Foxhunter Pub Closed by Revenue ?

bonoman66

Just heard this evening that Revenue were in the Foxhunter & apparently its being closed ?

Anyone else hear this ??

Walter Sobchak III

Seemed to be all locked up yesterday when passing it. Wouldn't surprise me. Doing little or no business lately

Heroditas

Interesting.
The people who had been running it didn't own the place AFAIK but had some sort of lease. Think the bank were the owners after it had been seized from the previous owners.
Must have had issues keeping up with payments. They appeared to have quite a few staff but the car park was always deserted.
Can't really see much future for a pub or restaurant there to be honest.

Eric The Great

The Foxhunter was sold by the Towey family, current owners of ARC among other public houses, to a well known property developer for a significant sum of money in October 2007. Suffice to say that this well known developer subsequently hit the wall in the property crash and most if not all of his "assets" currently reside in NAMA. The Foxhunter being one of them. The current Manager, is the second to lease the Pub since the Toweys left and the first one to actually deal with NAMA.

The word on the street is that Revenue entered the premises on Wednesday morning with a closure order and gave the staff one hour to leave the premises.

The Revenue department do not usually act out of hand like this, so you would have to assume that there has been a bit of previous between them and the lease holder, most likely related to non payment of VAT and or PAYE.

The "Fox" is a long standing and popular hostelry in this part of Lucan although it has fallen on harder times of late, mostly due to it's location. The
erection of safety barriers along the N4 outside, though badly needed from a safety point of view have certainly not helped as the Pub has traditionally benefitted from a passing trade of motorists heading to all points West.

I reside in locally and sincerely hope that someone of substance comes along and re-opens the Pub as a going concern for the local area.

The outgoing Manager, it has to be said did little or nothing to attract a crowd to the shop, closing Tailor Quigleys late bar and generally discouraging any kind of initiatives offered up by both staff an locals alike.

Let's hope that this is not the end of another piece of old Dublin.

bonoman66

Eric The Great wrote: »

The Foxhunter was sold by the Towey family, current owners of ARC among other public houses, to a well known property developer for a significant sum of money in October 2007. Suffice to say that this well known developer subsequently hit the wall in the property crash and most if not all of his "assets" currently reside in NAMA. The Foxhunter being one of them. The current Manager, is the second to lease the Pub since the Toweys left and the first one to actually deal with NAMA.

The word on the street is that Revenue entered the premises on Wednesday morning with a closure order and gave the staff one hour to leave the premises.

The Revenue department do not usually act out of hand like this, so you would have to assume that there has been a bit of previous between them and the lease holder, most likely related to non payment of VAT and or PAYE.

The "Fox" is a long standing and popular hostelry in this part of Lucan although it has fallen on harder times of late, mostly due to it's location. The
erection of safety barriers along the N4 outside, though badly needed from a safety point of view have certainly not helped as the Pub has traditionally benefitted from a passing trade of motorists heading to all points West.

I reside in locally and sincerely hope that someone of substance comes along and re-opens the Pub as a going concern for the local area.

The outgoing Manager, it has to be said did little or nothing to attract a crowd to the shop, closing Tailor Quigleys late bar and generally discouraging any kind of initiatives offered up by both staff an locals alike.

Let's hope that this is not the end of another piece of old Dublin.

Thanks very much for that detailed insight.

Cheers.

average_runner

Eric The Great wrote: »

The Foxhunter was sold by the Towey family, current owners of ARC among other public houses, to a well known property developer for a significant sum of money in October 2007. Suffice to say that this well known developer subsequently hit the wall in the property crash and most if not all of his "assets" currently reside in NAMA. The Foxhunter being one of them. The current Manager, is the second to lease the Pub since the Toweys left and the first one to actually deal with NAMA.

The word on the street is that Revenue entered the premises on Wednesday morning with a closure order and gave the staff one hour to leave the premises.

The Revenue department do not usually act out of hand like this, so you would have to assume that there has been a bit of previous between them and the lease holder, most likely related to non payment of VAT and or PAYE.

The "Fox" is a long standing and popular hostelry in this part of Lucan although it has fallen on harder times of late, mostly due to it's location. The
erection of safety barriers along the N4 outside, though badly needed from a safety point of view have certainly not helped as the Pub has traditionally benefitted from a passing trade of motorists heading to all points West.

I reside in locally and sincerely hope that someone of substance comes along and re-opens the Pub as a going concern for the local area.

The outgoing Manager, it has to be said did little or nothing to attract a crowd to the shop, closing Tailor Quigleys late bar and generally discouraging any kind of initiatives offered up by both staff an locals alike.

Let's hope that this is not the end of another piece of old Dublin.

I remember i went in there on the morning of Ryder cup in Ireland, no safety barriers there then. The place was empty so knew its future was going to be bleak. Over the last 5 years it wasnt even attractive for food.


