The Old Mill, Tallaght, Since 1871- A History

THE OLD MILL, TALLAGHT, SINCE 1871 

(Bridget Burke’s ‘Old Bawn Tavern’, Burke's, Kennedy’s, Lennon’s, Jordan's, Burke's)

There is a generation of people living in Tallaght for whom The Old Mill at Old Bawn Cross, will forever be known as 'Burke's' of Old Bawn.  It is a generation, most probably now in decline and slowly dwindling.  And so it was one hundred years ago in 1919, when locals in the district still referred to the licensed bar and grocery at Old Bawn Cross, as Mr. Burke’s, despite it not having been so for over 25 years.

The site on which the Old Mill now stands was once part of an extensive and farmed estate attached to Allenton House, only a stone’s throw away from the bar and grocery, up a tree lined avenue. While a licensed grocery shop has operated here since at least 1871, it was in the early years a modest and marginal enterprise.  The principal interest in the lease on much of the lands at Allenton changed hands several times in the closing decades of the 1800s.  A forty year lease on the extensive farm transferred from Mr. Nicholas Reade, on his death in 1877 to Mr. Bartholomew Kelly who held it until his own death eight years later. A  Ms. Margaret Reynolds then briefly held the farm, until the death of her brother Philip Quinn, who managed it on her behalf, forced her to relinquish her interest in 1889.

Burke’s of Old Bawn (1871- 1894)

All the while, from 1871 Michael Burke, a nephew of the Rev. C. Burke of Saggart,  ran a small licensed grocery and bar, ‘underlet’ from the principal lessor, of the surrounding farmland.  Michael Burke held the licence until his own passing in November 1890.  He died at 48 years of age, at which time the licence transferred to Margaret Burke. The licensed shop was held on 4 acres of land, surrounded by evocative and poetically named holdings such as “Sloefield” and “Butcher’s Park”.  By the mid-1890s, much of the adjoining land appears to have been held by Michael Jordan of Old Bawn, an extensive farmer and prominent Nationalist in the district. In 1893 the licensed grocery was held by Margaret Burke.  After her passing, in 1898 the Public House was still known locally as Burke’s Public House.  When it was put up for auction the following year it was sold as “Jordan’s" of Old Bawn. It appears that Michael Jordan acquired an interest in the site and surrounding lands shortly after 1889.  The sale of the bar was agreed only two days after Michael Jordan's eldest son, John Jordan, died.

Advertisement for the Sale of 'Jordan's' (better known as Burke's) of Oldbawn (May 1899)

Below- Notice of the completed Sale (August 1899)

Lennon’s of Old Bawn-  1899- 1921

Mary Jane Lennon, had been a licensed publican in Newtown Park, Blackrock, when she applied for a new licence for the Eagle House in Stradbrook, Blackrock in 1898.  Having had the licence refused on the grounds that the premises were unsuitable, she moved with her husband Christopher Lennon to Old Bawn Cross in 1899.  In 1901, 39 year old Christopher Lennon and his 46 year old wife,  Mary Jane ran Lennon’s Bar and Grocery, in which their 17 year old daughter Emily, was a barmaid.  A relative, Annie Coates, also lived with them and worked as a barmaid.  Mr. Lennon was ably assisted on the four acres of adjoining land by the two servants who lived with them, Patrick Brennan and James Molloy- both general labourers.

I cant believe it's not real butter!

In 1905, Mary Jane Lennon was charged with three offences- all minor and related-  selling margarine as butter; not having the label attached to it when exposed for sale, and  for not wrapping it in paper with the word ‘margarine’ printed on it, after the sale.   Lennon pleaded ignorance of the offences and said she only kept a small portion of the ‘mixture’ in the shop ‘required for the workmen coming in for a roll for their dinner”.  She rarely sold it as a portion.  As it was a first offence and in considering the good character of Mrs Lennon, she was fined only 20d for the offence and a further 20d costs.

A Body in the Bar

On the 1st January 1907, Edward O’Neill and George Sullivan, arrived into Lennon’s of Old Bawn at 8pm to welcome in the new-year.  Together they had one, perhaps two drinks before departing at 9.35pm. There were six other men in the pub at the time and all men left the pub together.

