The Admiral’s pub in Shop Street reopened today under the management of by Rosie O’Sullivan so we asked historian Sean Collins to delve into the records for stories about this famous old Drogheda establishment.
McCabe’s Directory of Drogheda 1830 lists five wine and spirit merchants in Shop Street. I cannot ascertain which one would become Thomas Daly’s, but his advertisement in Bassett’s Louth Directory in 1886 proclaims the establishment was founded in 1867.
Thomas Daly passed away in September 1913 and his son Michael took over the bar and retail at 7 Shop Street and the business continued under the guidance of Michael’s son Louis who retired and sold the premises in 1979. One hundred and twelve years of business by the Daly family, and remembered fondly by many in Drogheda as Daly’s to this day. The earliest adverts for Daly’s in local newspapers from the 1870s onwards proclaim that they sell the best whiskey at the best price in town.
Daly’s entered the folklore of the town when Local balladeer Wally Murphy, in his great Drogheda anthem “Under the Clock” sang;
” I went walking down Shop Street with the half of a crown,
and I went into Daly’s, the cheapest in town,
but the pints had gone up and it gave me a shock.”
Asked to recall his student days working in Daly’s of the 1970s, a Vancouver based friend of mine recalled;
“I’d need a couple of pints to properly stimulate my cortical neurons for that question. I remember a funny little chap (Gerry?) from Duleek Gate who always seemed to wear a college scarf and had a permanently running nose (but I only ever worked there in the winters).
“He wore a white coat as he worked the front of the shop (everything from sweets, tobacco, bulk tea, and off-licence, to a small counter space where a man could have a bottle of stout while his wife had a ‘rest’ in the snug. He insisted on referring to the boss as Mr. Daly and the business as Daly Brothers – a touch of “Are You Being Served” in 1970’s Drogheda!
“I think the head barman was Benny (?) Mohan and he ran a tight shop – never missed a trick with the suppliers or the staff and handy with the laggards come closing time.
“Louis Daly was very much driven by principles – hard work, respect, honesty, and above all fairness. He had no time for idlers or shifty characters – if a jobber or a tinker came in the door, he’d stop them, look them over, and then agree to serve them one drink only at the front counter, taking exactly the price of the drink from them and nothing more.
Thomas Daly outside the pub at 36 Shop Street (date unknown).
“He treated his workers the same – I remember there was one of the barmen came on duty with a faint whiff of drink about him: Louis had him up to the office, handed him his cards (two days before Christmas), and walked him off the premises (but when the barman came back after Christmas for his final pay-packet, Louis paid him out as if he had worked the holiday hours).
“As a temporary, I didn’t really know the clientele – I spent as much time in the cellar sorting bottles and crates as tending bar or clearing tables up above.
“I recall the ICA women would occasionally meet up in the front snug for a couple of half-ones and glasses of porter for ‘the season that’s in it’.
“In the back bar, discussions were lively on the weighty matters of the day but talk of politics, religion, or women was frowned upon and even the dockers knew that if Louis tut-tutted in passing, that was the last drink they’d get there for the evening.
“After the holidays when it was time to go back to school, I’d stop by the front shop, ask for Mr. Daly, and wait to be led up to his office (which smelt of sweets from the storefront, scotch whisky (not Irish), and musty blank invoices bulk-bought before decimalisation).
“My pay packet – with cash and a handwritten payslip – would be sealed on the desk before him but I’d have to stand and nod as he expressed his gratitude for my help through the busy season, a commendation for the hard work I’d put in, a reminder that good behaviour and striving was its own reward, and an exhortation to stick to my book-learning and I’d be sure to get ahead….. oh, and there’s a little extra in the envelope as a bonus.”
Pictured inside the Admirals today are (from left) Rosie O’Sullivan (Manager) Courtney Boyle, Darren Byrne and Cian Doran.
Louis Daly retired in 1979 and the premises was acquired by Paddy and Sheila Nelson and the “Admirals” was born. Described in the local media thus;
“The Admiral is Drogheda’s newest luxury lounge and it opens in Daly’s of Shop Street this Friday. Its unique, nautical style should appeal to seadog and landlubber alike. Paintings of old ships decorate the walls. Bric-a-brac include your actual ship’s wheel, ship’s lights and a ship’s bell.
“A nautical clock rings out every four hours to signal a change of watch. An attractive suede material, new to Drogheda pubs, covers the upper part of the walls. The bottom half is done in rich mahogany panel. The canopy over the bar is also mahogany. Add to that a touch of glass — bronzed glass mirrors and panels with pictures of ships sandblasted oh — and you have Drogheda’s latest in drinking luxury.
“The glass and mirror work was done by Frances Studio, Castlebellingham, and is unique in this country. You can eat out at the Admiral too. A whole range of food, including soups, coffee and salads, is on offer. Later on it is intended to expand into hot lunches. Pub grub is in very big demand in Drogheda’s thriving town centre area. Especially among the hungry lunchtime shoppers and workers who throng the place daily.
“As well as the traditional pint and half one, a whole range of cocktails from Harvey Wallbangers to Black Russians to a Tom Collins is served in the lounge. “Cocktails are a real growth end of the publican’s trade,” said publican Paddy Nelson.
Thomas Daly advert from 1866.
“It seems that people are acquiring much more sophisticated palates and like to experiment with new tastes, especially women drinkers.” The new staff employed at the Admiral’s included Martin McEvoy, Jimmy Hoey, John Dillon and Brian Duff. With all this modern change the Admiral’s continued to follow Daly’s dictum of the cheapest in town.”
Paul Nolan became the new owner of the Admirals in 1988, and he extended the off-licence area of the premises. Paul’s bar team included Stephen Donnelly, Calum Callaghan and Ged McEvoy. After Paul’s time there Kevin Devin RIP from Slane became proprietor.
One landlord, who shall remain nameless, said it was the most haunted pub in Ireland. So much so that he engaged a priest to bless and pray on the premises. After which the unruly spirits seem to settle, and I am not referring to the whiskey. After a brief closure, the Admirals is back in business just in time for Cheltenham and St. Patrick’s Day.
