Landmark Kingscourt bar back in business

The iconic Gartlan’s Bar in the town of Kingscourt, complete with a magnificent newly-thatched roof, is back in business. This quintessential Irish Pub attracted visitors from far off Denver in Colorado, days after the premises was officially opened on Saturday, July 3, by the president of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, Anne Finnegan.

With Padraig and Sheila Smith at the helm, the landmark pub, which is already making it big on social media, can be traced back to its origins as a thatched cottage in the mid 17th century, when the town was built.
Gartlan’s Bar owes its origins to the late George Gartlan who reportedly acquired the lease on the cottage in 1911. Over the century-plus that followed, the building established itself as the quintessential Irish bar.
“It is reckoned that George Gartlan learned his trade in New York at Smith’s of 14th Street and they are my ancestors,” said Padraig proudly of the link. With Padraig’s origins on the Lough an Leagh mountain and Sheila’s roots in Balloughly, the Smiths are well aware of Gartlan’s significance to Kingscourt.

Refurbishment programme
The refurbishment work at the premises went on for a period of around 18 months but its old-world charm remains entact inside. “It is a great feeling to have reached this point where the pub was officially opened again. We got great support from our families and the people of Kingscourt, who were unbelievable,” said Padraig.
“Every day during the work people were stopping to congratulate us and to see renewal taking place,” he added.
The magnificent thatched roof is once again a real aesthetic feature of the well-known landmark pub and the roof is beautifully crafted with reeds from Turkey. The thatching was carried out by expert traditional thatcher Philip Doran from Kilkenny and the eye-catching ridge was woven into place utilising Wexford straw.
“It was marvellous to be able to open the doors and see people coming in to have a drink after all this time. We have been waiting a long time for this day – it’s great to be at this stage and have the doors open. The support of the local people has just been fantastic. Everyone is delighted and they all want to come in and share their stories and memories”.
Sheila enthused about the fact that the younger generation love the bar and the character of it. They also love the expansive lounge area at the rear of the premises, which was formerly a bottling shed. “That is the shed where they used to bottle the Guinness and we converted it into a lounge facility. We hope to put in a kitchen shortly and do some pub grub and afternoon teas”, she said.

Praise from guests and locals
When the Celt called to check out the bar, Russell LaPlante from Denver said he loved the character of the pub – “it seems very original, very authentic – right down to the smell”.
Tamera LaPlante and her mother Margie were also similarly impressed.
Three locals enjoying a jar on the night and exchanging the banter with the folks from Denver were Padraig Smith, Pat Sheenan and Damien Gogarty.
“It is brilliant to see this bar open again,” said Padraig; while Pat and Damien said that the premises were a credit to Padraig and Sheila.
Recalling the “good craic” in Gartlan’s over the years, Pat added: “There is not a day that passes, that there are not people in the street taking photographs.” The Smiths also run the Hollow Stream B&B on the Dublin Road on the outskirts of Kingscourt.