O'Neill's is an
Irish-themed pub chain with 49 outlets in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. The chain is operated by
Mitchells & Butlers, one of the largest
pub companies in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. O'Neill's pubs are located in Great Britain only: the chain have no pubs in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, the only part of the UK where the O'Neill's chain does not operate.
The chain's focus is on Irish music, an Irish inspired food menu and Irish drinks such as Guinness, Jameson and Baileys.
History
The first O'Neill's was opened in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
in 1994 by
Bass, the largest pub company in the UK at the time.
A second O'Neill's opened at
Covent Garden in 1995. By 1996, there were 52 and it was Bass's most successful pub chain. By 1996, Bass was opening more than one a month, and had spent £40 million on the pub chain. Ten opened in September 1996 alone. Bass owned Caffrey's ale, which was launched by the company around the same time as O'Neill's. By late 1996, Bass was opening a branch of O'Neill's every week.
By the end of 1997, Bass had over 250 Irish-themed pubs. Bass acquired the 40-strong Scruffy Murphy's Irish pub chain from
Allied Domecq in 1999.
By June 2003, Mitchells and Butlers had 91 O'Neill's.
From 2012, M&B began to rebrand some locations as "O'Neill's Irish Pub & Kitchen". By 2013, the chain's estate had reduced to 49 public houses.
Operation
The pubs specialise in Irish
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
,
food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...
and drinks, especially
Guinness,
Smithwick's (for which it has exclusive rights in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
), and, until early 2013,
Caffrey's Irish Ale. On
St. Patrick's Day, they sell over 71,000 pints of Guinness.
Sutton, London
Sutton is a town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough, on the lower slopes of the North Downs. It is south-southwest of Charing Cross, one of the fourteen ...
O'Neills Pub 2.jpg, O'Neill's on Hannover Street in Liverpool
O'Neills in Cannon Street - geograph.org.uk - 881730.jpg, O'Neill's on Cannon Street in the City of London
27-29 East St Bromley .jpg, O'Neill's in Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
See also
*
List of Irish restaurants
References
External links
O'NeillsMitchells & Butlers*
{{UK Food
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Irish restaurants
Mitchells & Butlers
Pub chains
Restaurants established in 1994