Delaney's Pub Tullahought South Kilkenny

SPARTAN33

Hi Folks

Have driven past this old pub a few times it never seems to be open, was wodnering if anyone knows is it open or is it closed down, I love old worldly pubs love to see what inside looks like, i anyone knows if it is open and i so what time,

Thanks in Advance

dewdrop

I was born not far away from this pub which is situated in a townland called i think Bawnreigh near the Slate Quarries and a ruins of an old RIC barracks which in later years had a hand ball alley. In my youth it was the typical country pub/shop with everything from clothes shoes and bacon hanging from the ceiling. Outside there were rings in the wall where men coming back from the creamery in Windgap would tie their horses/donkeys while having a quick bottle..no draft then. there was also a generator powered from the nearby stream which provided electricity. The owner then the late Jimmy Delaney was a wonderful music man and there were great sessions there and dancing. His son, John followed the tradition and as far as i know the music sessions continue especially at weekends. Many well know people have played there .. they just drop in and the music starts.

Cabaal

It does still open but only accasionally,

Fran79

Hi
my father in law goes here fairly regularly. Sunday night they have traditional music. Not sure about the other nights, FIL is away at the moment but could ask him for you when he is back.

HTH

Fran

SPARTAN33

Hi Guys

Many thanks for all your replies, the pub isnt far rom the slate quarries alright, when I ever I drove always intriged what its like in side love these old pubs, there your real pub not like these commerical places now a days, if anyone has any idea of exact opening times please let me know or when there is music on,

Many Thanks

Spartan33

dewdrop

I gather it opens nightly around 9 like most rural pubs...music is usually on a thursday night and sometimes at weekends.

tipsinah

I visited this pub three times in late September while on holiday in Ireland. We were staying nearby and were encouraged to go there by a musician we met in Kilkenny. At that time there was music on Thursday and Sunday nights from appox 10:30 to closing. The music played and sung here was easily the best and most authentic we heard during our two week stay. Very friendly people, great stories and songs, and not a tour bus within 20 miles. Thank you, John Delaney for your hospitality.

mikko

Delaney's Pub, as I recall it, is just down the road from Guinan's Pub at Windgap. Each of these pubs has both vocalists and instrumentalists of enormous talent, and drinkers of great capacity. Located somewhere in the wild boreens between Kilkenny and Carrick-on-Suir, these pubs offer wee-hour sessions unlike any you'll find in the tourist towns. I recall wondering aloud to the barmaid at Delaney's why they would have old fashioned mop heads hanging from the barroom ceiling for decor. She replied that they were not decor, but actually left over merchandise from when they used to sell such stuff. Mr. Delaney himself is an excellent musician, and surrounds himself with talented folks. Great as he is, and much as he loves music, he stations himself at the pub door at the end of the session, and only lets musicians out - never back in again. He has an arsenal of witty sayings to use to chase the stragglers out at the end of the night. A grand place to visit.

dewdrop

Mikko..nice piece but "wild boreens" a bit over the top. Roads in this area very good. I know i walked them!

Cabaal

dewdrop wrote: »

Mikko..nice piece but "wild boreens" a bit over the top. Roads in this area very good. I know i walked them!

I'd agree the Windgap road and road towards Owning is actually a decent enough road, the road itself up from Windgap road to Tullahought is narrow but there's no potholes or grass in the middle...hardly a "wild boreen"

I should know I drive it twice a day

mikko

Sure, you're right. I'm used to talking to my friends here in the States, where any road where two 18-wheelers cannot meet at 70 mph is considered a "lane". My friend Tony Sheedy, who introduced me to Guinan's and Delaney's, once told me that the original measure for a road was the combined length and width of a cow, and was called a bothar, if I remember correctly. Anything smaller than that standard would be a little bothar, or boreen. So I was clearly wrong in describing those roads as boreens. It is true, however, that if you had a dog who hung his head out the car window, as they often do here in Minnesota, he would soon lose it to a hedge, a stone wall, or an on-coming vehicle. So I apologize for characterizing these lovely roads as boreens - it was a bit over the top - but for my American friends who may be reading this, these roads are as narrow as they are lovely, and seem even moreso when you are driving on what you think of as the "wrong" side of the road, and shifting with your "wrong" hand. And then there is that one curve you go around somewhere in that neighborhood where there seems to be a house actually jutting out into the road. A little scarey for an American driver, but a grand experience. In fact, I'm seriously missing those Irish country roads right now.

