Established
Trading on South Great George's Street since 1766. The interior visitors see today dates from publican Patrick Dolan's 1881 refurbishment.
🏭 Heritage-listed building
Built: c.1760 · NIAH rating: Regional
This building was remodelled with ornate Victorian stucco embellishments and a timber interior of early twentieth-century date. The timber shopfront, with fluted pilasters and hand-painted fascia, adds artistic detailing, making this a strong architectural focal point in the streetscape. Good quality Edwardian public house interior and fittings. One of the oldest surviving buildings on this section of the street, it is possible that it dates to the period around 1784 when the street was widened by the Wide Street Commissioners.
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Claim this listingFrom the record · Deep research
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.
Revenue's renewed-liquor-licence register lists licence ref S0091 as a Publican's Licence (7-Day Ordinary) for THE LONG HALL at 51 South Great George's Street in Dublin city, with LONGHALL LOUNGE BARS LIMITED as licensee.[1]
NIAH records The Long Hall at 51 South Great George's Street as a regional-rated former house with architectural, artistic, and social interest.[2]
NIAH dates the building to 1760-1900 and records its original use as a house and survey use as a public house.[2]
The NIAH description identifies an attached two-bay four-storey former house built c.1780 and remodelled c.1880 for use as a public house.[2]
NIAH records a tiled shopfront, fluted pilasters, hand-painted fascia, and timber raised-and-fielded panelled door.[2]
NIAH says the building was remodelled with ornate Victorian stucco embellishments and a timber interior of early twentieth-century date.[2]
NIAH describes the timber shopfront as a strong architectural focal point in the streetscape and identifies good-quality Edwardian public-house interior and fittings.[2]
The Irish Times reported in 1999 that a Dunnes Stores redevelopment on South Great George's Street would cover up to one-third of the west-side frontage.[3]
The same Irish Times report said only the Long Hall bar would be spared within that affected frontage.[3]
PubHub lore
Established
Trading on South Great George's Street since 1766. The interior visitors see today dates from publican Patrick Dolan's 1881 refurbishment.
Military history
Much of the abortive Fenian Rising of 1867 was planned in this bar. It was here that John Devoy hatched the escape plan that sprung Fenian Chief James Stephens from Richmond Jail in November 1865.
Architecture
A complete and substantially-untouched survival of high-Victorian pub design. Gold-leaf enhancements, hand-carved wood, beveled and ornate glass — all the elements of late-19th-century Dublin pubcraft, kept in working order. Very little has changed in over 130 years.
Reputation
Considered one of the iconic survivals of 'Affluent Victoriana' in Dublin pub design. Tourists come for the room; Dubliners come because nothing's changed.
Community memory
Forum and community traces are labelled separately from verified history. They are starting points for memory-page curation and can be corrected or expanded.
What survives in the archive
The archive reads less like a single fact and more like a room coming into focus: regulars, roles, habits and social texture are visible, but named stories stay out until a stronger source review supports them.
Archive profile
The Long Hall has a multi-source archive trail where the old archive points toward social texture: regulars, habits, roles, atmosphere and remembered room feel. The public page keeps this as anonymous room memory until source review supports more specific storytelling.
Archive strength
Multi-source archive trail
Memory shape
Life events, atmosphere, old memories and stories
Editorial next step
Keep people anonymous; look for corroborated room-memory sources before naming anyone.
No raw forum excerpts or named private-person claims are published from this automated profile.
Life events
The archive suggests the pub appears in personal timelines, occasions, plans or memories people carried forward.
Room atmosphere
The archive points toward room feel and recurring impressions rather than a single verified fact.
Old memories
The archive contains pre-2026 traces of people looking back, recommending, comparing or remembering this pub.
Stories
The archive suggests this pub appears in story-shaped memories rather than just listings or directory mentions.
Boards.ie archive trace
Pre-2026 Boards.ie discussion leaves a community-memory trail for The Long Hall, especially around life events, atmosphere, old memories and stories. PubHub treats this as an archive signal: useful for memory-page curation, not as verified fact.
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