PUB operator JD Wetherspoon is to open its new pub in Blackrock on Tuesday, July 8, with the creation of 60 new jobs.
The company has spent €2.38million developing the outlet, on the site of the former Tonic Bar, in Temple Road, Carysfort Avenue.
The Wetherspoon pub, which will be called The Three Tun Tavern, will be managed by John Hartigan.
“Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers into the pub and we are confident that it will be a great addition to the Blackrock community,” he said.
In the latter half of the 18th century, there was The Three Tun Tavern in Blackrock. It was ‘kept by one Bishop, a worthy host and was renowned for its good cheer’.
The tavern survived until fairly recently and the name now lives on in the new Wetherspoon pub.
The Three Tun Tavern will specialise in real ales, serving a wide range of beers, including those from local and regional brewers.
Among the beers are Tom Crean’s Irish Lager from Dingle Brewery, Franciscan Well Rebel Red and craft beers from Eight Degrees Brewing, including Howling Gale, Knockmealdown Porter and Barefoot Bohemian Pilsner.
At the heart of the pub the curvaceous oak bar reflects the essence of a tun, a large beer cask or barrel, whilst the interior design is based upon the concept of ‘faded grandeur’, in homage to the grand houses of 18th century Blackrock, many of which have since disappeared.
Exposed brick walls and textured plaster will sit side by side with polished panelling and refined light fittings, to create a shifting visual landscape of modern and bygone eras.
There is also a ‘reading room’, with panelled ceiling and vintage books dedicated to Blackrock’s most famous author, James Joyce.
Photos, a local history board, commissioned artwork by local artists and information boards relating to events, historical buildings and characters of the area will be displayed in the pub.
Included in the artwork are original works from Dublin-born impressionist artist, Gerald Hegarty, who lives and works in Blackrock.
A lithograph from Dublin-based Renate Debrun is also part of the collection, as well as an original John Alexander Halliday piece, titled ‘View From Deepwell’, which depicts a view from the terrace at Deepwell, across Dublin Bay.
