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The Lowdown
Cork is situated in one of the world’s finest natural harbours. Suburbs and towns sprawl around the various sounds and inlets as the Lee flows into Lough Mahon and out into the Irish sea. All around the city, hills slope down towards it core, making Cork appear a vast place if you’re atop any of its grand vantage points. Due to Corkonians long history of resisting British rule, they earned the moniker “Rebel County”, a name first given to it by Henry II, now worn as a badge of pride.
Cork’s pub scene is pound for pound near the best in Europe. We could have done this tour three times over using completely different venues and still been happy to recommend them all.
Nightlife is situated mainly in two areas. First of all, along and around Plunkett street with several lanes shooting off from it to explore, Crane Lane a particular hotspot. Secondly, on the north bank along MacCurtain Street west to St Mary’s church. Busy, lively, offering healthy mixture of provincial power and charm with a cosmopolitan sensibility. In minutes you can be sat at a gloriously unreconstructed family-run old boozer, while hopping off to a high concept cocktail bar. Central and nearby breweries improve the selection of beers which in most places has moved past the basic stouts, lagers, gins and whiskies, with some specialist stuff alongside independent names featuring. In a few rare cases the trinity of Beamish/Guinness/Murphy’s is left out altogether, in something of a deliberate statement.
Central Cork is not cheap, but you may notice it doesn’t take long out of the centre before the prices start plummeting to attract locals.
Don’t worry about finding somewhere early or late. Though Cork’s famous “earlies” have mostly bitten the dust (with Covid the final swing of the scythe), there are good options even from late morning all days of the week, while at the other end of the candle, you can be out til 2-3am most nights somewhere nice. Cork’s pubs are starting to expand their outdoor areas, many making investments around 2021-2022 to expand their capacity. There are some nice courtyard areas around if you prefer al fresco drinking.
With so many high quality pubs in reach, the welcome introduction of higher quality products, and a variety that is benefiting from a modern touch and in some cases a female sensibility for a change, Cork genuinely occupies among the very finest selections you’ll find in Europe for a city of its size.
The Route Map:
Apologies for the zig-zagging this time, it doesn’t make for an elegant looking map. However, it looks that way for good reason. Firstly, none of these venues are far away. A compact city centre means very little walking to and from each place. Secondly, timing. The opening hours of each place are vastly different, from Welcome Inn’s 7am start to Callanan’s evening opening and Arthur Mayne’s last thing at night closing. If you follow the route you can hopefully appreciate each venue at a good time of day that shows it off.
Shall we begin?
Stop #1 is Welcome Inn 🇮🇪
24 Parnell Place
One of the remaining “earlies”, in the 1970s Cork boasted 33 public houses that opened up at 7am onwards, usually supplying drink to dockworkers. These days, the opening time here remains 7am. Morning drinking has taken on a lurid, almost taboo reputation in modern times, but the rhythms of a city have to include all who dwell within in it. The Welcome Inn are proud of their hours and are not shy of acknowledging that, as a result, they host a few colourful characters. It would be a disservice to define the pub only around this aspect, but it’s important to know before visiting.
The Welcome Inn has a classic “drop-in” feel. As soon as you walk through the doors you feel at the heart of everything. The fire is crackling, the telly is on, the regulars in front of you are quipping, and a host of customers are gathered, standing around the bar. As you look around, the sight of Cork’s heritage is pinned to the walls of the bar. On a busy weekend it’s a vibrant sight and gladdens our hearts to see a mixture of people from different ages and class enjoying the place.
Live music performances are regularly hosted, a small corner seating area transformed into a stage. While this is the city centre (so don’t expect miracles) there are some decent value drinks to be found here. Although the beer selection is familiar and firmly traditional, there are some decent whiskies to be spied, including some rarities and antiques, they say.
Despite some exceptionally strong competition in the city, the Welcome Inn still qualifies as a true standout and for sheer versatility as the answer to the question “where next?”
Don’t be shy on your visit, get involved in the crowd and you’ll find you get the most out of it.
We leave the pub and head north across the River Lee via Marys Elmes bridge to MacCurtain Street. Once Cork’s grand high Victorian thoroughfare, you’ll find many listed buildings along the route, and some flash hotels that hark back to that era. There are a few frontages with distinctive features to admire.
Stop #2 is Dan Lowrey’s 🇮🇪
13 MacCurtain Street
When we’re explaining what makes a good pub, sometimes it’s tempting to sum it up with: “it’s just got it.”
Dan Lowrey’s pub is a such a place, both a humble boozer and something of a work of art with its wood panel fittings, stained glass windows (rumoured to be from Kilkenny Cathedral) and ornate bar cabinet. These finer elements are twinned with a humble, cosy lounge comfort, meaning that even for a pub facing a busy street, you feel like you’re quite detached from that, warm and cosseted within a characterful old wooden vessel.
A one-room pub with a space to the rear with a fireplace, you can’t really go wrong with where to sit, apart from perhaps a couple of favourite regulars perches at the bar.
