THE legendary Southside boozer Toners has been declared Irish Pub of the Year at the Irish Pubs Global Awards.
There was a strong showing for Dublin as five of the capital’s pubs were victorious in 10 Irish categories.
While there as delight for Toners as they beat strong competition to take home the Irish Pub of the Year title, four other Dublin pubs went home with trophies from the prestigious awards night.
The Dingle Whiskey Bar at the Porterhouse on Nassau Street was recognised for the Best Irish Whiskey Experience; The Laurels in Perrystown walked away with the Best Food Experience; John Kavanagh (The Gravediggers) in Glasnevin won Best Community Pub, and Pat Dempsey of Slattery’s in Beggars Bush was awarded Best Bar Person.
The winners were announced at a glitzy ceremony at the Galmont Hotel in Galway, at the
Slattery’s Pub, situated on Grand Canal Street Upper, Beggars Bush, officially boasts the Best Bar Person in Ireland – and the world.
Veteran barman, Pat Dempsey has been serving smiles and pints in Slattery’s for close to 30 years and has been a purveyor of perfect pints in the Beggars Bush area for even longer
Irial Slattery, proprietor of Slattery’s, said: “Known on a first name basis by the majority of our clientele and regarded as a local legend in the area, Pat is even registered on the till system as ‘The Legend’. As Pat looks forward to retiring later this year, it's safe to say Slattery’s just won’t be the same place without him.
“A fountain of wisdom and experience, we are sure every barman who has passed through Slattery’s doors would tell you they have learned at least one invaluable lesson from Pat.
“With plenty of match day experience, Pat is no stranger to pressure and always keeps a cool head and the pints flowing. For a number of years, he has been responsible for running the pub’s upstairs bar during events and has played a huge role in Slattery’s becoming known for the place to be for pints before the game.”
Slattery’s were finalists and highly commended for several awards in this year’s Irish Pubs Global Awards, including Best Marketing Campaign, Best Sports Experience and Best Irish Pub.
The night was the culmination of a three-day event which brought almost 450 publicans of Irish pubs from across the world together.
Irish Pubs Global CEO Colm O’Reilly praised the quality of this year’s entries.
“First of all, we have to commend the public on their great taste, as the calibre of this year’s shortlist was phenomenal,” he said. “It was a difficult process to decide the ultimate winners in each category, and we’re sure people will have their own opinions, but that’s the beauty of the Irish pub; we all have our favourites for our own reasons.”
Galway saw an influx of publicans from all over the world as part of the Irish Pubs Global Gathering. This year’s theme was ‘Famous for Food’ and attendees were given the opportunity to sample some of Ireland’s best food and drink.
