Though the former Irvin Hotel stands vacant and unused, there is such an overwhelming demand for housing as a result of the oil boom in the second decade of the twenty-first century that it is a viable candidate for rehabilitation. Originally offering fifteen rooms alongside the GN tracks and just off the town square, the three-story brick Irvin was a full-service hotel with restaurant until the 1960s. The building stands on a sloping site and the slope is accentuated by a darker-colored brick base. The cornice line and parapets are modestly ornamented in a simplified crenellated motif. In its heyday the hotel served, among others, United Commercial Travelers (UCT salespersons) visiting Kenmare by passenger train with suitcases of sales goods to offer local merchants.