The underground establishment Pig’s Lane in Killarney, County Kerry, secured the top honor at the annual Square Bar of the Year Awards held in Dublin. The ceremony, hosted by Anton Savage at the Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road, recognized the best in Irish hospitality across more than 30 categories.
The venue took home Gold in two additional fields: Best Designed Bar/Inside Space and Cocktail Bar of the Year. The awards process involved a pool of 1,000 entries from across the country. According to the report, the judging process is intended to honor innovation, resilience, and craftsmanship at Irish bars, hotels, craft breweries, and hospitality venues.
Trish Murphy, sales and sponsorship director at Licensing World, stated that the caliber of entries was inspiring. She noted that venues are setting new benchmarks and reimagining the standards of top-tier hospitality.
While Dublin pubs collected a high volume of trophies, including The Sackville Lounge as Best Newcomer and The George for Late Bar/Nightclub of the Year, other regions performed well. County Galway saw success with Tom Sheridan’s Bar & Restaurant, where Joe O’Callaghan was named Bar Manager of the Year, and Sonny Molloy’s Irish Whiskey Bar, which won Gold in its category.
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Other notable winners included:
- Maddens Bridge Bar & Restaurant, Donegal: Best Wine Bar of the Year
- Henehans Venue, Mayo: Outside Space of the Year
- The Porter House Westport, Mayo: Staff Personality of the Year
- The Dew Drop Inn & Brewhouse, Kildare: Innovative Bar of the Year
Silken Thomas in County Kildare achieved national recognition by winning both People’s Choice Leinster and People’s Choice Overall. The public voting process also highlighted regional favorites such as Geary’s Bar Charleville in Cork and Mc Hughs Bar in Leitrim.
Cork and Kerry accounted for a significant portion of the wins within Munster. Cork Heritage Pubs was named Pub Group of the Year, while individual venues in the city earned Gold for Bar Food of the Year, Hotel Bar of the Year, and Tourist Bar of the Year.
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