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THE STAG'S HEAD

1 DAME COURT, DAME STREET, Dublin

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Pub details

Address
1 DAME COURT, DAME STREET
County
Dublin
Eircode
D02 TW84
Opening hours
Mo-Sa 11:00-24:00; Su
Licence reference
S0411

Building and heritage

A landmark High Victorian, purpose-built, public house by architect Alfred McGloughlin. Its highly decorated façade retains all original external features. It retains a fine Victorian interior. The Dutch-style gable, oriel and limestone and granite pubfront add considerable architectural interest to the site and the wider streetscape, while the more modest proportions of the building stand in contrast with the larger surrounding buildings. It is one of city's best-known public houses.

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 historyMusic historyArchitecture

Revenue's renewed-liquor-licence register lists licence ref S0411 as a Publican's Licence (7-Day Ordinary) for THE STAG'S HEAD at 1 Dame Court, Dame Street in Dublin city, with SHELBOURNE O'BRIEN LIMITED as licensee.[1]

The Dictionary of Irish Architects lists Alfred Ignatius McGloughlin as an architect and architectural draughtsman born in 1863 and died in 1939.[2]

The same Dictionary of Irish Architects entry lists 1895 alterations and additions to No. 1 Dame Court, Stag's Head, for G.W. Tyson, with H. & J. Martin as contractor.[2]

The Irish Times reported in 2005 that the Stag's Head, off Dame Street, sold at auction for EUR5.8 million.[3]

The same report said Louis Fitzgerald bought the pub after seven bidders competed for it.[3]

The Irish Times said Philip Shaffrey sold the Victorian pub after his family had owned it for more than 30 years.[3]

The same 2005 report described the building as a protected structure, built in 1760 and refurbished in 1895.[3]

The Irish Times reported that The Stags Head: Raw gig series returned to the pub's upstairs room on Dame Court in February and March 2013.[4]

The same music notice listed Thomas Donoghue Band, The Niall Toner Band, The Chapters, and Popical Island collective showcase gigs for the 2013 series.[4]

Sources  (4)
  1. Revenue Commissioners · Register of Renewed Liquor Licences · 2026-05-08
  2. Dictionary of Irish Architects · Alfred Ignatius McGloughlin entry · 2026
  3. Irish Times · "Famous Stag's Head pub sells for EUR5.8m" · 2005-05-12
  4. Irish Times · "Raw talent for Stag's Head gigs" · 2013-02-01

Reviewed pub lore

Local notes

Established

Records of a pub on the Dame Court site go back to 1770. The interior visitors see today is the product of a major 1895 rebuild by architect A.J. McLoughlin.

Screen

Featured in *A Man of No Importance* (1994) starring Albert Finney.

Screen

Featured in *Educating Rita* (1983) starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters.

Architecture

A complete late-Victorian survival — stag-themed stained glass, mahogany panelling, etched mirrors, and the eponymous mounted stag's head over the bar. The original advertising mosaic on the Dame Street footpath is still in place.

Regulars

A young James Joyce drank here. Michael Collins — and, more recently, Quentin Tarantino — are part of the patrons' lore.

Reputation

The first pub in Ireland to install electric light and the first in Dublin to have a telephone. The 1895 rebuild was a Dublin sensation and remains an exemplar of late-Victorian pub design.

Community memories

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