Pubs we (sorta) ruined

A Disgrace

Bit of a downbeat thread, but I was talking to a barman in an ‘unamed’ Victorian pub recently about the protections afforded to its unique bar and atmosphere and he stated that there wasn’t any, and that they had often contemplated ‘doing it up’ – it got me thinking about great old Dublin pubs that have been mangled over the last 10 or so years and whether many of these should have been considered important culturally or historically and thus, protected

Off the top of my head, the following pubs have been destroyed or semi-destroyed over the last few years:

Kennedy's, Georges Quay: Had built up a great rep as a leftfield pub, with good tunes and a ‘sawdust on the floor’, rank toilets, dive-bar feel – closed due to a flood a few years ago and was tragically renovated into a hip ‘exposed brick’ lounge, swapping punk records for Café Del Mar compilations and aimed squarely at tourists. Never recovered and now closed I think

The Thomas House, Thomas Street : One of the first DJ hangouts, the Thomas House was a tiny pub, with the DJ and barman operating within the same space. It was manky, but also the sort of place that would be top of all the ‘must see’ lists if it was in NYC – closed, gutted, and expanded into an (admittedly) decent pub, but lost most of its charm in the process

Peters Pub, Johnson's Place/Stephen Street: Another tiny pub, with a loyal following. It had a brilliant wooden bar, with tankards and glasses hanging from every available space above it. Cue renovations, and the total removal and replacement of the bar, and an expansion into the building next door. Still has the quiet charm of the old pub, but sadly misses the interesting bits and bobs that made it so unique

Neds, Townsend Street: A bit like Peters, Ned’s was once a low-lit wonder stuffed with odds and ends, a death-defying stairwell to the subterranean toilets and an ‘eclectic’ clientele. Renovated in the last five years and is now home to poker machines, a lighting scheme that would give you sunburn, and a cheap pine paneled interior. Shame.

Others that had some minor work, but remained relatively the same: Whelans, Bankers, Foggy Dew Any others to join the list?

tricky D

The Foggy Dew had a load more done than minor work done. The original place was tiny until expanded some time in the 90s.

A Disgrace

tricky D wrote: »

The Foggy Dew had a load more done than minor work done. The original place was tiny until expanded some time in the 90s.

True, but the bar remains relatively the same (with the exception of the large opening they made to extend it)

tricky D

I dunno. It looks completely different to my eyes, bar and all. I must stick my head in some time to check.

A Disgrace

tricky D wrote: »

I dunno. It looks completely different to my eyes, bar and all. I must stick my head in some time to check.

Shame if so, but in fairness I barely remember the older version of it. Would be interesting to see a picture of the interior as it used to be, if one ever surfaces

loyatemu

the original Foggy Dew (or at least the version I remember from the mid-90s) was a tiny place, less than a quarter the size of the current pub (which I haven't been in for years). It was popular with goths and other alternative types IIRC.

miamee

I noticed that there is a lot of scaffolding up around O'Neills on Suffolk Street at the moment, I presume this is a case of sprucing it up rather than anything bad? Not one of my favourites but it seems to do a good trade as it is.

guile4582

Kennedys next to Tara St. station (or whatever the hell it is called now)

schemingbohemia

guile4582 wrote: »

Kennedys next to Tara St. station (or whatever the hell it is called now)

You mean the very first pub mentioned by the OP?

To be honest, I think the Thomas House still retains the old vibe and Peter's Pub isn't bad either.

I think we've kept an awful lot of decent boozers, when you think of other cities. I mean the Stag's Head, Palace, Fallons, Mulligans, Long Hall have all stayed the same, more or less, during the massive influx of money and madness that the country went through.

yabadabado

miamee wrote: »

I noticed that there is a lot of scaffolding up around O'Neills on Suffolk Street at the moment, I presume this is a case of sprucing it up rather than anything bad? Not one of my favourites but it seems to do a good trade as it is.

Just a paint job,mate of mine is working on it.

FloatingVoter

I think some of the pubs are listed buildings. The Lord Edward certainly and probably the Stags Head. The stained glass windows in the Stags are the genuine Victorian article. Both boozers are far older than Victorian but that was the last time either saw a major refit.
People of a certain age will remember that the bar in the Stags Head was originally a lot longer - it got downsized in the 70s to make more floorspace. Those were the days when knocking down streets of Georgian buildings to make way for lego buildings seemed a good idea.

boombang

A Disgrace wrote: »

Kennedy's, Georges Quay

Couldn't agree more regarding Kennedy's. Used to really enjoy this place. It should have had a preservation order put on it. It was such a nice spot previously.