Sullivan would be returned to Lennon’s a day or two later, but in no fit state to imbibe.  His body would be found lifeless on Bohernabreena Hill the next day and his remains would be brought back to the public house, in which an inquest would be held.  The 28 year old farm servant had been found face down on the roadside at Bohernabreena Hill.  There was blood on the road and the deceased’s coat was found lying about a yard from the body. Dr Poett, having undertaken a post-mortem in the pub, found both the stomach and the mouth of the deceased to be loaded with liquid mud. There were no injuries of any description on any other part of the body, other than a slight abrasion on the face. Sullivan had bled from the nostril. The abrasion on the nose might have been caused by a fall or a blow. There was the appearance of a struggle having taken place and death was deemed to have been caused by asphyxiation, from lying in an unconscious state in liquid mud.  Sullivan had left the pub sober.  Edward O’Neill would, three weeks later, be charged with having caused the death of George Sullivan.

The Lennon’s would, for over 20 years, run an orderly shop, modestly trading through the war years from 1914 to 1919, and through the War of Independence.  When Mary Jane Lennon died on the 1st March 1921, the executors of her will put “Lennon’s Bar and Grocery” on the market within three weeks.

On the lash

Her husband, Chris, now 59 years old, was last recorded visiting Swords on the 27th March 1921, only four days before the auction of the pub and likely the day of his wife’s Month’s Mind Mass.  Having travelled in company by horse and trap from Tallaght to Swords that Sunday, Mr. Lennon both literally and figuratively went on the lash.  He was found that evening in Daly’s public house on Main Street, Swords. Lennon was seen drinking at 4.15, in Daly’s, a bona-fide establishment.  When the Guards called back at ten minutes to six, Lennon was still there, and still drinking. He was drunk, very drunk.

Both Lennon and the publican were brought up on charges- Lennon of intoxication, the publican of serving a man known to be intoxicated.  The publican noted Lennon had travelled to Swords on business, to inquire about a licensed premises for sale in the town.  He had had tea and his dinner there, and the publican claimed he didn't know Lennon was drunk.  He had only been served one drink in Daly’s.  However when questioned in the pub by the guards, Lennon, attempting to stand up to face the guard, promptly fell to the floor.  The defended (Lennon), the Judge ruled, “was a very decent man, but fond of a drop”. He was fined 10d and charged 5d costs.

Lennon’s fully licensed premises in Old Bawn, now with 9 statute acres, was auctioned the following Thursday, the 31st March 1921. It was held on a 500 year lease dated from 25th March 1914, at an annual rent of £40. 

The Executor's sale of  "Lennon's of Old Bawn", March 1921

Kennedy's Corner  (1921- 1945)

During the war of independence and subsequent Civil War, a local publican would do well to keep their politics to themselves, for fear of alienating one market or other, and for generally keeping order on the premises, or ‘running a tidy shop’ as the local Guard might describe it, when it came to renewing the licence.

On the 6th September 1921- John (Jack) Kennedy, a Tipperary man who had worked for many years in Dublin, sought to transfer a 7 day licence to his newly acquired establishment at Old Bawn.

"The 7 Day Licensed premises, long established with no competition, had road frontage on both the Old Bawn and Bohernabreena roads. The dwelling adjoining the pub was neat and compact, containing a sitting room, three bedrooms, kitchen with spacious yard, W.C., and numerous outbuildings. Well fitted neat bar and lounge, bottling stores and wash room".

Along with the Pub, Kennedy purchased additional land, bringing the holding to 12 acres. The annual sale of hay from the 12 acre meadow was an important annual income which offset the annual ground rent.  Here Jack and Alice Kennedy raised their family of two daughters Margaret or ‘Rita’; and Sarah Josephine (affectionately known as “Sid”), and their sons James and Sean.  John Kennedy’s brother Andrew Kennedy, lived with them for a number of years in the 1920s, before he purchased and ran The Embankment in Corballis, above Jobstown, where young Sean would go to live and work with his uncle Andy.

Kennedy's primary market was quarrymen or gravelmen and drovers, recreational fishermen and labourers working on the local stone crusher, located only several hundred meters from the pub, beside the bridge crossing the river dodder.

Within a year, the Kennedy's would feel the impact of the Civil War and in August 1922 John Kennedy of Old Bawn lodged a compensation claim with town clerks, for loss of goods and damage to property to the value of £110, 'arising from the recent military operations'.  Fourteen months into their new premises, on a Friday evening, the 7th November 1922,  at 6.30 pm the pub was raided with a loss of fifty shillings worth of cigarettes and tobacco.  The incident was part of a series of raids across the city that weekend.

