Brennan's Criterion Bar
| Brennan's Criterion Bar | |
|---|---|
| Type | Pub |
| Location | Bundoran |
| Coordinates |
54°28′31″N 8°17′02″W / 54.4754°N 8.2838°WCoordinates: 54°28′31″N 8°17′02″W / 54.4754°N 8.2838°W (Bundoran's coordinates)^ |
| Built | Before 1900 |
| Original use | Guesthouse |
| Owner |
James Ward (1900 - 19??) James Brennan (1932? - 1981) Nan Brennan (1981 -2017) Patricia Brennan (1981 - 2018) |
Brennan's Criterion Bar was an Irish pub located in Bundoran, County Donegal.
Considered one of the country's most famous pubs,[1] it was latterly run by sisters Nan and Patricia, and began business on Saint Patrick's Day of 1900, operated then by the sisters' maternal grandparents, James and Catherine Ward, who bought the building it was in, which had at the time been a guesthouse.[2] Nan and Patricia's father, James Brennan, returned from the United States in 1932, marrying their mother Mary Ward the following year. Mary Ward died in 1962 and James Ward remained behind the bar until 1981 when his two daughters took over the business.[2] Nan worked, while Patricia cooked (or so Nan told The Irish Times shortly before her death).[2] Part of the pub's appeal in its latter years was its lack of TV, Internet and other modern conveniences (and even live music), as well as its ban on swearing.[3] In May 2015, TheJournal.ie named it on its list of "18 of the greatest Irish pubs that tourists (mostly) don't know about", stating: "Retreat here and find peace."[4] Not even professional musicians and songwriters such as Phil Coulter, encouraged one evening to sing "The Town I Loved So Well", were allowed get away with breaking into song.[2]
In 2013, Brennan's featured in an RTÉ documentary, "The Irish Pub".[5] In March 2016, a reporter with The Boston Globe wrote a feature on the pub, such was the impression it had left on him.[6] In 2017, the sisters appeared together in a screen advertisement for Guinness.[3] Nan's death in her early eighties[2] in mid-August 2017 was reported in the national media, such was the respect and renown enjoyed by the sisters.[3] An elder sister, Cait, was reported to still be living in Dublin, while a younger brother, Seamus, had predeceased Nan in 2007.[7] Following Nan's death, Patricia (in her late seventies at the time her sister died)[3] took the decision to close the pub. It shut its doors for the final time on the night of Sunday 30 September 2018.[1]
References
- 1 2 Daly, Michael (30 September 2018). "End of an era tonight as Brennan's in Bundoran, one of Ireland's most famous pubs, closes its doors". Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 McBride, Catriona (7 January 2017). "No TV or singing: sisters rule the roost in Donegal pub - The Brennan sisters have lived above the Criterion Bar in Bundoran all their lives". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
You may also be overcome with an urge to become best friends with the wonderful, unique sisters, Nan (80) and Patricia Brennan (78) who run it, have been reared there, and call it home.
- 1 2 3 4 Ní Aodha, Gráinne (14 August 2017). "'End of an era': Well-known Donegal pub owner Nan Brennan has passed away: The pub's famous sisters have garnered national and international attention over the years". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ↑ Freeman, Michael (10 May 2015). "18 of the greatest Irish pubs that tourists (mostly) don't know about". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ Elkin, David (15 August 2016). "Brennan's in Bundoran is one of the best old school pubs in the country". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ Cullen, Kevin (13 March 2016). "An Irish pub where civility is always on tap". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ↑ "Funeral details have been announced for beloved Bundoran woman Nan Brennan of Brennan's Criterion Bar". 14 August 2017. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.