There's already been writing about the looming (we know of more threatened ones than currently open ones - Temple Bar aside) threat of "Irish Bars" of abroad invading Dublin; so I'm not going to rehash that. Instead, I'm going to do the thing that makes up 90% of the traffic here - a borderline listicle!
There is a growing trend of what can only really be described as Irish bar chains "from" outside Ireland purchasing pubs in Dublin and converting them to their format. The added implausibility quotes around "from" is important, because some of these chains started in Ireland or even started *in Dublin* in the first place, but are better known for their properties abroad, or primarily do business abroad.
McGettigan Group
The McGettigan Group's first premises was N0214 McGettigans on Queen Street; so are they a Dublin chain?
Well, I decide what goes here, so no - they are a Middle East via Donegal group in my eyes. And their format is quite unoffensive, from the two (Dublin and Bray) that I've been to.
Over time, the group structure has changed and there is now the McGettigans bar brand and the McGettigan Hotels group; with the bar brand now available as a franchise.
There are 12 McGettigan's Irish Bars in the Middle East, one in London and a number around Ireland including one in Dublin - which is not the Queen Street branch. It still exists, they still own it, but it doesn't match the branding.
The one in Dublin is sited inside of their hotels - 10010900 Bonnington Hotel in Whitehall; with their other Dublin hotels, The Address Citywest and The Address Connolly - the former 1002557 North Star Hotel not having the branded bars.
McCafferty Group
Another Middle East via Donegal setup, McCaffertys started in Donegal and now have a handful of bars in Donegal, another handful in the Middle East, some in the UK and some in Spain. And one in Dublin - S0202 The Barge. Their website does not list all their current pubs at this moment, with The Barge and at least one in Donegal being missing.
The interiors of the McCafferty's pubs, with their "Sonny McSwines Bar" branding, is twee but not offensively so - there's been a lot of greebling purchased from the pub interiors companies, with things like old phone boxes as part of the interior design and shelfs of nicknacks.
Ma Nolans
This one is at the rumour stage, but apparently this French chain of Irish Bars - which look, well, acceptable from their website - are going to purchase the Bachelor Inn, which has not traded since March 2020.
Historic
Some chains have been here before, but aren't anymore
Biddy Mulligans Old Ale & Stout House
This one is barely a chain, but was probably the most egregious.
Damien Smyth, a controversial London based publican and his UK based The Irish Coffee Company Limited, purchased N1099 Sackville Lounge and rebranded it as Biddy Mulligans; with the Biddy Mulligans website strongly suggesting this this is to be a new brand exercise for pubs and drinks.
The pub lasted a few months before closing, and is now going to revert to its original name under new owners.
Bennigans
The American based "steaks and ale" Irish bar chain Bennigans had an Irish franchiser from 2005-8, with two branches - one in Dundrum, one in Cork. These closed in 2009, but had already dropped their franchise and renamed to Brannigans.
I cannot trace what their unit in Dundrum became - unit codes are cryptic at the best of times, and it's a shopping centre I rarely visit. So "CSA 1M3" doesn't mean much; and only otherwise turns up referencing a Chinese buffet that was shut in 2011 for food safety violations.
I know that it was in the cinema structure, along the definitely pub licenced TGI Fridays, now S4354 Fujiyama; but beyond that... the Dundrum website of the era was obnoxiously Flash based, in an era when broadband was rare; and it closed before my oldest licence register.
So I'm assuming these were pub licenced because, well, they really had to be if they were anything like an actual Bennigans. But they definitely count as a case of an "Irish bar" being reimported to Ireland in any case.
O'Reillys
Sharing only the name now, S3132 O'Reillys in the bowels of Tara Street DART station was part of the still remaining O'Reillys chain of pubs in continental Europe at the time of opening in 1994.
Scruffy Murphys
The long-closed 1011470 Scruffy Murphys in Powers Court inspired the name of the long defunct Scruffy Murphys Irish bar chain in the UK, run by the drinks group Allied Domecq. However, in 1995, they bought the original Irish premises that they had sort-of cloned.
Allied sold the chain to Bass in 1999, who at least partially integrated it with their existing Irish pub chain, O'Neills.
The Dublin Scruffy Murphys was sold back to local ownership.
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