The Castlecoote Lodge, or to give it its full title: The Castlecoote Lodge Bar & Replica Dáil & Seanad Lounge, celebrates its 5th anniversary this Friday evening from 9 pm.
Proprietor Mary Leyden says it has been a busy five years for the Castlecoote establishment.
“It has been a very eventful and exciting five years since myself, my husband Terry and our son Conor opened the Castlecoote Lodge Bar & Lounge.
“The pub was purchased from the late Tom Reilly (RIP) and his wife Maire, and it was a very successful and much-loved pub owned by publicans who ran a very popular premises.
“It had originally been owned by the well-respected Ward family from as far back as the 19th century. The present-day premises had been rebuilt in 1953 by the very popular Bill and Matt Ward.
“Since the re-opening of Castlecoote Lodge Bar & Lounge in July 2013 we’ve thankfully been very busy with wonderful regular customers, and Irish Trad sessions every third Friday of the month with talented musicians, singers, dancers and storytellers.
“In fact, as recently as last Friday night, one of the entertainers was the great Seanachaí Vincent Pierse, who entertained a good crowd.
“The Lodge has also hosted RTÉ’s Nationwide, which featured traditional musicians and dancers and highlighted the beauty of Castlecoote Village, which has won numerous Tidy Towns awards over the years, thanks to the dedicated committee and volunteers.
“Castlecoote Lodge Bar & Lounge was officially opened by former Minister Mary O’Rourke back in September 2013 and Mary has visited us many times over the last five years,” Mary added.
The pub has proven to be a popular venue for all manner of launches including the official opening of Fleadh Cheoil Ros Comáin in 2017 and 2018, and book launches by Mary O’Rourke (‘Just Mary’), Sir Patrick Duffy, and Terry’s cousin, Brian Leyden.
It has also hosted numerous local and national events and the Leydens say they are looking forward to hosting many more in the future.