dewdrop

Thanks Mikko for that. When i was young a boreen was usually an entrance from the public road up to a farm house and normally would be in poor condition. when rambling through the countryside one often comes across what appears to be a double ditch but in fact was originally a boreen and over time got completely "grown in". Wind howling here in Cork where i am and i would not mind a quiet pint and a bit of music down in Delaneys.

catbear

mikko, if you find driving in Ireland invigorating, then for a truly gripping experience I recommend driving in Sicily. I still shudder at the thought of it. I understood afterwards why the first thing you should do when you get into a car in Sicily is pull in the wing mirrors, you won't need them and second, you can tell foreign drivers from locals, foreigners use their indicators. By Sicilian standards, driving in Ireland is boring.

oscas

a bit late in the day but sure better late then never. John Delaney is my uncle and I've served many a pint there as a child. The pub is still open here and there...his health isn't great recently so as far as I know the hours are probably not rigid.

The general rule is that he'll open on Sunday and Thursday nights - that's when the live music happens.

If you want specifics you can PM me and I'll ask him.

Thank you for your kind posts - the pub is as old-school as it gets and John's great

Cabaal

oscas, sorry to hear his health isn't the best,
Its def one of the few remaining old style pubs around, not too many around anymore. Last one in Callan was Margaret Fennellys, looked the same in the 1960's as the day it closed....except it had a colour tv :pac:

oscas

Thanks Cabaal, he's getting on in years but there's plenty of life in him. As far as I know the pub was built 1914-16 and hasn't been redecorated since - No chance of a colour tv - (although he used to have an arcade game in the place when I was a kid - Space Invaders was usually on it)

and a great pint of Guinness!

dewdrop

Hello Oscas.. I was born in County Tipp just across the Lingaun river which is the boundary. I remember well my late father who would go down for a few pints at the weekend but if Tipp were beaten in hurling by Kilkenny he would not show his face in the pub for quite some time. I knew Johns late parents very well and his late father Jimmy loved to play the music. My very early memories was that they had a generator worked by the river which produced electricity...all the various items handing from the ceiling and the medicine chest. A friend told me that John was playing music a few weeks ago when theycalled.

The Peanut

What a lovely thread this is!!

I've very fond memories of visiting Delaneys as a child. I'm from Carrick-on-Suir, although long gone, and we used to cycle out to Faugheen and Ahenny and other places like the Slate Quarries as kids.

My dad was/is a big Hurling man and would often call over that way for post-mortemising of matches and music; I'd tag along for taytos and Dwan's orange . As grown-ups, we used to call out for music and some of the finest Guinness in the country.

It really is a wonderful relic of a different Ireland. I live in west Cork now and similar country pubs exist but are sadly dying. The changing driving laws are inevitably killing these rural gems.

Best wishes to the Delaneys. Hopefully it'll continue to exist in some format.

sherrif

Passed by John Delaney's just by chance last week on my way back to Dublin from Clonmel & had to stop to take a couple of photos, it looks like the real deal alright & just oozes charm from its simple understated frontage. Would have loved to get a peak inside, will have to make a return visit sometime soon.

oscas

sherrif wrote: »

Passed by John Delaney's just by chance last week on my way back to Dublin from Clonmel & had to stop to take a couple of photos, it looks like the real deal alright & just oozes charm from its simple understated frontage. Would have loved to get a peak inside, will have to make a return visit sometime soon.

It's still open on Thursday and Sunday nights if you're in the neighbourhood around then!

It celebrates 100 years this year )

01Surveyor

I am also a Carrick native though living in 'The Big Smoke' for many years now. <mod snip>, a quiet spoken gentleman in the truest sense. I always visited 'Delaneys of the Slate Quarry' when visiting home, and took many a visitor their to be enchanted by the atmosphere, the music and the drink.
Ask john about the international sculpture event held back in the late eighties in the nearby slate quarry. He has a photo album of the many artists and their sculptures some of which were still visible (just about) in the quarry itself.