Built into the back wall of Glasnevin Cemetery and trading since 1833 — a year after the cemetery itself opened to Irish citizens of all faiths. The pub was originally a wedding gift from John Kavanagh's hotelier father-in-law.
Run by the Kavanagh family for the entire 190-plus-year history of the pub. The same family operates it today.
Started life as a funeral-adjacent business: mourners left hearses outside, came in to drink off their grief, and were replaced by gravediggers off-shift. The cemetery committee eventually passed a bylaw restricting burials to the morning, after too many funerals were either drunk or absent altogether.
Built physically into the cemetery wall. The original layout survives; later generations have added a separate lounge (1980s) and a food menu (early 2000s) without altering the front bar.
The pub adopted the 'Gravediggers' nickname only within the last twenty years — partly from its founding clientele, partly because the cemetery workers had legendary ways of ordering their drinks. Tap a coin on the counter behind the partition and a pint would appear without a word being spoken.
Photo via GoogleOld-school pub dating from from 1833 with a weathered wooden bar, plus home-cooked meals.
— Google
Opening hours
| Mon | 11:30 AM – 10:30 PM |
|---|---|
| Tue | 10:30 AM – 10:30 PM |
| Wed | 10:30 AM – 10:30 PM |
| Thu | 10:30 AM – 11:30 PM |
| Fri | 10:30 AM – 11:30 PM |
| Sat | 10:30 AM – 11:30 PM |
| Sun | 12:30 – 10:30 PM |
Photo, hours, ratings & contact info via Google Maps
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
| Address | 1 Prospect Square, Glasnevin |
|---|---|
| County | Pubs in Dublin |
| Revenue ref | N0078 |
Heritage-listed building
John Kavanagh's public house is a relatively modest early nineteenth-century building, located at the east perimeter of Glasnevin Cemetery. In its current form it is shown on the first edition OS map of 1843. The pub was opened in 1833 within the original house by hotelier John O'Neill in the year following the opening of Glasnevin (originally Prospect) Cemetery; O'Neill's daughter married John Kavanagh, whose name remains over the pubfront, and the premises has remained in the ownership of the…
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Heritage listed
John Kavanagh is one of 689 architecturally significant pub buildings recorded by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
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