'It will be hard to say goodbye': Owners to bid farewell to West Cork restaurant Poachers

Poachers opened in 2006 with a pronounced focus on delivering dishes using fresh Irish fish and seafood

Barry McLoughlin in Poachers Restaurant, Bandon. The popular restaurant is to go on the market. Picture: Noel Sweeney

Popular Bandon seafood restaurant Poachers is go up for sale, with the premises and business going on the market. The restaurant was recommended by the Michelin Guide several times over the years.

Proprietor Barry McLoughlin’s social media announcement that he and wife Catherine were stepping away after two decades triggered an avalanche of online responses mourning their departure from the extremely popular West Cork restaurant.

Poachers opened in 2006 as Poacher's Inn, a gastropub with a pronounced focus on delivering dishes using fresh Irish fish and seafood, sourcing as much as possible from the shores of its West Cork hinterland.

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An early adopter of the now increasingly more popular seafood-driven restaurant model, it proved an almost immediate hit with the local dining public and soon built up an accompanying national reputation, at one stage appearing in the McKenna’s Guides 100 Best Irish Restaurants in 2012.

It was also recommended in the esteemed Michelin Guide for many years, beginning in 2008, which was greatly taken with the “cosy bar … small snug [and] dining room under the eaves”, saying that “local seafood is the star of the show.” 

“It will be hard to say goodbye because we’ve loved our time here,” said Barry McLaughlin. “Catherine’s first job as a barperson at 16 was back when it was just a pub, Reilly’s Daughter, so she has always had a huge connection to the place.

“We had a great run and are very proud of what we achieved and we’ve nothing but fond memories of the place and all the people who dined here, and we are very grateful to our loyal local supporters and those who travelled from elsewhere over the years.” 

Barry McLoughlin in Poachers Restaurant, Bandon. Picture: Noel Sweeney

The McLaughlins are very hopeful that the next owners will be keen to continue the food and hospitality tradition they first established and expand further on its potential.

“It is an exciting prospect for anyone who takes it on,” said Barry, “The original restaurant space downstairs has 60 seats, and then during covid we developed a lovely, atmospheric upstairs room with 50 seats and also the garden which has another 50 seats and is great in the summer.

“But it takes an awful lot of energy and, to be honest, the energy of youth, to run a place the size of Poachers, and as I hit a big birthday in recent years, we wanted to step back a little from that level of commitment.

We wanted to move on while we still had the energy and enthusiasm and a few years left to try our hand at something else.

“So we’ve decided to explore other opportunities that would give us a bit more flexibility and free up a bit more of our time — we’re very excited for the future and we’re not necessarily done with hospitality so watch this space!”