Iconic East Cork pub with Hollywood link set to close
Kevin and Bríd Linehan are retiring and Moby Dick's pub in Youghal in East Cork will cease trading on December 31, 2025.
One of the country's most recognisably-named pubs is set to close its doors following the announcement that its owners have decided to retire.
Moby Dick’s bar in Youghal, Co Cork, synonymous with the movie of the same name that was shot in the town in 1954, will cease trading from December 31.
The pub's owners, Kevin and Bríd Linehan, made the announcement on social media, saying “the time has come” for them to retire after 30 years at the helm in what they called “an incredible journey”.
However, the couple has indicated that the business will, at some future date, go on the market, with hopes that the new owners will maintain the strong Moby Dick links.
The closure brings an end to the family's long association with the pub which has lasted more than 140 years. Kevin’s grandfather David first purchased what was then a pub and butcher shop in 1880. He died young and his son Paddy and daughter-in-law Maureen, took over.
The butcher shop, to the left of the pub's main entrance, closed in 1969, when the bar was extended.
Kevin took over the business in 1994, and Paddy and Maureen both died in the early 2000s.
Paddy, who also served many years as a town councillor, replaced his name over the door to ‘Moby Dick’s’ after Hollywood greats such as John Huston, Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart and Leo Glenn filmed the opening scenes of the movie during three months in 1954.
Huston and his entourage, which included his friend and renowned journalist Claud Cockburn, set up base camp in the pub, for reportedly £5 a week rent.
Given to working from 6am to sunset, his guest’s restorative tonics led Paddy to declare that he sold “enough port that summer to float the Pequod!”
A family home as well as a pub, the room in which Huston and his cast hammered out their strategy remains, with its view of Youghal harbour, above two flights of stairs.
Downstairs, the bar displays many reminders of that historic summer, with dozens of photos lining the walls.
A belaying pin (a wooden implement used to secure ropes on ships), signed by Gregory Peck, sits amongst the spirit bottles behind the counter, while the wheel from the film’s James Postlethwaite schooner dominates one wall.
In their farewell announcement, Kevin and Bríd describe Moby Dick's as having “always been more than just a pub” and one where “memories were made, laughter echoed, and connections were forged”.
They thanked staff past and present for their “commitment and kindness” and the customers that helped them to become “part of Youghal’s DNA”.
The closure of the town centre bar follows a now-familiar pattern that has seen Youghal’s more than 30 pubs reduced to about seven over the past 30 years.
Kevin says the couple are “not in any hurry to sell, but confirm that they will do so at some point, film artefacts included.
And as they prepare to enjoy retirement, Kevin expressed the wish that “whoever eventually acquires the premises will retain the history and traditions that come with it”.
Ahab wouldn’t have put it better.
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