So much more could of been done with it.

MidlandsM

I was only in it the once, seemed like a daycent pub .....re; the barriers: can you not access it easy of the m50 now ?

Eric The Great

There is an access point just below the pedestrian bridge to the east of the pub and garage on the N4, problem is if you don't know exactly where it is you are soon sailing by both on the outside of the barriers.

A lot of people travelling west will simply continue on to the next hostelry down the motorway rather than try and find a way in..................totally understandable. Prior to the erection of the barriers and especially in the summer a lot of people on their way home from Croke park would have used the Fox as a stopping off point before hitting the road in earnest. This was once a big source of revenue to the pub.

I'm not suggesting that the safety barriers are a major cause of the pubs demise, however when included with a bunch of other issues such as people abandoning pubs in general to drink at home, location (getting to and from), stricter drink driving legislation enforcement etc etc, it seems that this pub is going the way of many more across the country.

If I was a betting man my money would be firmly on a neighbouring pub, the Deadmans Inn to be the next one to hit the skids.

L1011

The barriers should only have had an impact on even irregular passing trade for a while. Its not like there are any other choices on the N4 until the motorway service area.

However, the location is definitely poor for any local traffic.

Hank Schrader

It never made me feel welcome when i moved to the area 18years ago and on many visits since then nothing has changed my mind of it as a 'original locals only clique pub'


May it stew

DainBramage

Hank Schrader wrote: »

It never made me feel welcome when i moved to the area 18years ago and on many visits since then nothing has changed my mind of it as a 'original locals only clique pub'


May it stew

Didn't even realise the fox had locals- its always been known as a pub with little or no atmosphere and not much attempts by management to improve that. One reason why people didn't drink there, its not just its location.

sad for the staff , any time I got food there they were always friendly.

lord lucan

I used to pop in the odd time for food and a couple of pints as it's only a 5/6 minute walk from my house. Food was always great and pints decent enough but little atmosphere in the bar.

It also garnered a bit of a reputation for trouble. Some may have just been urban legend but i certainly arrived in one sunday afternoon to find shattered glass and boarded up doors and was told of a melee the previous evening.

Hank Schrader

lord lucan wrote: »

I used to pop in the odd time for food and a couple of pints as it's only a 5/6 minute walk from my house. Food was always great and pints decent enough but little atmosphere in the bar.

It also garnered a bit of a reputation for trouble. Some may have just been urban legend but i certainly arrived in one sunday afternoon to find shattered glass and boarded up doors and was told of a melee the previous evening.

True, tended to attract people who were barred from everwhere else

Eric The Great

Yo Hank......just read both of your posts on the Fox Hunter and feel a reply is necessary to give the opinion of a bona fide "Local" , yes, that's "local", you aren't seeing things.

Firstly, I have been a regular in the Fox for going on sixteen years. Under the Toweys and back before the nationwide slump, this was one of the best Pubs around...for Beer, food, music, craic, sports viewing etc etc.

After 2007 it was run by an agency for a couple of years, whose sole aim it was to make money. it was during this period that the pub got a rep for trouble when they put on a disco every weekend which attracted a lot of undesirables from a 5 mile radius, probably the same scum who are now living it up in the over 30s club in the Deadmans.

Once the last lease holder took over three years ago he made a point of removing these people from the pub and bar the odd row, which can happen anywhere it has been fairly quiet during his tenure.

So, there's two myths put to bed......1) The Fox does have Locals and 2) It is not a sanctuary for people who don't get served elsewhere.

On the point that you weren't made welcome on your visits....what would you have liked....a marching band perhaps.....maybe some bunting, flags or whatever. You called the place a clique, did it ever occur to you that just maybe it was down to yourself.....

I don't know if you are Irish or not......it shouldn't matter, but it does because the majority of Irish men entering a new pub for the first time wont wait around to be welcomed by the locals, they will get involved over a period of time until they become a local themselves.....

Hank Schrader

All points taken on board Eric

In fairness i haven't been there in a few years, so a lot of what you say is quite possible.

On your point about been made to feel welcome i can tell you i have tried to drink there on more than a dozen occasions and everytime bar none was the same.
Unfriendly bar staff,customers looking at you as if to say'that's my seat',no atmosphere and that was when i went with Mrs S and some neighbours. When i went with a local football team we were asked to quite down because we were talking and laughing to loud on a saturday afternoon when there were not many people there :eek:

I do understand things may have changed over the last couple of years and perhaps i was a bit harsh

Sunnyisland

Reading an article from a local newspaper and in it the local TD said there was always a Public house where the foxhunter is/was,He said that's going back 40 years.I cant remember any other Pub there before the Foxhunter can anyone enlighten me ?

