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
St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by Ar ...
on
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
’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 in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
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 Folk music of Ireland, 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 pers ...
, began performing in the early 1960s.
Many other notable Irish musicians including
Séamus Ennis,
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 Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. He spent most of his adult life abroad, living in England, Scotland an ...
,
Andy Irvine,
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...
,
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 ...
and
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...
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,
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 ...
,
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 and
Barney McKenna
Bernard Noël "Banjo Barney" McKenna (16 December 1939 – 5 April 2012) was an Irish musician and a founding member of The Dubliners. He played the tenor banjo, violin, mandolin, and melodeon. He was most renowned as a banjo player.
Biograp ...
, as well as later members
Eamonn Campbell and
Seán Cannon; 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.
See also
*
List of pubs in Dublin
References
{{Reflist
External links
O'Donoghue's Pub Website
Pubs in Dublin (city)
The Dubliners