Sean's Bar

Sean's Bar is a pub in Athlone, Ireland, notable for its success in perpetuating claims of its being established around AD 900, which would make it the oldest bar in Ireland and possibly all of Europe. In actuality, architects and historians suggest that the lower two floors of the building were constructed between 1600 and 1725.

Sean's Bar
The façade of Sean's Bar
Restaurant information
Food typeIrish pub
Street address13 Main Street
CityAthlone
CountyIreland
Websiteseansbar.ie

Claims of age
Musicians at Sean's Bar

Claims of exceptional age may have begun with a 1970s renovation during which wattle and wicker were found in the walls. These materials were reportedly dated by the National Museum of Ireland to the tenth century.[1] Antique coins of an unspecified age, since moved to the museum, were also discovered in the building. News reports from 2015 suggested that the National Museum was investigating the pub owners' claim that it has been operating since AD 900,[2] while other archaeological surveys indicate that the oldest parts of the building in which Sean's Bar operates were constructed in or around the 17th century[3] (with the more ancient materials perhaps having being scavenged and reused).

Some travel guides state that Guinness World Records certified Sean's Bar as the oldest pub in Europe,[4][5] but the certificate on display in the bar states only that Sean's Bar is the oldest public house in Ireland and does not support a specific date of establishment.[6] The proprietors have claimed to possess a list of previous owners going back centuries,[7][8] potentially to Luan, the innkeeper after whom the town is named,[9][10] but the existence and veracity of this list is unverified.

See also

References
  1. MacEacheran, Mike (14 March 2019). "An Irish pub born in the Dark Ages". BBC. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. McDonald, Brian (15 July 2015). "Sean's Bar: See inside one of the oldest pubs in the world - and it's Irish". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. Bradley, John; Halpin, Andrew; King, Heather A. (1985). Urban Archaeological Survey for County Westmeath. Dublin: Office of Public Works.
  4. "Sean's Bar, Athlone – Oldest Pub in Ireland | Ireland Travel Guide". Irelandlogue.com. 4 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  5. Fodor's 2012 Ireland. Random House Digital, Inc. 7 December 2011. p. 253.
  6. Flatley, Helen (5 March 2019). "This Irish Bar Holds the Record as the World's Oldest Pub – Take a Look Inside". The Vintage News. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. Flynn, Sean Patrick (22 May 2018). "Pull up a Chair and Have a Drink at the Oldest Bar in Ireland". Departures. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. Daugherty, Christi (27 December 2011). Frommer's Ireland (22 ed.). Frommers. p. 493. ISBN 978-1118027653.
  9. P.W. Joyce. "Irish Local Names Explained". Archived from the original on 9 May 2005.
  10. Gwynn, Stephen Lucius (1914). The Fair Hills of Ireland. Maunsel. p. 250. athlone ford of luain.

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