With the end of the civil war, the day to day business of a publican returned to normal- a game of cat-and-mouse between vintner and local sergeant, serving after hours, and drink to locals and regulars who were not 'bona-fide' or travellers away from home.  On Sunday 6th May 1923- Kennedy was found to be serving alcohol to a drinker who was not bona fide. (Patrick Lawless of Killininny)  Guard Brennan was the officer. Lawless was fined 10s, and costs and  Kennedy was excused.  He appears to have developed favourable, and functional relations with Garda Nyhan in later years, which one can only assume, in Ireland of the 1930s and 1940s might have suited both rather well.

Finnegan’s wake- “About that Seven-pence!”

On 20th May 1924, William Finnegan from Oldcourt, was passing Kennedy’s Corner when he was approached at a distance by Jack Kennedy who was carrying a double barrelled shotgun.   Kennedy shouted over to Finnegan, inquiring “about that seven pence”.  Finnegan was over due in settling up, an account he held with Kennedy’s Grocery.  Finnegan said he would settle the account in a couple of days.  Kennedy then proceeded to load two cartridges into his gun, and fired at Finnegan, cutting the leaves and branches of a tree over Finnegan’s head.  John Kennedy was later charged with shooting at, with the intent to kill, William Finnegan.  Kennedy informed the court that while talking to Finnegan, he happened to spy two Woodquest (Woodpigeon) in the tree overhead and was only shooting at them.  In Finnegan’s haste to get to the guards in Tallaght, he fell into the river Dodder and ran through it, rather than try to negotiate the nearby bridge.   The judge noted that Jack Kennedy was a most respectable and very decent man.  Finnegan acknowledged that he had never any cross words with Kennedy over anything other than the 7d owed.  Kennedy was convicted of common assault and fined 30d with 10d costs, and bound over to keep the peace.  We might assume the account was settled, quite promptly after.

Petrol Bombed

At 1.15am on a Sunday morning in mid May 1928, Mrs Kennedy was lying in bed about to doze-off after a busy nights work. Her husband was in a deep slumber beside her in the bed and her three children, Rita, Sean and Seamus, were all long asleep.  Jack's brother Andy was also asleep in the house. Alice Kennedy heard a crackling noise and got a smell of woodsmoke, before hearing a loud explosion downstairs in the bar below.  Looking toward her bedroom window she saw an unusual bright glare in the street below.  She then heard the sound of a motor car screeching away from the crossroads.

Rousing her husband, they went down stairs to investigate and found the front of the premises in a growing inferno.  Quickly removing the children to a place of safety outside the back of the building Jack, Alice and Andy  spent 30 minutes fighting the flames, eventually successfully extinguishing the fire.  They found a large quantity of sacking paper, sprinkled with petrol and stacked against the doors of the shop and dwellinghouse.  In the centre of a large stack of paper up against the door had been placed a can of petrol and it was the sound of this exploding against door which had caused Mrs Kennedy to stir.  The explosion of the can had scattered much of the flammable material away from the building, and only for this, it is likely the entire premises would have been destroyed. The doors and downstairs windows had been liberally sprinkled with petrol.  Clearly, whoever was responsible, had intended the attack to be fatal for the entire family. The motive for the attack remained a mystery, and the perpetrators elusive, at least to the guards who investigated it.

For almost twenty five years, Jack Kennedy successfully ran a tidy shop at Old Bawn Cross, rearing his family in relative comfort though a difficult period, both politically and economically.  In August 1945, Jack Kennedy announced his retirement from Old Bawn and the sale of 'Kennedy's' due to ill health.  Oddly for someone retiring due to illness, that same month Kennedy purchased Keegan's of Blackrock- perhaps with a view to one of his sons taking the reigns in the new establishment. Himself and his wife Alice, retired to Williamstown House in Blackrock.  He died "at an advanced age" the following year, in September 1946.

After her husbands death,  Alice Kennedy, the family matriarch, moved to Waterford, where her son and daughters all acquired licensed premises. She lived at 12 Michael Street, Waterford City. She died in 1988 at 99 years of age. Rita Nolan (nee Kennedy) having briefly traded in Firhouse (now Morton's), bought the Pearl Bar in Waterford City in 1945, quickly disposing of it for £3000 in 1947, before buying out Dooley's Hotel from her brother James who had purchased it only one year earlier. 

Sid Kennedy, would set a new record for the price of a licensed house in Waterford City, when she purchased The Corner House, on Michael Street in Waterford in 1951. The price would not be disclosed. She would marry Thomas Halpin from Portlaw, Co. Waterford. Though several years out of Old Bawn, she married in her  old parish Church in Rathfarnam.

