Introduction to 'Historic Pubs of Belfast

In the post-war years, the building boom and the relative prosperity of the 1960s brought many changes to Belfast, and not least to its pubs. Redevelopment and population shifts accounted for many a pub’s demise. The clearance of the area around Millfield and Smithfield, for example, spelt the end for many long-standing bars, and the decline in the number of people living and working around the docks meant the disappearance of literally dozens of pubs that depended on local communities for business. In the first half of the 20th century, there was a pub on virtually every corner of the Newtownards Road to serve the shipyard workers, but by the 1960s their numbers were dwindling.

Of the bars that were left, many were undergoing a radical transformation. Out went the old wooden counters, hard seats and tiled floors; in came formica benchtops, leatherette and foam seating, carpets and wooden flooring. ‘Until quite recently, customers were content with traditional surroundings, but lounges, formica, and fancy lighting have almost ousted the immemorial snugs of Belfast’ lamented architectural historian Charles Brett.

Even more immemorial snugs were ousted when the Troubles began to wreak destruction and violence on Belfast. ‘Belfast had – until the bombing campaign of the 1970s – a fine collection of Victorian and Edwardian public houses,’ wrote historian Jonathan Bardon, but by 1975 more than 200 had been destroyed or badly damaged by bombs. Many people were killed in these attacks, which often came without warning of any kind, and the result was that most city centre bars either closed their doors in the early evening or were largely deserted. During the dark days of 1976, the climate of fear was such that several Belfast pubs put up signs declaring that strangers would not be served. Some bars were never rebuilt after being wrecked by bombs; others simply shut their doors because of the lack of trade.

More changes have been wrought by the dizzying dance of ownership among the licensed trade. Most bars have changed hands frequently during their lifespan. ‘There are 1,625 pubs in Northern Ireland,’ an official of the Federation of the Retail Licensed Trade said in 1999, ‘and they are all up for sale all of the time’. New owners very often redesigned their premises, and the more owners of a bar there were, the more changes that took place. The growth of multiple ownership has brought theme bars, high technology fun bars, cool palaces of glass and steel, and retro-fitted spirit grocers. As the industry adapts to meet the demands of its customers, the traditional family-run corner bar is an increasingly rare sight in 21st-century Belfast.

While a good many of the most historic bars in Belfast are long gone, there are some still serving. All, however, have one thing in common – they were places to which customers felt a special attachment and they had a wider significance beyond being somewhere where one simply went for a drink. Belfast’s pubs have changed enormously, and will continue to change, but in the process of that ongoing transformation, their integral rôle in the social development of the city should not be forgotten. The next time you’re in one of the city’s older bars, take a good look around you, for the ghosts of Belfast’s past are supping quietly in a corner.

Author’s Note

This book is not intended as a definitive guide to all of Belfast’s historic hostelries, rather as an entertaining selection of pub descriptions from across the city. Historic Pubs of Belfast from Appletree Press.

Also from Appletree: Irish Pub Songs.