'Everyone comes in and has the craic and chat': What makes a great Irish pub?

When landmark bar Cronin’s was devastated by a flood, it reopened two years later to be declared Best Pub in Ireland. Jillian Bolger meets the people behind the bar to learn just what makes it so special

Cronin's Pub, Crosshaven, Co. Cork. Photo Joleen Cronin

“The pub is a great leveller, and meeting people is a huge part of the draw,” publican Denis Cronin muses.

“You could be sitting there talking to a plumber or a professor or a scientist. Everyone comes in and has the craic and chat, and that’s what makes the pub a little bit special. Maybe that’s what drew me back… that and the cooking.” Denis, together with his New Zealander wife Caroline, are custodians of Cronin’s, the traditional Victorian pub run by his family in Crosshaven since 1970 when his grandparents, Jo and Denny, acquired the building. Cork City publicans, they bought the former Kennefick’s Hotel 53 years ago, transforming the handsome building into a traditional pub in the centre of the harbour village.

Three generations later, their grandson Denis, and Caroline, are the owners, having taken over Cronin’s in 2019, after Denis’ parents, Sean and Thecla, retired.

“From when I first knew what a pint glass was, I was picking them up for washing and helping out around the place for pocket money, so it was kind of second nature,” Denis admits, and while he did try a few different lines of work, he was always drawn back to the pub.

His parents ran Cronin’s for 39 years before passing him the baton. As owners of a landmark village pub that played a central role in community life for decades, Sean and Thecla belonged to a cohort of rural publicans who witnessed the changing role of the pub in Irish society. Mirroring the economic fortunes of a community transitioning from the lean 1980s to the Celtic Tiger highs and beyond, Cronin’s hasn’t just managed to stay relevant; against all the odds it has come out on top, awarded the Georgina Campbell’s Ireland Pub of the Year 2022.

Considering the pub was closed for two of the three years they’ve owned it, this accolade came as quite the surprise. With only five months of ownership under their belts, covid was the first hurdle, bringing about the unexpected closure of pubs across Ireland in March 2020. Forced to diversify, the couple offered a mix of takeaway food, heat-at-home meals, and locally-produced goods. “We were dealing with all that and tipping along nicely, when the flood happened that August,” Denis recalls.

Cronin's Pub, Crosshaven, Co. Cork. Photo Joleen Cronin

FAMILIARITY

The flood occurred over two nights in August 2020, causing extensive damage to the Victorian building and its ornate interior. “It wasn’t tidal,” Denis explains. “It was the main sewer backing up beneath the building.” Faced with the prospect of calling it a day, they took the decision to forge ahead — rescuing, renovating, and restoring the famous pub.

“It took 18 months to refurbish, and building during that period was an absolute nightmare,” Denis recalls. “We were really lucky to have the right insurance in place, although the bills were still coming in. We did find ourselves in a situation where we were knocking on the institutes’ door again, to get more finance to get us back up and running, which wasn’t ideal.”

He recalls a panicked phone call from a customer who saw the pub boarded up and worried it was being modernised beyond recognition. “Local support has been tremendous. People just love the familiarity. There’s so much history in the building and the biggest challenge we had was to keep the old-world character. The craftsmanship is all there, you can even see it in the walls, which date back to 1892.”

He recalls having to empty the building of 50 years of history. “You could see all the families’ histories, from the different wallpapers and memorabilia that my parents and grandparents collected over the years. Both Sean and his mother, Jo, were great collectors of curios and antiques, and the pub’s interior is filled with memorabilia.”

Reopening almost a year ago, on the May bank holiday weekend of 2022, proved a wonderful feeling, although it presented some unexpected challenges. “Because we were closed for so long, it was tricky to get skilled staff. It was amazing hiring 20-year-olds who hadn’t even spent time in a pub! They had missed those covid years of going to a pub and didn’t know what to expect or what customers were going to need. And then some staff were just used to working without social interaction, where the drinks [order] came in on a printer and were put on a tray. That was a huge challenge to get people up to speed and to balance the level of expectation from the customer side.”

Convivial and cosy, the quintessential Irish pub plays many roles: confessional and community centre, haven and hideaway, party place, and quiet corner. If drinking is the central tenet of pub culture, so too is hospitality and companionship. There may be music, or newspapers, or the big game on a screen, but there will always be the coming together of strangers, neighbours, and friends, relaxing outside of the home.