Sean Kennedy, who lived and worked with his uncle Andrew Kennedy at the Embankment in Corballis married Audrey Kendell.  He emigrated and settled in Melbourne in Australia.

  

James (or Seamus) Kennedy, marrried Grace Ryan from Tipperary in 1945. Between 1945 and 1950 James bought and sold The Ball Alley in Lucan and Dooley's Hotel in Waterford.  He bought out the Old Bawn tavern, from his father, and substantially extended it, with a view to selling it on.  When it failed to sell at an agreeably price in 1946, and again in January 1947 (withdrawn from auction of £10,000) he retained an interest in it until the late 1950s. Rita Nolan, his sister, also retained a share in the business.

In November 1948 James Kennedy was fined £5 for a breach of the licencing laws.  Sid (Sarah) Kennedy would transfer her licence from Dooley's Hotel in Waterford, to Old Bawn in 1949 before transferring her licence again in 1950  to a pub on Bolton Street in Dublin. 

Kennedy's Lounge- 1946

Kennedy’s & Burke (1950- 1970)

Local folklore has it that Tom Burke, from Prucklish, Newtown Forbes, Co. Longford,  started working as a young man in Kennedy’s Corner in August 1945- the day the American’s dropped the bomb on either Hiroshima or Nagasaki, therefore either the 6th or 9th of August 1945.   It was the month in which  Jack Kennedy announced his departure from Old Bawn, and his purchase of Keegan’s in Blackrock.

With the departure and death of Jack Kennedy and with the Kennedy family members, by now all holding separate licences in their own names, by 1950 it fell to Tom Burke to apply for a 7 day licence for what was still known as Kennedy’s. In May 1952, when 6 people were found to be on the premises after hours, it would be Tom Burke who would be fined £10.

Rough Justice 

On the evening of the 5th September 1958 four young Gardai from Kevin Street Station, McGaraghan, O’Malley, Kehoe, and Carey, entered Kennedy’s public house and ordered a round of drinks.  They were celebrating the passing of an examination, by one of their number, and were in ebullient form. They had started drinking at 4 pm earlier that day. They had three pints and a small whiskey each in Kennedy's, when three of the young guards started singing and the fourth began dancing about the pub.  Tom Burke quietly asked the gentlemen to desist and to ‘keep it down’.  The dancing cop, McGaraghan then approached a young barmaid, Anne Keating, demanding ‘change for the jukebox’ and threatened that if he wasn’t given change, he would break the machine.  At this point Tom Burke had words with the four young men.

The local guard, Sergeant Burke (no relation to Tom), called into the establishment shortly after and spoke with the four men, who quietly left.  A short time later, on leaving the pub, Sergeant Burke found three of the four young guards fist-fighting among themselves on the street outside.  On attempting to intervene, Sergeant Burke was struck in the face.  The sturdy guard responded in kind, and all hell broke loose.  The four rookie cops turned on Sergeant Burke, who managed to escape to a waiting car, before the front window of Kennedy’s public house was smashed in.  Sergeant Burke promptly returned with assistance, and found the four engaged in a full on melee, in which two local civilians, George Brasil and James O’ Connor, were assaulted.  McGaraghan was in the process of forcing his way back into Kennedy’s Bar.  Tom Burke was manning the door and struck McGaraghan in the face, to good effect.  McGaraghan hit the deck before staggering back to his feet in pursuit of the retreating publican.  McGaraghan, now stripped to the waist and waving an empty bottle of stout about, declared his intention to wreck the place.  Tom Burke was having none of it, and after a brief struggle McGaraghan was successfully ejected from the pub.  He was found a short time later, lying on a pavement by Sergeant Burke.  But the night was but a pup!  On attempting to arrest him the Sergeant found him still in fighting form.  He resisted arrest and had to be restrained by several guards and cuffed, before being bowed into a waiting squad car. O’Malley, in the melee, had lost both his shoes and his trousers, before scurrying off to a nearby house in Oldbawn.  He was picked up a short time later and went quietly. Kehoe resisted arrest and had to be restrained with force, while Carey went sheepishly.

The men were subsequently brought up on a range of charges including Disorderly Conduct while Drunk, Violent Conduct, Assaulting a Garda, Malicious Damage, Resisting Arrest and Obstructing a Garda in the execution of his duties.  The men apologised to the court for their conduct, and said they felt they had brought the force into disrepute. District Justice Murphy described it as the worst drunken brawl, to ever come before his court. They were found guilty of all charges except one- malicious damage to Kennedy’s window- which might have been accidental!

