Wedding belles gearing up for fairytale receptions at Galway's five-star St Clerans Manor House could be heading towards a proper 'ding-dong', after reports that the venue will close next month.

All bookings after the 29 August have been cancelled, with the shock announcement that the 18th century manor house is to close its doors.

Gerneral Manager Barry Kilroy told a local newspaper he and his staff were only informed of the decision, by the manor's American owners, last week.

Mr Kilroy said there had been no indications of closure prior to the announcement.

"We can confirm that the hotel is to close from 29 August and all bookings from that date will be cancelled," said the Mr Kilroy.

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"Fifteen staff will be affected by the closure and we would like to thank everyone for the effort they have put in over the last number of years.

"It is hard to pinpoint a reason for this. St Clerans is owned by an American company and we are coming into a very tough economic time here in Ireland.

"It is a shame because things were looking very positive and we had a lot of bookings for the next four or five months. It is very unfortunate.

"It came as quite a shock to us all here as we weren't expecting it. It's really rattled us to the core. We are only open three years and there is so much potential, but they just weren't willing to hold on."

"There is a certain sense of anger among the staff but it is mostly shock and disappointment, as we all had a love for the house," he added.

The General Manager would not divulge the amount of bookings lost as result of the closure, but did confirm there where "a few" major reservations made.

Reports have suggested other American-based firms have expressed interest in purchasing the manor house.

(PR/JM)