THE BERNARD Shaw pub’s demise may end up being short-lived if one Dublin-based hospitality and entertainment group has its way.
Dubliners were up in arms earlier this month when it was announced that the pub and event space on South Richmond Street was to close this September.
It had been rumoured for a few weeks, but finally management confirmed the bad news with an announcement on Facebook.
"It's with heavy hearts that we announce the end of our Bernard Shaw adventure," they wrote.
"At the end of October 2019 we will close the Shaw, Eatyard, all organisational, art and performance spaces and everything else in the building and yards - for good.
"We've tried really hard over the last few months to renew the lease, stay on longer, or buy the place. A lot of things didn't go our way over the last 12 months either, but it's out of our hands now unfortunately.”
Despite the closure, the Bernard Shaw management hinted that "plans are afoot" for "something else".
"Dublin is changing, we can all see and feel it but we are going nowhere & we won't go down without a fight. We'll start something else, somewhere else (plans are afoot) , and keep fighting the good fight," they said.
That “something else” may have finally been revealed with the Irish Times reporting that Trevor O’Shea’s Bodytonic hospitality and entertainment group is planning on re-opening the Bernard Shaw – with a twist.
O’Shea is planning on re-opening the Porterhouse Whitworth, at Cross Guns Bridge, as the new look Bernard Shaw albeit with much of what existed at the old venue.
“We are pretty much transplanting everything we do at the Bernard Shaw to there,” O’Shea told Irish Times.
“Some things won’t fit – we don’t have loads of wallspace for art. There is indoor and outdoor space, but it is smaller. We will launch it the same weekend we close here [the Bernard Shaw]. We might keep the name, or start with a new name, we are not sure yet.”
The swift revival of the Bernard Shaw will be music to the ears of those who previously expressed concern that Dublin’s cultural and creative quarter was being mined away.
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