This substantial premises was once a railway hotel, as Burtonport was the terminus of the Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension Railway of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway. It is still quite an imposing structure for a small village to have:
Pub 4, the old railway hotel, apparently should be open. It isn't. My ferry goes from here anyway so I'll be hanging around waiting regardless pic.twitter.com/TPW6aPZKiE
— Cian Duffy (@cian_duffy) June 18, 2024
(this photo looks quite dark because it was actually incredibly bright, despite the clouds, which was overloading the camera sensor - it just wasn't very warm!)
But it doesn't have the same effect as when it had the ornate pediment that it once had, as seen when captured in the Lawrence Collection.
The bar and lounge occupy pretty much the entire ground floor, and while I think I can remember a different layout - possibly more snug-like in the lounge - from when I was a kid; it has been recently renovated in part so this may have changed recently enough.
When I turned up, the bar was not actually open; but the owner turned up shortly after; and within an hour was replaced behind the bar by the afternoon shift staff member - presumably he decides whether to bother on quiet days, and it was indeed a very quiet day; with just me and one other customer there during the time he was solo on the bar. That owner is the fourth generation of his family to run this pub; having had it since its first days as a hotel.
The wooden pods visible outside in my photo are seen all across this part of Donegal, a standard addition during the pandemic outdoor service era and possibly subvented by the council or another body. They have stood up quite well to the harsh weather conditions in this area.
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