Ireland-born Shaun McGrath, 61, came to Guyana in 1989 on a two-year contract with the former owner of the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown. He has since co-founded the Cara Hotels group, a small chain of heritage hotels in Guyana and the Caribbean, and has made an indelible mark in the local hospitality and tourism sectors as a hotelier, restaurateur and tour operator.
“Two years became four years, four years became five years and then (co-founder of Cara Hotels and retired hotelier) Paul Stephenson and I were supposed to be transferred from Guyana and we decided we were going to quit at Forte, so we set up the Cara Hotels in Guyana,” McGrath told Stabroek Weekend.
“I fell in love with Guyana. I fell in love with a Guyanese woman, got married and the rest in history. My contract with Guyana is now 33 years and counting.”
