Landmark Youghal bar and restaurant, Clancy's hits the market for just under €1m
Clancy’s Bar & Restaurant, a well-known landmark in Youghal’s hospitality scene, has been launched to market with a guide price of €945,000.Occupying a prime coastal spot by the scenic Front Strand and close to the eastern terminus of the 23km Midleton to Youghal Greenway, the 690sq m property on 0.79 acres includes a ground-floor bar and restaurant with panoramic sea views, a lower ground-floor function room and commercial kitchen, and a large beer garden.The turnkey premises was acquired out of receivership in 2013 by US-based Youghal native Pádraig Hennessy, who rehabilitated it after a six-year closure.Mr Hennessy, who spent three decades working in the pub and restaurant sector in Jersey City, New Jersey, said the property was “in pretty bad shape” when he bought it and required significant investment to bring it to its current standard.The business has a strong food offering and can seat 160 customers in its restaurant, while the private function room can accommodate up to 110 guests.In addition, the beer garden “is like having another restaurant”, Mr Hennessy said.After 45 years in the hospitality trade, Mr Hennessy is now planning to focus on his adjacent Youghal Bike Rental business, capitalising on custom generated by the new greenway that runs along a nearby former railway line.While the greenway currently stops short of the old railway yard and the historic turntable area at the end of the line, Mr Hennessy said funding has now been secured to extend it the turntable, allowing cyclists to disembark directly across the road from Clancy’s. Work to extend the greenway is due to begin in the third quarter of this year, he said.Clancy’s strategic location by the greenway could make it the ideal spot for a cafe, the owner added.“There’s substantial development potential. You could keep the restaurant where it is and convert the function room to a cafe and you could put up to six apartments where the beer garden is,” Mr Hennessy said. He has drawings prepared for the apartments which he would be willing to share with the new owner.Clancy’s comes up for sale just as another high-profile change takes place in Youghal’s hospitality sector, with the relocation of restaurateurs John and Julie Finn of Finns’ Farmcut in Kinsale to Aherne’s Seafood Restaurant in Youghal town. Aherne’s, with a reputation as one of the country’s best seafood restaurants, was run for three generations by the Fitzgibbon family.Fiona Hennessy of Sherry FitzGerald Hennessy is handling the sale of Clancy’s and she said the property — just steps from the beach — also benefits from proximity to the greenway “providing additional year-round footfall from cyclists, walkers, and tourists”.“Its prime coastal setting presents a rare opportunity to acquire a thriving, turnkey business with substantial development potential,” the agent added.She described the property as “immaculately maintained”, “with a well-planned and efficient layout that includes a fully fitted bar and function room on the ground floor”, while the commercial kitchen is “modern, spacious, and professionally equipped, supporting a seating capacity of up to 120 patrons”.She noted that the large beer garden has potential for residential units.The premises that is home to Clancy’s has historic links to the old Great Southern and Western railway station beside Front Strand and operated originally as “The Railway Bar” — believed to have served passengers after the line opened in the 19th century.Acquired by Tom Clancy in the 1940s, it has since traded under the Clancy family name.At one stage, a nightclub called The Station operated out of what is now the function room. Perks Funfair occupied the adjoining site until the early 2000s, when it relocated to Seafield, opening the way for the site to be redeveloped into multiple apartment units.Ms Hennessy said the property is “ideal for investors or entrepreneurs looking to enter the hospitality industry”.“This sale represents a unique opportunity to acquire not just a successful and long-standing bar and restaurant, but a property of scale, character, and potential.“Whether as a continuation of its current use or with a view to redevelopment, Clancy’s offers a wealth of possibilities in one of East Cork’s most desirable and growing locations,” the agent said.The energy rating is a B2 and additional accommodation includes an office, a cellar, storage areas and loos.More details: Email info@sfhennessy.com or by phone, 02492595.
