A Pub Crawl Through GAA History: 7 Famous Bars Owned By GAA Players
For GAA players riding the wave of their playing careers, few business moves make more sense than putting their name above a pub door.
The profile that comes with county success guarantees a packed house from day one, and before long it isn’t just the locals dropping in. Supporters from around the country, tourists who recognise the name, and curious neutrals all tend to follow the sign and the story.
Of course, owning a pub carries its own expectations: tales from the dressing room, the odd jersey on the wall, and a chance encounter with the star themselves. Most are more than happy to play along.
This year, we’ve put together a list of past and present GAA stars who’ve gone into the pub game.
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Canavans – Ballygawley, Tyrone
A Canavan name above the door in Ballygawley is always going to draw a crowd.
The pub is steeped in Tyrone football heritage, with family memorabilia on the walls and regular visits from the county’s most famous sons. The fact that the main man is also known as God in those parts will always make the pub worth a visit.
If there's a chance that God might be behind the bar, it would be sin not to visit.
Mulligans – Cookstown, Tyrone
Mulligans is another Tyrone stronghold, where the link to the Tyrone team is impossible to miss.
Owned by Tyrone legend Owen Mulligan, one of the most recognisable faces of Tyrone’s golden era, the Cookstown spot combines old-school atmosphere with a steady stream of GAA chatter.
It’s a pilgrimage pub for fans from across Ulster.
Páidí Ó Sé’s – Ventry, Kerry
Páidí Ó Sé’s in Ventry is one of the most iconic GAA pubs in Ireland, built on the legacy of the late Kerry legend himself. Opened in the 1980s, the pub remains a shrine to his life, personality and extraordinary football career, with his family continuing to run the business today.
The walls are lined with decades of photographs: Páidí lifting Sam, Hollywood visitors to West Kerry, and half the GAA world calling in over the years. In many ways, the pub now stands as a living museum of Kerry football culture and a tribute to a man who shaped it.
Geaney’s – Dingle, Kerry
Geaney’s on Main Street is one of the most famous GAA pubs in the country, thanks largely to the man behind it, Kerry forward Paul Geaney. The bar sits at the heart of Dingle and has become a must-visit stop on the tourist trail, especially for anyone with even a passing interest in the county’s football culture.
With the Geaney footballing family rooted deeply in the Dingle area, the pub carries a genuine identity, not a themed GAA venture, but a thriving spot that reflects the proud footballing culture surrounding it.
Spillane's - Templenoe, Co. Kerry
Staying in Kerry, the Spillane's are another iconic GAA family who have owned a pub.
The pub had been run by Maura Spillane, matriarch of the great footballing family with 19 All-Irelands between them. Pat acquired the pub and renamed it Pat Spillane's Bar. In 2023, Pat Spillane transferred ownership of his family pub over to his brother Tom, who is a four-time All-Ireland winner and father of Adrian and Killian Spillane.
Writing in the Irish Examiner in his All-Ireland diary, Paul Murphy described bringing Sam Maguire back to Templenoe and paid tribute to Adrian Spillane, who retired before Kerry's All-Ireland win.
Murty Brownes – Cooraclare, Clare
Anthony Daly’s Murty Brownes isn’t just a pub, it’s a pilgrimage stop for GAA people. The Clare legend took over the reins in 1999 and has turned the bar into one of the most visited pubs in the country.
Murty Brownes has become a go-to stop for GAA people passing through Clare for team trips and end-of-season nights away. It’s also a staple on stag party routes.
Whelahan's - Birr, Co Offaly
2 November 1995; Offaly hurler Brian Whelahan at his pub in Birr, Offaly. Photo by David Maher/Sportsfile
Another iconic hurling pub. Brian Whelahan's is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Pat Nolan interviewed Whelahan during the covid St Patrick's Day of 2020, which was one of the more surreal days in the Birr great's time in the pub business.
You wouldn't know who you'd meet in there.
The Dugout – Co. Clare (Closed)
The Dugout in Ennis was very much a crossover project: co-owned by Clare hurling legend Davy Fitzgerald and former Republic of Ireland striker Noel Hunt.
Based on Abbey Street in the town, it launched around 2012 and quickly became a Banner County hotspot, especially during that summer’s hurling surge under Davy but has since closed.
Larry Tompkins’ – Cork (closed)
22 August 2002; Larry Tompkins, Cork football manager, pictured outside his pub in Cork City Centre. Picture credit; Damien Eagers / SPORTSFILE
Once branded as “Cork’s Sporting Pub,” Larry Tompkins’ bar was a Leeside landmark for decades. Owned by the 1990 All-Ireland winning captain, its walls were stacked with jerseys, trophies and memories of Cork’s glory years in football.
It closed its doors in December of 2021, but its name still carries weight in the city.
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