Cork pubs changing hands in multimillion-euro deals despite warnings over industry strain

Landmark Cork pubs continue attracting multimillion-euro investment even as rural publicans warn of mounting pressures and closures

In April, Cork's Brick Lane bar on South Main Street - just across the road from the premises of VFI president Michael O'Donovan's Castle Inn - closed its doors after 11 years trading.

There are two very different tales to be told about the pub trade in Ireland.

On Tuesday, the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) annual general meeting heard chief executive Pat Crotty call for targeted supports for rural pubs, which he warned faced an "existential threat" with an average 128 pubs closing annually.

“Ireland’s pubs, particularly smaller rural pubs that do not serve food, continue to face significant cost-of-business challenges which pose an existential threat to their survival,” said Mr Crotty.

Smaller rural pubs are feeling the strain most, but there is nowhere immune. In April, Cork's Brick Lane bar on South Main Street - just across the road from the premises of VFI president Michael O'Donovan's Castle Inn - closed its doors after 11 years trading, with the operators saying the "sums don't stack up any more".

High costs and changing social habits have changed the game. Nevertheless, there is still a profitable business to be made in the city’s pub trade with the right premises, at the right price.

At the end of 2025, the Flying Enterprise complex, a vast complex on Sullivans Quay, was sold by long-time owners Finbarr and Dolly O’Shea for over €5m, the biggest bar sale in Cork and across Munster of the year.

In March, the premises reopened as the South Gate, marking a new era for the business.

Paul O’Dea casts a shadow across the upper bar during renovation work of The South Gate Bar, formerly the Flying Enterprise, which reopened in March. Picture Chani Anderson

Several other landmark pubs have changed hands in Cork already this year; some will continue to operate as normal, while others will seek to develop their food or entertainment trade. Others still will be reimagined for residential use or another purpose.

What’s clear from the sales is that there is still an appetite to get a piece of the market. 

The new year bells had hardly stopped ringing when the first big sale of 2026 was confirmed in the first week of January, with the news renowned Cork publican Paul Montgomery had acquired the suburban bar and restaurant The Wilton, with a subsequent €1m refurbishment carried out.

The 10,000sq ft venue, located opposite Cork University Hospital and beside Wilton Shopping Centre, was built 36 years ago by the Peters family. Mr Montgomery is investing a further €1m in the bar, which opened on St Patrick’s Weekend, with upgrades inside and outside the venue continuing.

Mr Montgomery owns Clancys on Princes Street, JJ Walsh’s Irish bar on Oliver Plunkett Street, the Latin-themed cocktail bar Mamacitas on Marlboro Street, and Wilde, an LGBT+ club on Oliver Plunkett Street.

Ronan Murphy from The Merchant, formerly Electric bar, which this month will become Cork's newest bar. Noel Sweeney

The trades are continuing. In February, an offer was accepted for Paddy the Farmers on the corner of Summerhill South and Old Blackrock Road and selling with nine self-contained apartments overhead, with the entire lot valued at €1.9m.

The Model Farm, the bar and bistro near Eden Hall on Model Farm Road in Cork, went on the market in summer 2025 with selling agents Lisney CRE. A sale is believed to have been agreed on the bar/restaurant at a price of €1.2m with plans to further develop the restaurant strand of the business.

Last month saw one of the most eye-catching sales of the year so far. Sitting underneath the landmark Chetwynd Viaduct which used to carry trains between Cork and Bandon until the 1960s, the renowned Viaduct sold for in excess of €2m. 

A popular spot with diners as well as drinkers, the Viaduct went on the market for €1.6m with owners Cliste Hospitality, who have an extensive hotel and restaurant portfolio across Ireland including the Radisson Blu in Little Island and Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney. The venue had been listed for €1.6m but exceeded that figure. Perhaps fittingly with its links to the Chetwynd Viaduct and a golden age of Cork transport, the Viaduct changed hands with a new purpose outside hospitality. West Cork businessman Damien Long, who operates bus services including West Cork Connect, made the purchase and announced multi-million investment plans to transform the site on the N71 into a transport hub.

Inside the Viaduct, which will become a transport hub with hospitality plaza.

“This is something I’ve been working towards for a long time,” said Mr Long. 

The Viaduct, to me, marks the gateway to West Cork. When you pass through those arches, you’re arriving into West Cork.

The new transport hub plan envisages a Dublin daily direct bus link from The Viaduct, a park-and-ride service operating every 30 minutes from 6am to midnight from The Viaduct to Cork University Hospital, Wilton, UCC, the Mercy Hospital, and Kent Railway Station, and a roadside plaza with a bar and 24-hour shop.

The sales movement continued into May. The South County has been a staple of the pub scene in Douglas for four decades. This week, the Irish Examiner confirmed the pub and restaurant which had been developed by the O’Connor family had sold in an off-market deal, believed to have been valued in the region of €1.8m to €2m. The buyer is no stranger to Cork’s pub scene: publican Kieran Horgan is already the owner of The Bishopstown Bar and the Arches bar in Mallow, as well as several Dublin pubs.

Back into the city centre, Reidy's Vault Bar on Western Road sold for just under €600,000, with plans to develop as a restaurant business. On Kinsale Road towards the airport, he Bull McCabes on Kinsale Road sold for €730,000, and is likely to be repurposed for residential use.

Alongside the many sales completed and agreed, several landmark Cork pubs went on the market but are yet to find their new owner. Sitting alongside The Lough, the Coakley family put the Hawthorn bar on the market in summer 2025, with a guide price of €1.5m. The bar and split-level lounge runs to 7,400 sq ft over two levels, with a first-floor restaurant held upstairs on a 25-year lease to 2035.

The Cotton Ball Bar & Brewery in Mayfield is on the market for €950,000, which includes a 12-barrel brew house, while the 5,000sq ft premises The Outpost in Bishopstown is on the market for €975,000.

Meanwhile, situated across the road from the planned site of the new Cork City Library, the Spailpin Fanac went on the market for €1.5m in 2025. First founded in 1779, the Spailpin has a ground floor bar and a second on the first floor which operates as a private function room. The building also has three overhead two-bedroom apartments.

Tequila Jacks on Lapps Quay is on the market with a €1.3m guide price, covering 764sq m over a single floor, with extensive bar space, dining space, and outdoor seating overlooking the quays.

Outside the city, Clancy’s Bar & Restaurant in Youghal went to market in May with a guide price of €945,000. The coastal 690sq m premises includes ground-floor bar and restaurant with sea views, ground-floor function room and commercial kitchen, and large beer garden.

Hand in hand with the pub trade, Cork’s nightclub scene has already received two badly needed lifts in 2026, with the reopening of The Savoytarget="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> as a live venue after a 10-year hiatus, while the former Cubins/Spiders/Holy Cow on Hanover Street is reopening as Odyssey.

In the coming days, Cork city’s newest bar, the Merchant (formerly known as Electric) at the Grand Parade end of South Mall will reopen after a six-month renovation. Bought in 2023 for €2m, the Merchant will have capacity for 200 customers downstairs and 160 overhead, with live entertainment planned seven nights a week by the river.

Ultimately, while the trade has changed, some things stay the same. “A pub is more than just a business. It performs a vitally important public function as a hub of social and cultural life, connection, and community identity,” said Mr Crotty at the VFI conference at Mount Wolesley.

That balance of social and cultural life and connection is likely to ensure pubs will continue to attract serious commercial interest in the city.