Although I’ve lived an extremely brief walk from James Gill’s Corner House for over 4 years, I have never managed to be going past when it was open – until now. Its ‘regular’ opening hours are nothing of the sort, but that’s part of this pub’s mythology. Gill’s Pub opens when Gill’s Pub decides to do so. So, what’s it like?
While the building is Georgian – part of one of the earliest such terraces built on the North Circular Road around 1800 (some say as early as the 1750s) – the interior feels rather less elegant and a bit more flat-roofed estate pub; very much a sense of the 1950s or 1960s as the last significant renovation. The frontage may well be a bit older than the interior, with some nods to a more deco feel, and there’s the iconic/modern GAA-themed mural on the side of the building. And that is probably the most likely reason you’re likely to find this pub open – a big match or event is on at Croke Park, just around the corner.
As mentioned, the opening hours are…erratic at best. But if the door is open, you’ll find the walls lined with match-day programs and event posters from previous games and concerts (for those of us who live nearby, we can simply hear everything in the garden – a blessing or a curse, depending on the fixture or artist). But inside there is also the mural of Brendan Behan, too, as well as a wall of Behanobelia. And with good reason, for the Behan family once lived on Russell Street, which runs down the side of the pub, before they decamped to the then-far-off suburbs of Crumlin in 1937 (‘Siberia‘) – this was their local. It’s been in the Gill family since the 1930s, and by the 1970s, was one of a very few businesses in Ireland run by a woman (though if you read my friend Christina’s new book, Filthy Queens, you’ll know that there were women running brewing and hospitality businesses here, long ago – so do pick it up).
But during Behan’s youth, this area wasn’t merely residential – the Mountjoy Brewery was just down the road from Gill’s Pub (two buildings remain – it closed in 1957, the last non-Guinness brewery in Dublin* until more recent times), and the DWD Distillery a street over; this was a busy mix of industry, housing and everything that went with it. Without going into the full Brendan Behan backstory, the story is that Gill’s is the only pub he was never at some point barred from; even the Cat & Cage is meant to have invited him to seek alternative refreshment at various points, despite his painting the building. But back to Gill’s – you can get a peek inside in this 1966 documentary, Brendan Behan’s Dublin – it’s not much changed! No more cows running past, though you’ll certainly see the odd horse and cart/sulky.
And it was Brendan Behan himself who finally got us in the pub, so to speak; we attended an event for his 102nd birthday: an evening of discussion, history and song, focusing on the whole local area and the Behan family’s experience here. While we had the expected Guinness (in fine shape, despite the pub’s peculiar opening hours), I was mildly surprised to see they also offered bottles of O’Hara’s Pale Ale – that’s by no mean a given in other ‘macros only’ pubs.
On the one hand, it’s probably not an entirely representative experience at Gill’s Pub, but then, what’s normal?
Where: 555 North Circular Road N Circular Rd, Drumcondra, Dublin 1, D01 XP03
Access from the city centre: Buses 1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 40, 122, 123; 30ish minute walk
Food: Crisps, peanuts
Sport: You’re more likely here pre-gaming, but there are those TVs…
TVs: Some ancient examples in different parts of the pub
Music: It all depends
Family-friendliness: Not quite as welcoming as in young Brendan’s day, when he would take home jugs of beer to his grandmother, consuming some along the way…
Pub-crawl-ability: Medium – the closest pubs to Croke Park include Phil Ryan’s Hogan Stand, The Hideout House, Clonliffe House, Juno, McGrath’s, or wander further into Drumcondra toward Fagan’s or The Cat & Cage…or walk further up (all along the banks of…) the Royal Canal toward Phibsborough.
Local sites of note: Croke Park, Mountjoy Square
Haunted: No known stories of the pub itself, but Jones’s Road is mean to have the ghost of Buck Jones, complete with horse
Other notes: I do wonder if there is any Mountjoy Brewery ephemera stashed away somewhere…
Socials: None
*Indeed, watching historic films set in Dublin can be frustrating as only ‘old’ Guinness advertising ever seems to pop up in the background, when there should have been at least a half-dozen others in the early 20th century…but good luck spotting them!
Update:
Happily, the beer selection is just as good as it was in Juno 1.0 – lots of support for independent Irish breweries on the taps and in cans; the Ballykilcavan choices are especially delightful. And the food has not been neglected on the bar side, either – there is a wonderful sourdough snack, and the yeast butter fries were rather special. The space at the back of the pub, The Green Room, has also been revised a bit, and from the looks of things, it’s ready to host all manner of events and music – there is, of course, also a handy bar there, too.
