AN historic pub which was once at the centre of an Irish community in Wales has been relocated, rebuilt and reopened to the public.
The Vulcan Hotel has been rebuilt and reopened in Cardiff (Pics: Nathan Roach)From 1853 to 2012 The Vulcan Hotel was located at 10 Adam Street in an area then known as Newtown which served the workforce needed to service Cardiff docks.
Back then it was a community hub for the small but thriving multicultural area, which was known as ‘Little Ireland’, due to the large number of Irish families who lived there. Newtown was demolished and the community dispersed in the 1960s, with the pub the only thing remaining of the historic town.
In recent years the pub has been relocated to St Fagans National Museum of History, where it has been carefully rebuilt, brick by brick, and was reopened to the public this year.
The pub is now located in St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff (Pics: Nathan Roach)On July 18, the Consulate General of Ireland, Cardiff and Amgueddfa Cymru welcomed members of the Cardiff Irish community to The Vulcan Hotel at St Fagans National Museum of History for a special celebration in honour the pub and its importance to many generations of Irish emigrants to the city.
The Consulate General of Ireland, Cardiff invited former members of the Newtown community, including some with direct family links to the pub’s former landlords Denis and Julia MacCarthy.
Guests were treated to a musical performance on the Uilleann pipes from musician and artist Jason Rouse.
Consul General of Ireland in Cardiff, Denise McQuade spoke at the launch event (Pics: Nathan Roach)While Consul General of Ireland, Cardiff Denise McQuade and Dafydd Williams, Principal Curator of Historic Buildings at St Fagans, both spoke on the significance of the Vulcan project.
“The Consulate was delighted to bring together so many people with deep personal ties to The Vulcan Hotel and this special project, to celebrate the important legacy of Newtown in the story of the Irish in Wales,” Ms McQuade said.
“It was marvellous to share memories of the Irish in Cardiff in times gone by and to mark the success of generations of Irish people in Welsh life.”
Guests enjoyed live traditional Irish music at the event (Pics: Nathan Roach)Mr Williams added: “We have always wanted a pub at St Fagans as they play such a key role in community life.
“From the 1830s, a new suburb of Cardiff called Newtown was built to house its rapidly growing population.
“The Vulcan was one of its earliest buildings and was simply one of around a dozen pubs that served what became a predominantly Irish area.
“The Vulcan is all that remains of Newtown and its rebuilding at St Fagans has afforded us the opportunity to interpret the significant contribution of the Irish community in Cardiff.”
