Established
Trading on Fleet Street since 1823 — the pub celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2023.
The Palace Bar
21 Fleet St, Temple Bar
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21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 H950Sunday 12:30 to 11 pmRecorded 2026-09-11
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Recorded pub details
- Listed name
- The Palace BarRecorded 2026-09-11
- Listed address
- 21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 H950Recorded 2026-09-11
- Phone
- (01) 671 7388Recorded 2026-09-11
- Website
- http://www.thepalacebardublin.com/Recorded 2026-09-11
- Opening hours
- Friday 10:30 am to 12:30 am
- Saturday 10:30 am to 12:30 am
- Sunday 12:30 to 11 pm
- Monday 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Tuesday 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Wednesday 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Thursday 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Facilities
- Accessibility: No wheelchair-accessible car park; No wheelchair-accessible seating
- Service options: Has outdoor seating; On-site services available; Serves dine-in; No delivery
- Highlights: Has great beer selection; Has live music; Has live performances
- Offerings: Serves alcohol; Serves beer; Serves cocktails; Serves coffee; Serves spirits; Serves wine
- Dining options: Has counter service; Has seating
- Amenities: Has bar on site; Has toilet
- Atmosphere: Casual; Cosy; Historic; Trendy
- Crowd: Good for groups; Popular with tourists
- Planning: Doesn't accept reservations
- Payments: Accepts credit cards; Accepts debit cards; Accepts NFC mobile payments; Credit cards
- Parking: Difficult to find a space
- Eircode
- D02 H950
Preserved directory details. Recorded information can change.
From the record · Deep research
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 mentionsArchitecture
Revenue's renewed-liquor-licence register lists licence ref S0086 as a Publican's Licence (7-Day Ordinary) for THE PALACE BAR at 21 Fleet Street in Dublin city, with PALACE FLEET STREET LIMITED as licensee.[1]
NIAH records The Palace Bar at 21 Fleet Street as a regional-rated public house with architectural, artistic, historical, and social interest.[2]
NIAH dates the building to 1880-1900 and records its original and survey use as a public house.[2]
NIAH describes a late nineteenth-century interior with timber panelling, stained-glass roof lights, a mahogany bar, and a snug.[2]
NIAH says the Palace Bar was established in 1823 and records literary associations with Patrick Kavanagh, Seamus Heaney, Flann O'Brien, and Irish Times journalists.[2]
The Irish Times reported in 2023 that the Palace Bar had turned 200 and that John Stafford opened it in 1823.[3]
The same article said the Aherne family had owned the Fleet Street pub since Bill Aherne bought it in 1946 for GBP26,500.[3]
The Irish Times reported that many visitors come to see the interior, which manager Willie Aherne attributed to a renovation commissioned by Patrick Hall after Hall took over the pub from Stafford in the mid-nineteenth century.[3]
The same 2023 article said artist Harry Kernoff's work hangs there and that Alan Reaves's cartoon Dublin Culture decorates the rear wall.[3]
The Irish Times reported in 2011 that bronze sculptures outside the pub commemorate Flann O'Brien, Patrick Kavanagh, Brendan Behan, and Con Houlihan as Palace Bar patrons.[4]
The same 2011 report said Irish Times editor R.M. "Bertie" Smyllie held informal meetings in the pub almost daily during his 1934-1954 editorship.[4]
Sources (4)
Reviewed pub lore
Local notes
Literary links
The Fleet Street Palace was the literary nerve-centre of mid-20th-century Dublin journalism — playwright, poet and reporter all drinking the same pints from the same counter.
Architecture
One of the best-preserved Victorian pubs in Dublin; the present interior dates from 1883. The famous back snug is the room Patrick Kavanagh called 'the most wonderful temple of art.'
Regulars
Until *The Irish Times* moved off Fleet Street in 2006, the Palace was the de-facto staffroom of the paper. Patrick Kavanagh, Flann O'Brien, Brendan Behan, Seamus Heaney and Con Houlihan all drank here. Four bronze plaques set into the footpath outside carry their portraits and quotes.
Reputation
Dublin's most pedigreed press pub; routinely listed among the country's top heritage pubs.
House rules
Be sound. Welcome newcomers. Keep it about the pub.
Recorded details, hours and facilities
Source observations, not owner-confirmed. Missing fields do not mean a service is unavailable.
- Listed name · observed 2026-09-11
- The Palace Bar
- Listed address · observed 2026-09-11
- 21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 H950
- Phone · observed 2026-09-11
- (01) 671 7388
- Website · observed 2026-09-11
- http://www.thepalacebardublin.com/
- Opening hours · observed 2026-09-11
- Friday: 10:30 am to 12:30 am
- Saturday: 10:30 am to 12:30 am
- Sunday: 12:30 to 11 pm
- Monday: 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Tuesday: 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Wednesday: 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Thursday: 10:30 am to 11:30 pm
- Facilities · observed 2026-09-11
- Accessibility: No wheelchair-accessible car park; No wheelchair-accessible seating
- Service options: Has outdoor seating; On-site services available; Serves dine-in; No delivery
- Highlights: Has great beer selection; Has live music; Has live performances
- Offerings: Serves alcohol; Serves beer; Serves cocktails; Serves coffee; Serves spirits; Serves wine
- Dining options: Has counter service; Has seating
- Amenities: Has bar on site; Has toilet
- Atmosphere: Casual; Cosy; Historic; Trendy
- Crowd: Good for groups; Popular with tourists
- Planning: Doesn't accept reservations
- Payments: Accepts credit cards; Accepts debit cards; Accepts NFC mobile payments; Credit cards
- Parking: Difficult to find a space