'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.