‘If you charge someone €400 they are immediately p*ssed off.’ Third generation of Fitzpatrick hoteli…

Brothers Mark and Joseph Scott-Lennon bounce down the stairs into the lobby of the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney, both wearing broad grins and offering a welcoming handshake.

They are Irish hospitality royalty, the third generation of the Fitzpatrick family to own and run the well-known 113-bedroom property, even if they don’t have the surname.

The four-star hotel was opened by their grandparents Paddy and Eithne Fitzpatrick in 1971, and then run by their mother, Eithne Fitzpatrick Scott-Lennon, from 2002 until she sold the business in February to her sons, both of whom are in their 30s. Mark has been general manager of the Killiney property for the past 10 years, while Joseph cut his teeth in the industry abroad, including…