Even before the changes I had a sense of impending doom that something terrible was going to happen. The bar was run by a father and son team as far as I could tell. I think the father had it the way he liked it. He was smartly dressed with a neat jumper and tie, while he son clearly was a bit more relaxed. We thought there would be changes when the older man left running to his son. Things turned out even worse than I expected.

I remember one great evening there. The place was so gently quiet except for this one dickhead who was there by himself waiting for his mates to arrive. Not content to wait quietly he started yakking loudly to those around him for the sake of his own entertainment, clearly to the annoyance of the quiet patrons. A few loud phone calls to his mates who weren't turning up were made. Finally, halfway through one obnoxious call the penny dropped with him that they were all in Kennedy's on Westland Row and he was in the wrong place. It was to the visible satisfaction of the other customers when the loud mouth left the place with his tail between his legs.

TrueDub

To me the biggest tragedy was the loss of the Norseman, in Temple Bar (last time I looked it was called Farringtons).

An old-fashioned wooden bar, with small tables, a snug and a general air of timelessness, they closed it, renamed it and ripped out the inside. It was replaced with pine, they knocked through to next door and changed a pub full of character to a standard Temple Bar tourist trap.

guile4582

boombang wrote: »

Couldn't agree more regarding Kennedy's. Used to really enjoy this place. It should have had a preservation order put on it. It was such a nice spot previously.

Even before the changes I had a sense of impending doom that something terrible was going to happen. The bar was run by a father and son team as far as I could tell. I think the father had it the way he liked it. He was smartly dressed with a neat jumper and tie, while he son clearly was a bit more relaxed. We thought there would be changes when the older man left running to his son. Things turned out even worse than I expected.

I remember one great evening there. The place was so gently quiet except for this one dickhead who was there by himself waiting for his mates to arrive. Not content to wait quietly he started yakking loudly to those around him for the sake of his own entertainment, clearly to the annoyance of the quiet patrons. A few loud phone calls to his mates who weren't turning up were made. Finally, halfway through one obnoxious call the penny dropped with him that they were all in Kennedy's on Westland Row and he was in the wrong place. It was to the visible satisfaction of the other customers when the loud mouth left the place with his tail between his legs.

myself and a mate used to meet there every few months, have a nice catch up and be treated to some nice Bob Dylan and such by the barman. this is pre hipster era too. was such a great place. the place was never empty but was nicely quiet as previous poster says

tricky D

FloatingVoter wrote: »

People of a certain age will remember that the bar in the Stags Head was originally a lot longer - it got downsized in the 70s to make more floorspace. Those were the days when knocking down streets of Georgian buildings to make way for lego buildings seemed a good idea.

I think there also used to be a curved glass cowl hanging from the wall over the till at the middle of the bar. Saw it in some old photo.

Also it's the location for a scene in Shake Hands with the Devil (1959 w James Cagney).

Starts at 9.25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zWTl8N9JHo

Granted it's a much better place now, but I lament all the changes made to Whelans in the last ten years.

anncoates

loyatemu wrote: »

the original Foggy Dew (or at least the version I remember from the mid-90s) was a tiny place, less than a quarter the size of the current pub (which I haven't been in for years). It was popular with goths and other alternative types IIRC.

Manky jacks though

+1 for the Norseman. The old bar was basically the part with the big windows facing out although the windows were either covered or just a wall back then IIRC.

Also the White Horse on Burgh Quay.

Sebastian Dangerfield

TrueDub wrote: »

To me the biggest tragedy was the loss of the Norseman, in Temple Bar (last time I looked it was called Farringtons).

An old-fashioned wooden bar, with small tables, a snug and a general air of timelessness, they closed it, renamed it and ripped out the inside. It was replaced with pine, they knocked through to next door and changed a pub full of character to a standard Temple Bar tourist trap.

Its called The Norseman again now; it was rebranded a few months back. Its Farringtons in all but name though, expensive as fcuk too

Birneybau

TrueDub wrote: »

To me the biggest tragedy was the loss of the Norseman, in Temple Bar (last time I looked it was called Farringtons).

An old-fashioned wooden bar, with small tables, a snug and a general air of timelessness, they closed it, renamed it and ripped out the inside. It was replaced with pine, they knocked through to next door and changed a pub full of character to a standard Temple Bar tourist trap.

