Stag changes hands - but nothing else

IN the Stag’s Head pub they raised glasses in thanksgiving as the news came through.

There was a strong sense of relief. After becoming the owner of the landmark Dublin institution for €5.8 million yesterday, Louis Fitzgerald declared: “It’s a ready-made pub for over 100 years - I’m not going to change that.”

The pub dates back to 1763, however, it was refurbished in 1895 and the three-story red brick structure stands as a grade-one listed building.

Lending to the sense of an era past is the stag’s head mounted behind the bar - an animal shot in Alaska in 1901.

In the pub off Dame Street with pint in hand, regular patron Tom Mathews said: “There are a million bars you can go to get music and television. Why would anyone want it in here?”

With its back to flash Temple Bar, in this old-fashioned haven conversation reigns supreme. There’s no television or music to struggle against.

“It’s a trophy pub. They’re not making any more like it,” said Mr Fitzgerald.

“I feel I got a bargain. I would have been willing to pay a bit more for it. The Stag’s Head is not a pub - it’s an institution.”

It took a nervy 10 minutes before auctioneer John Ryan’s hammer fell finally. Silence and stony faces greeted his €5.5m opener, and it took seven minutes from the €4.8m first bid to climb as far as €5.3m.

Twice - at €5.3m and €5.7m - Mr Ryan warned he would withdraw the pub and deal with the highest bidder by private treaty.

It was the signal for Mr Fitzgerald, who was accompanied by his son Eddie, to move in and claim the jewel in the crown of Dublin pubs.

Mr Fitzgerald, who now owns eight Dublin pubs, including the historic Kehoe’s in South Anne Street, paid tribute to the Shaffry family, who have run the pub for 30 years, for keeping it as it was.

Back in the Victorian bar, San Francisco native and Dublin resident Daniel Rowe said: “It’s one of the remaining pubs in Dublin. No TV, no stereo - thank you very much. You bet it’s one of my favourite haunts.”

Nearby, Robbie Fogarty recalled how the old pubs were called “speakeasies” - you didn’t have to shout above the racket of telly or tunes. “I got in for a last pint: I thought they might close it up.”

Neil Corbett, from near Inverness, Scotland, was impressed: “We were looking for a traditional pub. This is the first on a tour of local pubs. This is my first Irish whiskey - I work for distillers. I’ve already had a few pints of Guinness.”