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P. HEDIGAN - THE BRIAN BORU

BRIAN BORU HOUSE, NO. 5 PROSPECT ROAD, GLASNEVIN, Dublin

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Pub details

Address
BRIAN BORU HOUSE, NO. 5 PROSPECT ROAD, GLASNEVIN
County
Dublin
Eircode
D09 PP93
Phone
+353 1 830-4527
Licence reference
N0236

Building and heritage

A well-preserved mid-nineteenth-century public house, replacing an earlier pub on the same site. It is neatly proportioned on a symmetrical plan, with stucco detailing characteristic of its period, and a good original pubfront enhanced by glazed and gilded signage. It also retains an original timber bar counter and shelving. Hedigan's was established in 1840 as a grocers and public house and has been in the ownership of the Hedigan family since 1904. The pub is known for a particular whiskey that was blended by Patrick Hedigan and traditionally held to be the only pub in Ireland that did...

From the record · Verified background

What the archives say

Independent reporting and heritage records on this pub, drawn from a curated list of Irish news outlets, Revenue Commissioners, NIAH, and the Dictionary of Irish Architects. Every claim links to its primary source.

Listing historyCultural mentionsNotable eventsClosure signals

Revenue's renewed-liquor-licence register lists licence ref N0236 as a Publican's Licence (7-Day Ordinary) for P. HEDIGAN - THE BRIAN BORU at BRIAN BORU HOUSE, NO. 5 PROSPECT ROAD, GLASNEVIN in DUBLIN CITY with HEDIGAN'S LIMITED as licensee.[1]

NIAH records P. Hedigan/The Brian Boru at 5 Prospect Road as a detached three-bay two-storey public house built c.1855, and says Hedigan's was established in 1840 as a grocer and public house and has been in Hedigan family ownership since 1904.[2]

The Irish Times reported in 2008 that An Bord Pleanala overturned permission for partial demolition of Hedigans and a six-storey apartment development because of excessive scale and unsympathetic design, and it described the pub as mentioned in James Joyce's Ulysses.[3]

The Irish Times reported on 2025-10-02 that the planning commission described the demolition of Hedigan's, also known as the Brian Boru at Cross Guns Bridge in Phibsborough, as a significant adverse impact for MetroLink.[4]

Sources  (4)
  1. Revenue Commissioners · Register of Renewed Liquor Licences · 2026-05-08
  2. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · P. Hedigan/The Brian Boru, 5 Prospect Road · 2018-07-19
  3. The Irish Times · 'Brian Boru' pub plan rejected as excessive · 2008-02-28
  4. The Irish Times · MetroLink will have adverse effects across Dublin, planning commission acknowledges · 2025-10-02

Reviewed pub lore

Local notes

Established

Built between c.1850 and c.1860.

Architecture

A well-preserved mid-nineteenth-century public house, replacing an earlier pub on the same site. It is neatly proportioned on a symmetrical plan, with stucco detailing characteristic of its period, and a good original pubfront enhanced by glazed and gilded signage. It also retains an original timber bar counter and shelving.

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