Called the Norseman again (never knew it had also previously gone by that name). Craft beer pub now.

anncoates

Birneybau wrote: »

Craft beer pub now.

Not anymore unfortunately. About the only reason I ever went to it these days.

Birneybau

anncoates wrote: »

Not anymore unfortunately. About the only reason I ever went to it these days.

Jeez, I thought that was their u.s.p.

Lovely Bloke

Birneybau wrote: »

Called the Norseman again (never knew it had also previously gone by that name). Craft beer pub now.

anncoates wrote: »

Not anymore unfortunately. About the only reason I ever went to it these days.

Birneybau wrote: »

Jeez, I thought that was their u.s.p.

It was until they were offered money and free kegs of beer to take out the craft and go back to Macro

Used to love that place.

Pepe LeFrits

I used to work in the area and I felt Kennedys becoming the Workshop was good for the area. There are still good, traditional boozers in the area like Mulligans, but there isn't really anything else like the Workshop nearby. It's well decorated and intimate, the food and beer are good and the staff are very friendly. I don't miss Kennedys.

MrWalsh

anncoates wrote: »

Also the White Horse on Burgh Quay.

The old White Horse was fantastic! I remember heading into it early one morning and ending up in a session with some Love/Hate types and a bunch of nurses celebrating something. I was only in my early 20s at the time, after a few early morning pints I fell out and treated myself to breakfast in McDonalds on Grafton St - classy!!

Its awful now, or at least it was after they renovated it - all faux swanky and elevator music.

guile4582

anncoates wrote: »

Manky jacks though

.

they need to sort out the jacks in Anseo

guile4582

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

I used to work in the area and I felt Kennedys becoming the Workshop was good for the area. There are still good, traditional boozers in the area like Mulligans, but there isn't really anything else like the Workshop nearby. It's well decorated and intimate, the food and beer are good and the staff are very friendly. I don't miss Kennedys.

too many people in Mulligans these days haha

I wouldn't begrudge them the success, but puts me off a bit now.

Kennedys was stone cold class, proper vibe that most hipster pubs now try to create and overkill

fleet_admiral

The Bachelor Inn. I remember my granda bringing me in for crackers and cheese and up until a few years ago I used to go myself after he passed away.
Then they (I think Fitzgerald took it) changed it and a proper old Dublin pub was lost

Edit: Does anyone here know French's bar in Gorey? I wonder if there are any pubs like that in Dublin

Lovely Bloke

Campions recently closed down, but it was a real pub. Large bottles of guinness on the shelf, and a little shop for bread, milk, tea and pink snacks.

A Disgrace

fleet_admiral wrote: »

The Bachelor Inn. I remember my granda bringing me in for crackers and cheese and up until a few years ago I used to go myself after he passed away.
Then they (I think Fitzgerald took it) changed it and a proper old Dublin pub was lost

Yeah, was going to add that to the list – it’s a horrific sight now, filled with TV’s and way too bright lighting – was a classic old-man pub up until very recently

The Ha’penny Inn and Flowing Tide both had renovations in the last 10 or so years – anyone recall what they were like beforehand? I think the changes are only minor??

MrWalsh

The Wexford Inn before it became hipster central was a great spot.

And theres a place on Wexford St now called Against the Grain that used to be a real spit and sawdust joint 20 years ago. I remember being at a do upstairs in it and the floor was actually sagging in the centre - the old elf and safety was pretty lax!

A Disgrace

schemingbohemia wrote: »

You mean the very first pub mentioned by the OP?

To be honest, I think the Thomas House still retains the old vibe and Peter's Pub isn't bad either.

I think we've kept an awful lot of decent boozers, when you think of other cities. I mean the Stag's Head, Palace, Fallons, Mulligans, Long Hall have all stayed the same, more or less, during the massive influx of money and madness that the country went through.

My original post alluded to pubs like these – how protected are they really?

I mean, the exteriors are listed in most cases, but I’d argue that the interiors are of more importance. I was in the Lord Edward last night as it happens, bar and upstairs lounge, and it really is a time capsule – from the ridiculously old prints on the walls, the rickety stairs, the tiny upstairs bar and the magnificent marble bar downstairs, to the plasterwork and the upholstery, and the ceiling beams etc etc– even the newspaper clippings of reviews etc are from the 1960’s – it’s an absolute gem. But I don’t think there’s anything to stop a future owner from ripping the interiors out and doing what they like. And I think the same applies to the likes of Grogans, The International, Neary’s