‘The pub that refused to die’: Limerick group who saved last local pub inspire short film

The group recently welcomed the addition of a butcher in a vacant space on the side of the pub

Niall O'Dowd, Noel O'Dea, Marie O'Dea/Chavan, Liam Carroll and Josh Gore, some of the shareholders of the Street Bar in Kilteely. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

A group of Limerick locals who saved their last pub in Kilteely have inspired a short film, which will premiere at Dublin International Film Festival.

To keep the only pub in Kilteely from closing its doors, 26 locals invested €300,000 to buy Ahern’s after the previous owners decided to retire.

Now, the group behind The Street Bar will make their film debut as they have been cast in The Pub That Refused To Die, a short film commissioned by Heineken and directed by Gar O’Rourke.

One of stakeholders, Limerick barrister Liam Carroll told the Irish Examiner that Heineken were "very supportive" when they shared the news.

"They were able to support us with things like a new keg room but their management team obviously became interested in the actual story itself.

"They initially sent down a team to record what seemed like a short video over a few days. Once they went back to Dublin with that, it seemed that there was an even greater interest to do something more substantive," he said.

Some of the stakeholders played a role in the feature, which narrates the “strange things people do when something they love is under threat”.

“None of us have had the opportunity to see it yet, but it is going to be premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival, which is something that we never expected. It’s obviously a great promotion for us and we're hopeful that it turns out well,” said Mr Carroll.

In recent weeks, the group welcomed the addition of butcher Tom McNeill, who officially opened his shop in a vacant space on the side of the pub.

“It was previously a shop. We were anxious to ensure that locals would be able to benefit from the essentials that they previously had been able to benefit from in the form of a local shop.

“When Tom came to us with the proposal that he would take up that premises and rent it from us, we jumped at the opportunity and we renovated the shop to make it suitable for him. He has moved in a number of weeks now and seems to be really well supported by all the locals and seems to be doing a good trade.

“That's just an additional service that we've been able to add for the benefit of the community, which we're really happy about,” said Mr Carroll.

The Kilteely pub, previously owned by the Ahern family, was on the market following the retirement of Noreen Ahern after 40 years of service.

To keep the 150-year-old establishment open and operating as a pub, the 26 stakeholders worked with the Ahern family and have now renamed it The Street Bar.