Reviving Gaeilge in Four Provinces pub.

Four Provinces Brewery started six years ago, in the house of brewer Aindriú Ó Murchú. Back then Aindriú, together with his friend, Feargal Chambers decided to start a company. Four years later they were able to open their own brewing factory in Kimmage.

The men’s latest achievement is the Four Provinces pub, opened two months ago in the former Black Horse Inn, the local pub which closed five year ago.

“We wanted to start our own brewing company, and Aindriú was working in a brewery at the time and I was about to do the course he did, in brewing and distilling, but I didn’t bother in the end, and we just got into it that way and kept going from there!” said Feargal.

“I think we have an amazing product with the pub, it’s a really unique South Dublin experience, as well as being a local neighbourhood pub,” he said.

“It’s a complete authentic beer experience that isn’t just catering to tourists, it’s here for locals as well and it’s giving them a better quality of beer than what they’re used to,” Feargal added.

Four Provinces boasts a wide range of beers that are brewed in the nearby brewery, all made with Kimmage water. There’s even a lager called Poddle, named after the local Poddle River.

“Many of the locals think we take it straight from the Poddle, which we don’t!” laughed Feargal.

Men admitted that value plays important role in their business.

“Most of our drinks are a fiver a pint,” Feargal said.

“It’s a student friendly pub, it’s an OAP friendly pub, it’s a middle aged friendly pub. There’s music on four nights a week, we have a function room for events, and we feel like we cater to everyone here. We feel like we’re giving value to the locality,” he added.

However, Aindriú and Feargal are passionate that the pub isn’t just a drinking den, it’s a huge spectrum of different things. They’re both incredibly enthusiastic about Irish culture and Irish language.

“Irish language is core to all our beliefs and our culture here at the company,” Feargal said.

“All of our beers celebrate culture, that was our aim from the start. We have Gaeilge on all of our cans and the staff are all bilingual in the pub. There’s actually lots of Irish speakers around here, so they can come in and converse as Gaeilge,” he said.

“Not everyone in the pub is 100 percent fluent, which I think is important,” added Aindriú.

“There’s learners, there’s people at an intermediate level and there’s fluent speakers, so there’s a mix,” Aindriú explained.

Four Provinces is, also, proud to be stocking strictly Irish products, with barman Ross Geraghty eagerly pointing out their Micil Gin and Poitin from Connemara, and their Poachers tonic from Wicklow.

“We try to use only Irish products where we can, and support local businesses,” Ross said.

The pub is dog friendly, and has a Madra na Míosa competition in which they choose a dog of the month.

“There’s loads of people who bring in dogs; we have a little dog bowl and snacks for the dogs,” said Feargal.
Four Provinces beer is set to be distributed nationwide over the next few months and the pub hopes to become increasingly popular with locals, Gaeilgeoirs and tourists going off the beaten track.