Eric The Great

The pub was known as Ma Langans prior to the Towey family taking over in 1984 /1985 and had been on the site for a long, long time.

Miss Lockhart

My mother is 70 and says Ma Langan's was there for her whole life.

Sunnyisland

Any photos ? Thanks





and happy christmas and New year to you all.

mobby

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056214298&page=18

Pic no 6 good few years ago

Sunnyisland

mobby wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056214298&page=18

Pic no 6 good few years ago

Sorry mobby cant find it

westdub

What mobby was pointing out was that the last picture in this post is the Foxhunter/Texaco in 1977.....

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=81598218&postcount=256

lord lucan

Younger readers must be scratching their heads looking at that pic as the area bears no resemblance to how it looks today. I vaguely remember it as a kid,fantastic photo it has to be said.

Sunnyisland

Looking at it I vaguely remember that myself,Great photo indeed, Thanks mobby.

Sunnyisland

Heard over the weekend that the towey,s bought the foxhunter back ???

Walter Sobchak III

realies wrote: »

Heard over the weekend that the towey,s bought the foxhunter back ???

They are just leasing it I am led to believe

Eric The Great

To be honest this rumor has been doing the rounds for a long time now. I haven't heard anything new, though I have to admit to leading a bit of a nomadic existence (Bar wise) since the closure back in November.

Rumors I have heard so far:

1: Large british chain, possibly Whitbreads, taking over .
2: Ken Doherty (Snooker) taking over in March :rolleyes:.
3: Toweys buying the place back .
4: Interest shown by an Asian investor (to include Markets / Mosque / shops etc etc), possibly to cater to the growing Asian population in the area :mad:.

All only rumors though, absolutely nothing concrete on the grape vine.

Heroditas

I like the idea of markets and shops, particularly if they sell Asian wares.
Can't see too much of an issue with a mosque so long as it's not festooned with minarets blaring out prayers several times a day.
If it's done like the Esker House development, you wouldn't be any the wiser.

L1011

Can't see a British chain being interested in entering the market here - particularly not Whitbread as they don't actually run standalone pubs anymore! Completely different market, no tied houses anywhere anymore for starters.

Eric The Great

Four or five weeks back I popped into ARC at Liffey Valley SC for a couple of pints. While there I had an interesting conversation with a senior member of the Bar staff regarding the situation at the Foxhunter.

This guy who previously worked in the Fox, related that it was known within the trade that a deal had been struck with a british company, based up around Newcastle (Co Durham) to take over the running of approximately 34 distressed pubs in Ireland, the Foxhunter being one of them.

The word at that time was that the Fox would re-open for business within 6 or 7 weeks, more or less in time for Paddys day.

I am saddened to report that there has been zero movement in or around the Fox in the interim, save for the dumping of rubbish of household and possibly more sinister origins.

The other major sources of movement in the car park are the usual, Gardai munching on donuts and people using the space for park and ride, of both kinds .

At this point I am becoming more or less convinced that the Fox will go the way of the Salmon Leap, It has become a blot on the landscape as there is no single body taking any kind of responsibility for the site.

Rubbish is beginng to stack up, particularly along the drive leading onto the N4 off ramp at Woodies Bridge.

There have also been some reports recently of anti social behaviour in the area, when the Gardai have gone off shift, I presume...a cursory look over the wall will show the evidence in the form of discarded bottles, cans, flagons etc.

I try to go past on a regular basis to watch for any signs of life or progress of any kind and will publish any such news as I find it.......However for the moment it all looks as dead as the proverbial dodo .

emo72

well i think we are guaranteed its not gonna be open for paddys weekend:(

im really getting sick at places closing down and being let turn into dumps.

i suppose some bank owns it now?

Hank Schrader

Eric The Great wrote: »

The pub was known as Ma Langans prior to the Towey family taking over in 1984 /1985 and had been on the site for a long, long time.

Was part it (function room or restaurant) called Ma Langans ?

Walter Sobchak III

Back in the day it was originally Ma Langans before if was called the Foxhunter I believe Untitled.jpg

Eric The Great

The original hostelry on the site, at least going back 70 years or so was named Ma Langans.

In 1984 / 1985 the Towey group took it over and renamed it The Foxhunter, possibly due to the (then) local fox hunting club who regularly met up in the car park prior to their pursuit of the inedible.

In the years after taking over the running of the pub, the management separated the drinking section from the eating section and I suppose in deference to the history of the place named the Restaurant Ma Langans.

3DataModem

Nice timing by the old owners, flipping it in 2007. Hope they spent the money on cars and sunshine.

Eric The Great

By all accounts a lot of the money went into building ARC at Liffey Valley SC.......but having seen at least one of the brothers around Lucan quite a lot over the years since the sale, there is little doubt that some of it did indeed go on fast cars and lot's of sunshine......fair play to him.

r3nu4l

I was born and raised in Lucan and when I came of legal drinking age the Foxhunter became my 'local' by virtue of the fact that I used to drink with some lads I knew from Palmerstown and that is where they used to drink before going on to the Spa Hotel niteclub.

