Stop no. 2

 

Kennedy's, Puckane​

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Kennedy’s Lounge, famed on the Irish folk scene, hosted the cream of the Irish trad and folk scene during the ‘70s/’80s. On an Irish tour just after Christmas, The Pogues played a now infamous gig here on Twelfth Night, January 6th, 1986.

The gig was jam-packed with locals coming out to see native boy, Shane and his band, and many members of Shane’s family joined him on stage while Elvis Costello was also in attendance. The mayhem of the night was captured by Puckane’s award-winning photographer, Padraig O’Flannabhra, and the photographs were published in his book SONGSMITH in 2024.

The bar is also mentioned in well-loved Irish folk artist, Christy Moore’s live version of Fairytale of New York where he recounts a meeting with Shane:

“So he took me into Paddy Kennedy’s pub in Puckane, into the snug. And he called for a drink. And then I called for a drink. And then he called for another drink and I called for two drinks. And then we sat down and we had a drink”.

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Listen here: https://tinyurl.com/ChristyMooreFairytale​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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