Husband and wife team Denis Cronin and Caroline Burgess of Cronin's Pub and 2PointRoad, Crosshaven, Co. Cork. Photo Joleen Cronin

UNSCHOOLING

It’s not just a rapport with the customers that’s important; Denis, who trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School in 2008, notes the satisfaction he gets from working with local farmers and producers, serving quality food while building on the relationships his mum founded over 20 years ago when Cronin’s first began serving food. “From the Willems family’s Coolea Cheese, who are Dutch, like my mother, to craft butcher Tom Durcan in The English Market and free-range pork from Caherbeg in Rosscarbery, you meet all these interesting people practicing their crafts. There’s a huge sense of job satisfaction from people when they’re happy. You have the craic with them and you have the craic at the bar too.”

Unlike his parents, who lived above the pub when they ran it, Denis and Caroline chose to have their own home away from the business, home-schooling their three youngest children.

“We ‘unschool’ them,” jokes Denis, “which is different to homeschooling, but it works with our schedule. A publican’s life might start a little bit later than normal, so this allows us to spend the morning with the kids and get them doing activities or what have you.” 

Caroline is also busy with their latest project, a New Zealand-style coffee shop, attached to the pub.

The recent prestigious award is as much a recognition of the hard work as it is a celebration of the innovation and the whole team behind the newly refurbished pub.

“Cronin’s is one of a number of great Cork pubs that have been awarded our Pub of The Year title down the years — Mary Ann’s of Castletownshend, Blairs Inn of Blarney, and MacCarthy’s of Castletownbere among them.”

Georgina Campbell, the publisher of highly regarded Georgina Campbell’s Ireland guides, explains: “It’s a gorgeous old pub that we’ve loved for many years. Denis’ Dutch mum, Thecla, was a pioneer of great pub food, something that really wasn’t that common until relatively recently! Overcoming serial misfortunes to bring it back to life, there have been changes since the flood — the Mad Fish restaurant is gone, for example, and the new food style is evolving — but they’ve gone to endless trouble to recreate what matters most, the old bar in particular.”

Almost a year on, the customers are coming in and looking for their pints, three or four deep at the bar. “It’s great to see the buzz back in pubs after a few really tough years for the folks operating them,” Denis reflects. 

“It is a kind of special feeling, and Crosshaven is a special place for a lot of people. And we’re lucky to be the custodians of somewhere like Cronin’s. It’s like a stage or a community centre, and, along with other businesses, it’s nearly like the life and soul of the village.”

Cronin's Pub, Crosshaven, Co. Cork. Photo Joleen Cronin

Five of the best pubs in Ireland

Character and great service...

Leonard’s Bar & Grocery, Laharane, Co Mayo

Run by the same family for 80 years, this traditional Windy Gap pub has undergone a considered refurbishment that honours its historic architecture. Established in 1897, and still with original flagstones and reclaimed historical fixtures, it’s a charming traditional roadside pub and grocery shop, with real character.

Helen’s Bar, Tuosist, Co Kerry

No Beara Peninsula trip is complete without a Helen’s Bar detour. Old-school and honest, hang out at the bar with locals or head across the road to a picnic table by Kilmackillogue Pier. Tuck into fresh mussels and one of the cheapest pints in the country while enjoying pristine views.

O’Dowd’s of Roundstone, Connemara, Co Galway

A buzzing seafood bar and restaurant in the pretty waterside village of Roundstone, the O’Dowd family have been offering up local hospitality since 1840. Believed to be the oldest pub in Connemara, the mix of fresh local seafood and great Guinness are a draw, best enjoyed with the sweeping views of Roundstone Bay and the majestic Twelve Bens.

J O’Connell, Skryne, Co Meath

Established in 1840, J O’Connell’s has been run by the O’Connell family for over 200 years. Its unassuming interior is matched by the authentic no-frills interior that has largely remained unchanged over the decades. Popularly known as ‘Mrs O’s’, it starred in a notable Christmas commercial for Guinness, and has a reputation for serving some of the best Black Stuff in the country.

The Gravediggers, Glasnevin, Dublin

Founded in 1833 next to Glasnevin Cemetery, Kavanagh’s is best known as The Gravediggers. Serving drinks to mourners and cemetery workers for 90 years, the no-TVs pub is now run by the seventh generation of Kavanaghs. Chef Anthony Bourdain called this place “a little piece of heaven” when he visited in 2007 and nothing much has changed since.