I have not been inside this pub for about thirty years and to the best of my knowledge it has changed ownership at least once since then. The current owners purchased and refurbished it in 2018 and before that it had not been trading for at least 3 years.
The Kings Inn Pub in Dublin, Ireland, is a traditional Irish pub with a rich history dating back to the 18th century. While the exact date of its establishment is uncertain, it is believed to have been operating since at least the 1860s, with some sources suggesting it may have been even earlier.
The pub is located on Henrietta Street, just a short distance from the iconic King’s Inns complex, which is one of Ireland’s most important legal institutions.
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Leonard’s Corner at the junction of the South Circular Road and Clanbrassil Street
Several notable junctions in Dublin city in Ireland still carry the name (usually unofficially) of the pub or business which once occupied the corner.
While this practice is not unique to Dublin, the pace of recent development in the city has meant that the original source of the name is more likely to have disappeared.
When I first photographed this back in August 2020 a gentleman objected to me photographing the building but he was unwilling to offer any identity or explain what his interest was. He was the second person in the same area to object to my activity on that particular day.
Windy Arbour is a small suburban village in the Dundrum area of Dublin, Ireland. Situated between Dundrum and Milltown, along the banks of the Slang River. Windy Arbour is surrounded by several housing estates, including Columbanus. At the centre of Windy Arbour is the smaller and much older town-land of Farranboley, which appears on maps dating from the 18th century.
Perhaps the most famous person to live in Windy Arbour was Irish patriot Robert Emmet, who grew up in The Casino, a manor house that is now known as Emmet House, where the Secretariat of Secondary schools in Ireland is currently housed. It is located next to the Catholic church on Bird Avenue and was formerly known as Carton House.
Back in March 2022 this famous pub was put on the market as the O’Rorke [maybe O’Rourke] family were retiring from the trade after 40 years. To the best of my knowledge it was known as the Punch Bowl until 1996 when it was sold by Ken Featherstone who had acquired the Victor Hotel.
The Pub’s location was immortalised in the iconic 19th century ballad, ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’. whose name is reputed to derive from the very Rock Road on which the Punch Bowl stands.
This famous tavern, once the haunt of notorious highwaymen, was first licenced in 1779 when William Scully, the then landlord, served such patrons as the Fitzwilliams, Barons of Thorncastle and Viscounts of Merrion. The landmark location has seen more than its share of history and tragedy in the 200 years since it first opened its doors.
A tranquil November day in 1807 turned to catastrophe as The Prince of Wales’ transport ship was caught in a sudden northeasterly gale as it tried to leave Dublin Bay. In violent seas, it foundered on the rocks just south of Booterstown. The Captain escaped with his family and crew, but all 120 soldiers aboard perished. Their bodies washed ashore on Booterstown Strand and their bodies were buried in a quiet graveyard a five minute walk from the pub.
This tragedy was the impetus to the building of Dún Laoghaire Harbour, which was initially called “Dunleary”, then “Kingstown”, and now “Dún Laoghaire”. Dublin port was hampered by a sandbar, which meant that ships could enter or leave only at high tide. A solution, the building of the North Bull Wall, had been identified by Vice-Admiral William Bligh in 1800. If there was a storm, a ship would have to ride out the storm in the open sea, waiting for the tide.
“The bay of Dublin has perhaps been more fatal to seamen and ships than any in the world, for a ship once caught in it in a gale of wind from ENE to SSE must ride it out at anchors or go on shore, and from the nature of that shore the whole of the crews almost invariably have perished.” – Captain Charles Malcolm of George IV’s royal yacht.
A pier had been built at Dún Laoghaire, now known as the “coal harbour”, in 1767, but it had rapidly silted up. The early nineteenth century was unusually stormy. Dublin Bay was notoriously treacherous for boats. The remains of at least 600 vessels rest at the bottom of the bay.
Hanlon’s Corner at the junction of the North Circular Road (R101) with Prussia Street and the Old Cabra Road (both R805).
This public house occupies a prominent position at the junctions of the North Circular Road, Prussia Street, Old Cabra Road and Annamoe Road. Its form responds to the siting with the gabled parapet addressing the corner while the south-east and south-west elevations continue the scale and proportions of their adjoining terraces. The shopfront and brickwork retain early features and survive in good condition. The interior has carved timber shelves and ornate mosaic tiled floor typical of a Victorian pub. The North Circular Road was laid out in the 1780s to create convenient approaches to the city. It developed slowly over the following century with the far west and east ends developing last. This junction is popularly known as Hanlon’s Corner, due to the prominence of the pub as a landmark.
Several notable junctions in Dublin city in Ireland still carry the name (usually unofficially) of the pub or business which once occupied the corner.
While this practice is not unique to Dublin, the pace of recent development there has meant that the original source of the name is more likely to have disappeared.
Examples include:
Baker’s Corner at the junction of Rochestown Avenue and Kill Lane in Deansgrange; Doyle’s Corner at the junction of the North Circular Road (R135 / R147) and Phibsborough Road (R135) in Phibsborough; Edge’s Corner at the junction of the North Strand Road (Annesley Bridge Road) and Fairview Strand; Hart’s Corner at the junction of Botanic Road, Finglas Road, and Prospect Road (all R135) in Glasnevin; Kelly’s Corner at the junction of the R114 road (Upper Camden Street and Richmond Street) and the South Circular Road (Harrington Street and Harcourt Road); Leonard’s Corner at the junction of the South Circular Road and Clanbrassil Street; Vaughan’s Corner at the junction of the N81 road (Terenure Road North and Terenure Place) and the R114 road (Terenure Road East and Rathfarnham Road) in Terenure.
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