The firm labelled the recruitment of Ms O’Neill as a ‘pivotal’ move for the company, which has 30 hotels and five holiday resorts across the UK.

Ms O’Neill’s appointment follows Macdonald Hotels & Resorts job cutting spree in June, as the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the hospitality and tourism sector. The firm let go of 571 members of staff out of the 2,229 people it employed.

Ms O’Neill arrives follows the retirement of long-serving managing director Gordon Fraser, who announced he would be leaving the firm at the start of this year. Mr Fraser has remained with the business to help guide it through the challenges brought by the pandemic and secure a further COVIDd-19 facility with Lloyds Banking Group.

Ms O’Neill worked in professional practice in Ireland and the UK with Arthur Andersen and KPMG, before moving into the hospitality sector. She has held senior roles with Luminar Leisure and Jamie’s Italian, where she served on the board for several years.

Most recently, Ms O’Neill was chief executive of Avoca, a leading retail and hospitality brand in Ireland, The Herald reports.

Commenting on her appointment, she said: “The enormous impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality sector underlines the challenges which face us in the months and years ahead, but I believe the Macdonald portfolio of assets represents a unique and exciting opportunity to capitalise on the changing face of the hospitality sector and the evolving needs of our customers.”

Donald Macdonald, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts founder, added: “This is a pivotal appointment at an extremely important time for the group. I am very confident that, in Tara, we have recruited someone who can provide the necessary leadership and ambition to help us build upon the very solid foundations which Gordon has helped to create over many years.

“During the recruitment process, Tara impressed everyone involved with her vision for the group, and her track record gives us real confidence that the business will continue to prosper and grow, despite the obvious current challenges which COVID-19 has brought to our industry.”