“Whatever I do to them, is nothing to what the commissioner of the Garda will do to them”

District Justice Murphy noted, rather optimistically.

McGaraghan was fined the princely sum of £6.  Kehoe was fined £4, and Carey and O’ Malley were each fined £3.  To put that in perspective, it is worth remembering, Tom Burke had been fined £10 six years earlier, for having punters on site, after hours!

In 1958, Grace Kennedy, James's wife, was named as the proprietor.  Over the years as Jack Kennedy’s children relinquished their respective interests in the old family business, Tom Burke and his family, incrementally bought them out.  The only member of the Kennedy family to retain an interest in the pub after 1962, was Rita Nolan, Jack's eldest daughter.

Tom Burke and his Fiancée, Bridget Walsh in 1967.  They would marry the following year.

"Bridget Burke" would become a household name, and a byword for Cabaret entertainment in South Dublin in the late 1970's.

Tom Burke ran a somewhat liberal house, making it a popular watering-hole for locals and day-trippers in the 1960s. It is said that Tom Burke enjoyed the life of a publican, and was as comfortable on one side of the bar as the other. Not uniquely for a publican in the district, he didn't always enjoy amicable relations with the local sergeant, or some local housewives, who held  more conservative views on late night drinking. In 1968, both Burke's and Morton's in Firhouse, would be reprimanded and refused a renewal of their restaurant licenses, on the basis that they were being used only to serve drinks until the wee small hours!  

The State opposed the granting of a renewal of Tom Burke's limited restaurant licence in 1968. 
The local Gardai, noted that there had on occasion been fighting outside the premises!

Tom Burke died in Baggot Street Hospital, on Sunday the 12th April, 1970.  He had been unwell for some time.

It is fair to say, in later years Tom Burke did not enjoy the best of relations with the local Gardai and that he had a particularly strained relationship with a prominent local guard in the district.  A known anecdote among Tallaght publicans, relates to a particular incident in the year after Tom Burke's death, where at a large gathering of Tallaght’s business community, another prominent publican and a friend of Tom Burke, after a few drinks, publicly called the guard out as having ‘chased that poor man Tom Burke into an early grave’.  The allegation was received with as much grace as it was delivered, and both men- guard and publican- had to be physically restrained to prevent the incident escalating, much to the frustration of both. 

Bridget Burke’s- Old Bawn Tavern   (1970- 1991)

Bridget Burke with her parents, Peter and Anastasia Walsh  at the opening of her new lounge in 1977

Following the death of Tom Burke in April, on the 1st September 1970, Bridget Burke was granted  a transfer of the licence for the Old Bawn Tavern.

Bridget Burke, was born Bridget Walsh, daughter of Anastasia and Peter Walsh from Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow. Bridget (or Bridie), had started working in the pub as a cleaning lady in the early 1960. She became romantically involved with the long time, and somewhat older licensee, shareholder and barman, Tom Burke.  They married in 1968, but Bridget would be widowed within two years of their wedding.

Bridget Burke transformed the establishment- quickly bringing her own ambition, energy and unique tastes to the business.  In the immediate years after Tom Burke’s passing, Bridget quickly established Burke’s of Old Bawn as an entertainment venue as distinct from simply a drinking house.  Tuesday night was Talent Contest night.  Locals were regularly entertained by Blonde Bombshell Eithne Dunne and a variety of acts would provide nightly entertainment, for no cover charge.  The entrepreneurial spirit coincided with the significant growth of the local population, and a changing demographic of clientele.

Bridget also brought her own unique taste in décor, with what might best be described as taxidermy! Between the early and late 1970s, she assembled and installed an unusual, if not unique menagerie of stuffed animals, to watch over the giddy and at times disconcerted punters.  For day trippers and Sunday drinkers coming out from Dublin, the stuffed animals and old wagon wheels arranged about the place, may have given the establishment an air of old Hunting Lodge chic, at the foot of the Dublin Mountains.  It was a taste, perhaps of it’s time, and did little to dampen the growing demand for what was being offered by way of refreshments and entertainment. On Thursday nights regulars could enjoy the “beer drinking and sausage eating competition”, under the watchful gaze of a pokerfaced Elk, Bison or Deer.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s regular entertainment acts included Laurie Hartz and Sil Fox.  Mr. Pussy paraded his wares and shook his- whatever it was he had- among the mounted birds and preserved specimen fish, much to the amusement of regulars enjoying their night off from working in  Packard Electric, Telectron and Jacobs. 

