We talk to Anthony Malone, Proprietor of Walsh’s Pub, about creamy pints, great service and legendary Trad sessions at the award-winning Stoneybatter hostelry.
In addition to carrying off the much-coveted All Ireland Pub of the Year award for 2018, Walsh’s of Stoneybatter was also crowned 2018 Pub of The Year for Dublin. In your view, what is the secret to running a successful pub?
The key is to do everything you can to make the customers feel at home. A friendly welcome is very important, combined with good service that’s fast and efficient. At Walsh’s Pub we pride ourselves on providing the highest level of comfort, service and cleanliness to our customers, so it was really nice to see all the effort we put in being recognised with those awards.
Tell us more about the Traditional music sessions that have been going strong at Walsh’s Pub for some time now.
Our weekly trad sessions are really special. They take place on Sunday and Monday nights with live Irish music from 9pm. Sunday night sees the appearance of famous Cavan singer Lisa O’Neill, along with John Flynn and Killian O’Flaherty. On Monday night you can catch brothers Dermot and Brian of the international band Ye Vagabonds. The atmosphere is always magical, with great respect for the musicians and their craft.
What’s the most popular tipple currently on the menu at Walsh’s?
It’s probably fair to say that it’s a pint of the black stuff. We are well known for our Guinness, and our regulars often tell us that our pints taste like cream.
What kind of adaptations have you made since taking over at the helm at Walsh’s?
We’re big believers in the “Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken” mentality, but we have made a few changes to cater for the changing tastes of our customers. In addition to those delicious pints of Guinness we just talked about, we decided to introduce a selection of craft beers, as well as some vegan and gluten free options. We stock Limeburner and Rustbucket Rye Ale from Kinnegar and we’ve also expanded our range of wines and whiskeys.
Give us the lowdown on “Cheesy Tuesday”.
Our weekly Cheese board started off kind of by accident eleven years ago when one of our locals Catherine Keogh started bringing in her own cheese to go with the glass of wine she used to enjoy here in the evening. As a result we decided to introduce a cheese board free of charge to our customers and it really took off. Now we get a nice variety of Irish cheeses such as Gubeen and Corleggy from Lilliput Stores, and they can be sampled here on a Tuesday evening. We’re told that the flavours work well with all of our beverages, be it a glass of wine, a delicious tea-time pint or a refreshing brew from our craft beer range.
What else can visitors to Walsh’s look forward to over the next while?
Every year Walsh’s pub hold a special charity night to support the work of local charities in the area. The whole neighbourhood gets involved, we have lots of terrific raffle prizes and it’s always a great night. Last year we raised €3,300 in support of the Capuchins. We’re really looking forward to hosting the event again this year, so put Tuesday December 10th in the diary!
We also show all the major sporting events on our big screen. As you can imagine we had great craic watching the Dubs succeed in the “Drive for Five”. We’re also keeping an eye on Ireland’s fortunes at the Rugby World Cup, showing all the matches and cheering on the boys in green.
Walsh’s of Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
Tel: 01 670 8647
