturday Night Show'' is broadcast every Saturday ...

'' in January 2011. Brennan has since made other television appearances separately from his brother. He appeared in '' Stars Go Racing'' in 2011. In 2011, he starred in his own TV show called ''

Francis Brennan's Grand Tour Francis Brennan's Grand Tour was a six-part reality programme which aired in 2011 on RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the ...

'', the premise of which saw Brennan flamboyantly escort 16 paying holidaymakers on a tour of the European continent. A further series of Francis Brennan's Grand Tour was broadcast in July and August 2016, this time taking 12 paying holidaymakers on a tour of India's Golden Triangle, followed by a third series in 2017 with a trip to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Despite his high profile on television screens, he has admitted to never watching television himself. He is a devout Roman Catholic and has a set of

rosary beads The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

given to him by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Writing

During September 2022, Brennan announced the release of his book "The Homekeeper’s Diary 2023". The book, based on inspiring readers to remodel their homes, advice on cleaning, gardening, cooking, foraging and other aspects of household living.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Francis 1955 births Living people Irish hoteliers Irish television personalities People from Kenmare RTÉ television presenters Hoteliers People educated at Catholic University School Businesspeople from County Dublin Businesspeople from County Kerry Broadcasters from County Kerry