In 1985, the High Court granted an injunction to Cantrell and Cochran Limited, restraining the shareholders of the Old Bawn Tavern (trading as Bridget Burkes) from “selling  as ‘Club Orange’, orange drinks not manufactured by the plaintiffs”.  Kathleen Burke, Sarah Burke, Bridget Burke and a certain Mrs. Rita Nolan were the named parties.  Clearly, Rita Nolan (daughter of Jack Kennedy), who was by now 40 years out of the district, had retained an interest in the old family concern.   “Dwan’s Orange Drink”, was routinely presented to those punters ordering a “Club Orange”, without any distinction being acknowledged, much to the annoyance of, and loss to Cantrell and Cochran.

Closing Time

Rita Nolan, an original shareholder in the establishment died at her home “Glenasmole”, in Ferrybank, Waterford, in 1990.  The following year Bridget Burke would announce her retirement from the licensed trade after 30 years in Old Bawn.  The premises would be put up for auction in November 1991. It was the end of a memorable era.

The Old Mill-  1997

Louis Fitzgerald at the razing of Bridget Burke's- 1997

The premises of Bridget Burke's were due to be auctioned on the afternoon of the 6th November 1991.  However, a few hours before the auction was due to take place, terms were agreed privately between the selling agent and the new owner. The premises, now standing on 10 acres of land sold for a reported figure of £1.2 million.  In its previous year of operations the pub had a turnover of £700,000.   The new owner was Louis Fitzgerald- a Tipperary man, long-time resident of Rathcoole, and no stranger to Tallaght.  He was also one of the most successful publicans in the country and had had designs on the neighbourhood of Old Bawn since at least 1978.

After changing hands, the pub initially continued to trade under the name  “Bridget Burke’s” through 1993, hosting cabaret and music acts like “Joanna and Tequila Sunrise”,  “Who’s Eddie”, “Dave Marr”, “Off the Record” and “Wicked Sensation”.

In September 1994 the contents of Bridget Burke’s Old Bawn Tavern were sold off and three years later The Old Bawn Tavern, was razed.  In March 1997 the whitewashed- rock dashed building was finally bulldozed under the watchful eye of Louis Fitzgerald.  The previous month a licence application had been made by Burston Ltd, a Louis Fitzgerald Company,  in respect of the new premises, constructed by the applicant.

Sometimes, in order to move forward we must look to the past, and so it was that Louis Fitzgerald developed a most contemporary establishment, from ancient workings.  The distinctive features of the New “Old Mill” were largely assembled from the remains of a 200 year old mill that once stood on the banks of the Ballyfinboy River in Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary.  Fitzgerald bought the mill workings for £15,000 from Tim Heenan, before having them transported-  the mill stone, sack hoists, flour chutes and grain bins-  from the banks of the Ballyfinboy river to the banks of the Dodder. The Heenan family had owned the mill in Borrisokane since 1924, though the mill itself hadn’t been operational since 1944.

The new development was a significant improvement on Bridget Burke’s formaldehyde stuffed menagerie. The new premises at 14,000 square foot, while large, was still less than a third the size of Tallaght’s largest watering hole- The Belgard Inn which extended to 50,000 square foot.

  

The Old Mill, like Fitzgerald himself, had come a long way. It brought Fitzgerald’s pub-count to 14 in total and he was, by 1998 already eyeing his 15th, a new development in Lucan. By 1998, Louis Fitzgerald was generally considered to be the publican with the most pubs in Dublin. The Tipperary native, now had control of the site which had, seventy-five years earlier come to be known as Kennedy’s Corner, after that other Tipperary man, Jack Kennedy. 

When awarded the 1993 ‘Tipperary Man of the Year’ award, Louis Fitzgerald credited his success in the licensed trade with his early apprenticeship in the business.  Fitzgerald had at only 21 years of age, managed “The Embankment” in Corballis, a pub which 20 years earlier had been run by Jack Kennedy’s brother Andrew Kennedy until his death in 1947.  It was a small world.  And Fitzgerald’s latest addition would provide serious competition to another family from Tipperary pulling pints in the district, Aherne’s of Old Bawn.

Louis Fitzgerald at the Old Mill 1997

Like much of Tallaght and district, Kennedy's Corner, would now be unrecognizable to most of those who had a pint pulled by Jack Kennedy.  But, as one of that generation, who grew up in Tallaght in the 1970s and 1980s, like those who lived there 100 years before, the pub at the crossroads, between Tallaght and Firhouse, between Bohernabreena and Dublin, will forever be remembered, as “Burke’s of Oldbawn”.

Albert Perris

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