Service is friendly and we were impressed to be offered “…the usual?” even on a second visit. Dan Lowrey’s offers some classics twinned with a few modern options from Franciscan Well brewery.
Whiskies are also pretty good here, and they make a point of offering hot whiskies. If you want something to eat, the toaster is standing by. A TV for sport and backing soundtrack manage to not be too intrusive.
As you sink back in your seat you can soak up the experience of being a pub so cosy and welcoming you won’t want to leave, but when eventually the times comes, one you’d happily return to forever.
Here is where the zig-zagging begins. Cross back over the Lee south down the curving St Patrick’s St, Cork’s main central thoroughfare. With its plazas and famous English market, it’s a good excuse to sightsee and maybe pick up a bite to eat from one of the market stalls. Exit onto Plunkett Street and head west past the city walls, Library and National Monument to our next stop.
Stop #3 is The Oval 🇮🇪
25 S Main Street
A 200+ year old building, reconstructed in 1918 by Beamish & Crawford, The Oval is Cork’s most flamboyant pub. An oval ceiling as you look up from the entrance seems to inform the bar, seating and rooms that peel off around it. Both elegant and distinctive, with a sense of age to it.
On entry, candlelight even during the day gives it a moody feel. Particularly at the back towards the fire you could easily allow hours to pass as you get comfortable in one of the niches.
The place is very lively on Fridays and weekends though, events posters and an alternative music soundtrack pointing to this not just being a fusty old museum piece but a relevant venue, something underpinned by its range of Rising Sons Brewery beers.
Part of the suspiciously incomplete Cork Heritage Pubs trail, all of which are owned by the same operation, but that aside, they do a good job. This is a business that allows each venue to speak for itself, much to their credit. The Oval is a must-see, but popular with it. Pick your moment carefully on weekends and evenings to be assured of a seat.
Head North as you exit The Oval and walk up Main Street, one of Cork’s most historically important. Our next stop is something traditional, yet very different from the pubs we’ve entered so far.
Stop #4 is The Castle Inn 🇮🇪
99 S Main St
Three generations of the same family have run The Castle since the 1930s, the pub itself operating since the 1870s. It won’t surprise you to learn then that this is a kind of old-school establishment.
It’s important to not let all discussions of traditional pubs fall into the same bracket though, for this is not a traditional pub in the way Sin é 🇮🇪 is, or the way the Abbey 🇮🇪 is, or in the way the Hi-B 🇮🇪 is. Each of them have their own take, informed by the eras they were created then the ones they survived. Different spaces and formats.
The Castle Inn is super basic and simple, a drop in bar area to perch at the bar or on a bench, sip your pint and shoot the breeze. They like to think of it as a country pub in the city. You can kind of see why.
The owner’s parents Denis and Mary live above the bar, and are often working behind it.
With open fires, a snug, sport on TV (thankfully a small one) this is one pub perhaps above all else where you can really feel dialled in to the events of the city. They also appear to sell snuff. That’s the flavour of this place. By its very nature it isn’t going to be everyone’s sort of thing, but for those of us who it is, it’s an unmissable pub in Cork.
As afternoon is sliding into evening, we’re heading to another essential stop. Backtrack south past The Oval, and towards the south spit of the Lee and National monument. Follow the river East until Parliament Bridge, and you’ll spot the next venue on the corner directly facing the bridge.
Stop #5 is Callanan’s Bar 🇮🇪
24 George’s Quay
Callanan’s opening hours have disappointed a fair few people who failed to do their research in advance so bear that in mind before setting off for the pub.
A late bar, their sole purpose (and a fine purpose it is too) is to provide space to turn up for a drink and a chat. No TV or loud music, but the atmosphere in the pub more than makes up for that.
A compact little boozer with an unreconstructed exterior and interior, typical of old Irish boozers. The signage will be familiar to those who lived through the 1960s, though the building itself was built in 1760. You’ll find a snug to the right of the entrance, and a narrow pub fitted in wood-panelling painted cream and red gloss. Curtains shield the view from the outside, giving it a nice clandestine feel inside.
The atmosphere has the odd knack of feeling like its a special occasion even when it’s just another night, which is one of the better compliments you can pay a pub. Reputedly owned by the same family since 1935, there’s a sense of continuity as you sit (or stand) among a crowd spanning the generations.
Known for its uncanny pricing too, with Beamish weighing in at a fraction of the cost of most pubs only 5 minutes walk away. They aren’t shy of shouting about it either, and fair play to them.
A sensitive renovation project is ongoing to help Callanan’s persevere into the future.
Across Ireland you’ll see many pubs with similar frontage to this which are long gone or close to disappearing, but this place provides a blueprint for survival, how to carry the best of the old into the modern day.
Stop #6 is The Abbot’s Ale House 🇮🇪
17 Devonshire St
Aiming to be both a beer specialists and legit traditional pub. Though established in 2008, careful curation of antiques and nik-naks along with choice of furnishings gives the place a hard to place feel in time.