That was about 20 years ago now. I'm sad to hear the place has closed.

Hank Schrader wrote: »

True, tended to attract people who were barred from everwhere else

That wouldn't have happened under the Towey's, they ran a tight ship and there was never any trouble there when I was a local.

Eric The Great wrote: »

The pub was known as Ma Langans prior to the Towey family taking over in 1984 /1985 and had been on the site for a long, long time.

Hank Schrader wrote: »

Was part it (function room or restaurant) called Ma Langans ?

Yeah, as Eric the Great said, the restaurant was named Ma Langan's in honour of the old pub. There was a sign in front of the pub for Ma Langan's restaurant.

r3nu4l

Also, here's the picture mentioned earlier (courtesy of WishboneAsh):



I'd forgotten the place looked like that Brings back memories. I miss Lucan of the 70's and 80's

emo72

so.....i heard this, the toweys bought it back for a song? so tell me if im wrong here, they sold it at the height for millions (13 million?), and bought it back for a pittance 1.5 million? great bit of business if true.

as usual all the above is just the usual BS heard in pubs!

Eric The Great

This rumor has been doing the rounds for a few months now.

I spoke to Frank Towey in ARC a couple of weeks back and again he insisted that there was no truth in it.

The Towey Brothers did sell up for a large sum in 2007, reputedly in the region of €14.3M, which included the buildings, car park, beer gardens et al.

At one point there was full planning permission granted for a number of house and apartment units to be built on the site, while also retaining a Public House there, not necessarily the building as we see it today.

I am not sure if the PP still applies, doesn't matter really as the developer who bought the site in the first place owes so much money to NAMA that he is unlikely to ever resurrect his interests there.

The site is currently being used as a handy dumping ground for fly tippers, a full suite of sitting room furniture arrived a couple of weeks back and currently sits at the fence surrounding the beer garden, nice and cozy for the boys and girls on their al fresco gargle sessions.

newer84

I don't think any of these rumours are true. The latest is that the person who had it when it was shut is getting it back as he has been seen down there. I have seen people in there recently cleaning the place out. Looks like its getting ready for a refurbishment. The best thing to do would be to go down there and ask if you see anyone.

livinginlucan

Just to add more rumor Declan Towey was seen coming out of the Foxhunter pub last week with a load of "suits". May be coincidence but there is usually never smoke without fire.

andrewsunbeam

Anyone know what is going on now with the Fox. I really would like to find out what the status is of the place is.:(

Eric The Great

Just heard this week (for the umpteenth time) that the Fox has definitely been taken over with renovations due to start immediately, with a re-opening date of mid to late September.

Unfortunately when I asked a couple of pertinent questions as to the source of this particular rumor the answers were not forthcoming.....

You know, a guy in the Lord Lucan said his mate in the Penny Hill told his girlfriends cousins sister in Kennys....that kind of thing.

All I can tell you is what I see with my own eyes on a daily basis.....the whole site is a disgrace.

Over grown with weeds, paint peeling and more and more evidence of anti social behavior.....flower containers smashed to pieces, empty bottles , cans , flagons.......human excrement, yes my friends, you heard right!!!, and discarded rubbish of the household variety.

The Fox was closed exactly 9 months ago today and barring a miracle I for one cannot see it re-opening in anything like it's previous form.

So in the interests of the local community, I say bring on the bulldozers and level the place before it becomes more of a health hazard than it already is................

Fagashlil

The inside has been destroyed also, not long after it closed, it was broken into via the skylights and the place was wrecked.

Heroditas

Sounds like the Foxhunter might be an ideal target for Greene King:

Greene King searching for Dublin suburban pubs


The bit about the car park in particular stands out:

Greene King wants to acquire suburban premises outside the city centre, with large car parks. It is understood to be particularly interested in acquiring premises in working-class areas.

Eric The Great

I'll ave a pint o bitter and a chip butty, thank ya very much!!!:(

Heroditas

If the place serves pints of bitter or a nice IPA, you'll have to pry me away from the place with a crowbar.

Hank Schrader

Boddingtons looking to set up over here.

Wouldn't be a bad call ?

ScouseMouse

livinginlucan wrote: »

Just to add more rumor Declan Towey was seen coming out of the Foxhunter pub last week with a load of "suits". May be coincidence but there is usually never smoke without fire.

I know this is an old comment, buy I mentioned this to Declan and he flatly denied this.

Personally, I think they have enough to do with the ARK

congo_90

Any further info on this? Saw lights on outside the restaurant and inside. Trespassers or renovations?

I know of an investor (publican) who was curious about buying