Oldest Athy pub celebrates 150 years

THE OLDEST business in Athy celebrates its 150th anniversary on Saturday 13 December.

O’Brien’s Pub in Emily Square is now operated by Judith O’Brien, the fourth generation of the O’Brien family to do so.

The pub and grocery shop which was once owned by John Leahy was purchased in 1875 by Stephen O’Brien, a native of Irishtown, Co. Kilkenny.

A survivor of the Great Famine, he had been employed as a Master Tea Blender by Twinings Tea House in Dublin.

The tea blending was carried on by him in the Emily Square premises for many years and indeed specialised tea brands were sold by O’Brien’s up to the 1970s.

Leahy would later become a Member of Parliament for Kildare County and served as a supporter of Parnell.

Stephen O’Brien was also a supporter of Parnell and of the Irish Parliamentary Party later led by John Redmond.

He gave his support to the anti-treaty side led by Éamon de Valera and that latter political allegiance was a well-known family trait which carried forward for decades into support for Fianna Fáil.

Indeed, O’Brien’s back room was and still is the regular meeting place for Fianna Fáil Cumann members.

Following Stephen’s death the business was taken over by his son, Frank, commonly known as Fran, who himself died in 1970.

I can’t recall ever knowing Fran as apart from my school days I was working away from Athy until 1982 and as a non-alcoholic drinker, pubs were seldom if ever were visited by me.

Fran O’Brien was a man who left his mark on Athy as a member of the national volunteers and as the organiser of Athy’s Fife and Drum Band in the early years of the 1900s.

St Joseph’s band had the unique experience in parading in O’Donovan Rossa’s funeral to Glasnevin Cemetery on 1 August 1915.

How that came about is not clearly known but it would seem that the strength of the original Irish Volunteers in Athy, which included not only an infantry group but also cavalry, brought the local volunteers to the attention of the funeral organisers.

The Athy bandsmen and many local members of the Irish Volunteers and the National Volunteers travelled by train that day to Dublin, as did Fran O’Brien, and were at Glasnevin Cemetery to hear Patrick Pearse’s graveside oration which ended with the famous words: ‘They have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.’ 

 Fran was a noted cyclist at a time when Athy had an active cycling club and several first-class cyclist, including the legendary JJ Bergin and his brother AJ Bergin (known locally as Andy).

One of Fran’s most memorable feats as a cyclist was to cycle from Athy to Dublin for a cycle race in the Phoenix Park which he won and then cycled back to Athy later that same evening.

Fran was succeeded by his son, Frank. whom my readers will recall with fondness. When Frank died in 2017, just 20 days short of his 95th birthday, I devoted an Eye on the Past to him which opened as follows:

‘With the death of Frank O’Brien Athy has lost a man whose affection for his hometown was rooted in the knowledge and understanding of the town and its people. He was born just days after Rory O’Connor led anti-treaty forces in occupying the Four Courts, Dublin.

‘That action was the start of the Irish Civil War. For someone born in turbulent times Frank O’Brien possessed none of the characteristics of a combative man. He was always the genial host presiding over his emporium with calmness and a courtesy which spoke of old-world charm and manners.’ Frank presided over the O’Brien’s grocery and pub for nearly 50 years, having earlier worked there with his father for several decades.

He was a man who involved himself in the local social club in St John’s Lane and was a champion table tennis player in his youth.

Frank was also a hurler of some note who first played the game after Brother Farrell of the local Christian Brothers School established a local hurling team in the 1930s.

Perhaps his greatest contribution to Ireland’s finest game was as chairman of Athy’s Hurling Club, a position he held for many years prior to his death in 2017.

O’Brien’s continues today as a grocery and pub, a unique reminder of the many similar type businesses which flourished in Athy up to 100 years ago.

It is the last of these historic businesses which continues to attract visitors. I am reminded that O’Brien’s is the unofficial clubhouse for the annual Shackleton Autumn School attendees.

The regular overseas attendees at the school spend their evenings in O’Brien’s enjoying the atmosphere and the camaraderie shared with other attendees and the locals.

The 150th anniversary celebration takes place in O’Brien’s on Saturday 13 December from 2pm until late and everyone is invited to celebrate with the present proprietor, Judith O’Brien, and share reminiscences of times past.

We who remember Judith’s father Frank must recall with pride his contribution to the local community, which was one of encouragement, one of acknowledgement of Athy’s greatness, and one of pride of the town of his birth.