Well respected for its enormous bottle selection, with ten rotating taps including beers from smaller and/or independent craft beer breweries in Ireland. If you’re looking to shop local, here’s the place to do it.
Service can be occasionally gruff (only by Irish standards) but functions, while the pub itself plays host to occasional antiques fayres, more frequent music nights, and board game get-togethers, making it feel as important a social hub as any other pub in the city, which is to its great credit. Evening atmosphere is superb.
Other than some steep pricing and occasional need for additional heating at times on colder days, everything else about the bar is pretty damn fantastic.
The evenings is taking on its colours and flavours now, no doubt, so the next two venues have been kept with that in mind. Live music should be experienced while in Cork and there are no shortage of venues to tap into that cultural seam. Some events are informal and impromptu but at other venues like the below and next door Corner House 🇮🇪 where you can almost guarantee it.
Stop #7 is Sin é 🇮🇪
8 Coburg St
Meaning “That’s it”, in reference to next door’s funeral parlour, Sin é, dating from 1889 is among Cork’s institutions. Their connection with Irish folk and the live music scene in the city has survived the sways of trends and fashion, remaining a firm fixture 7 nights a week.
To visit on a busy music night is to experience a concentrated shot of culture, that comes as naturally to the musicians and loyal patrons as extending your arm, but will definitely make an impact as an outsider.
It’s important to also state that it’s just as much a social meeting place, and outside of performances Sin é functions as a pub well, more than capable.
Owned by the Rising Sons Brewery who have established the ‘Cork Heritage Pubs’ tour, you’ll find some beers not normally seen on the taps at Irish pubs, with the usual classics too.
The interior is a bunker decorated from head to toe in its decades of memories. Sitting down even on a quiet lunchtime is to become immersed in the pub and its role in the city, making it truly special.
Sin é has two floors, and the first floor is quite different to ground level. Still characterful, but lighter and almost like being in a different place. It had been used as a barbers.
Fame and history mean this one has a bigger reputation and is more sought after – something its pricing seems to have noted too. Nevertheless, it’s a bonafide classic.
Stop #8 is Arthur Mayne’s Pharmacy 🇮🇪
7 Pembroke St
And finally…
Arthur Mayne’s and the Crane Lane Theatre area, a network of connected venues is the obvious place to end a night out. Obvious in the sense most other people have the same idea, but also because there’s merit to the idea.
A chemists converted into a bar, Arthur Mayne’s is the kind of bar Cork needed, added variety and a modern touch, all the while tastefully and in a historic building. Late opening, with wine on the ground floor, cocktails upstairs and a rear exit onto Crane Lane, it very much feels like its own ecosystem, therefore something a bit special.
Versatile with long opening hours, it’ll often be the on the tip of your tongue as you’re asked “where next?”
Often busy, but be sure to do a full sweep as there can often be free seats in the less visible areas.
Should any of the above 8 venues be closed or full we have a series of recommended backup venues for you!
Other recommendations:
The Hi-B 🇮🇪
Quirky 1st floor heritage pub notorious for its “phones away” policy an informality. As much of a Cork institution as any of the above, and a real pain to have to drop from the main 8. Try and get here if you can.
Mutton Lane 🇮🇪
A funkified pub which will suit those who enjoy traditional surroundings with a bit of modern flair added, including better beers from Rising Sons brewery.
The Blackman Bar 🇮🇪
Hardly walkable, but a bus ride to Dublin Pike doesn’t take long, and the reward at the end is a supremely cosy roadside tavern that straddles city gossip with the fringes of country life.
Dennehy’s 🇮🇪
A locally famous evening pub, family-run with historic connections and colourful characters. Minimalist with little distraction from drink and good craic.
An Spailpín Fánach 🇮🇪
Live music venue, a spacious but still rickety and charming pub aiming to tap in to old world charm, with a few decent drinks added to the usual familiar roster.
The Abbey Tavern 🇮🇪
A smart, versatile pub drawing in a mixed crowd.
Coughlan’s 🇮🇪
Live music and comedy is the focus here, although gin fans will drool over their enormous selection.
Bierhaus 🇮🇪
Beer specialists with a range to match anywhere in the city. A mid-00s interior could use a refresh but you’ll be hog’s heaven sampling their beers and whiskies.
The Corner House 🇮🇪
Live music, live music and more live music. This is the place to be for an evening gig, but kudos for the broad selection of decent drinks to enjoy while you listen.
Fionnbarra 🇮🇪
One of the increasing number of Cork pubs with large covered outdoor areas. A strong drinks selection, pizza oven and garden lounging makes this a worthy all-rounder.
Maureen’s 🇮🇪
One of the more intriguing venues in Cork. Transformed from a more traditional boozer with a new feminine touch. It hasn’t lost any of the homely, lounge charm, but personal service, a bell for entry and a roster of drinks which includes none of the ubiquitous macro stouts tells of an operation trying to do something different.
Interested in more Irish bars?
Head over to our Ireland 🇮🇪 page!