O’Donoghue’s Pub (also known as O'Donoghue's Bar) is a historically significant drinking establishment located at 15 Merrion Row, Dublin 2, Ireland—near St. Stephen's Green on

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

’s south side. Built in 1789 as a grocery store, it began operating full-time as a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

when purchased by the O’Donoghue family in 1934.

History

This pub is closely associated with

Irish traditional music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

and was where the popular Irish folk group,

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-ye ...

, began performing in the early 1960s. Many other notable Irish musicians—including

Séamus Ennis Séamus Ennis ( ga, Séamas Mac Aonghusa; 5 May 1919 – 5 October 1982) was an Irish musician, singer and Irish music collector. He was most noted for his uilleann pipe playing and was partly responsible for the revival of the instrument duri ...

Joe Heaney Joe Heaney (AKA Joe Éinniú; Irish: Seosamh Ó hÉanaí) (1 October 1919 – 1 May 1984) was an Irish traditional ( sean nós) singer from County Galway, Ireland. He spent most of his adult life abroad, living in England, Scotland and New York ...

, Andy Irvine,

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

The Fureys The Fureys are an Irish folk band originally formed in 1974. The group consisted initially of four brothers who grew up in Ballyfermot, Dublin. Brothers Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George Furey are of Irish Traveller heritage. Two of the band's s ...

and Phil Lynott—have played at O’Donoghue’s, and their photographs are displayed in the pub. Included are portraits of The Dubliners themselves: the five founding members

Ronnie Drew Joseph Ronald Drew (16 September 1934 – 16 August 2008) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor who achieved international fame during a fifty-year career recording with The Dubliners. He is most recognised for his lead vocals on the si ...

Luke Kelly Luke Kelly (17 November 1940 – 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become i ...

Ciarán Bourke Ciarán Bourke (18 February 1935 – 10 May 1988) was an Irish musician and one of the original founding members of the Irish folk band The Dubliners. Early life Ciarán Bourke was born in Dublin on 18 February 1935, but lived most of his life ...

John Sheahan John Sheahan (born 19 May 1939) is an Irish musician and composer. He joined The Dubliners in 1964 and played with them until 2012 when The Dubliners' name was retired following the death of founding member Barney McKenna. Early years and m ...

and Barney McKenna, as well as later members

Eamonn Campbell Eamonn Campbell (29 November 1946 – 18 October 2017) was an Irish musician who was a member of The Dubliners from 1987 until his death. He was also in the Dubliners when they recorded their 25th anniversary show on '' The Late Late Show'' hos ...

and

Seán Cannon Seán Cannon (born 29 November 1940 in Galway) is an Irish musician. Since 1982 he has been a guitarist for The Dubliners and their follow-up-band The Dublin Legends. Early life Seán Cannon was born in Galway, Ireland. He travelled around Europ ...

; these photographs hang to the right of the entrance, where the nightly sessions are played. Andy Irvine wrote the tribute song "O'Donoghue's", in which he reminisces about his early days in Dublin—when he first started frequenting the pub in August 1962. The song was released on the album '' Changing Trains'' (2007). Dessie Hynes from Longford bought the bar from Paddy and Maureen O'Donoghue in 1977 and ran the pub with his family for 11 years. In 1988, O’Donoghue’s was purchased by publicans Oliver Barden and John Mahon. Barden is still the proprietor and continues to run the pub with his family and staff to this day.

References

{{Reflist

External links

O'Donoghue's Pub Website
Pubs in Dublin (city) The Dubliners

History

See also

References

External links