This old victorian pub has been around for over 140 years. The dark mahogany fittings, the mirrored walls and the warm lighting retain the character of Christopher McCabe's bar, as the place was known back in 1854. McCabe took in lodgers upstairs but the next landlord, John Walsh, actually owned the College Hotel directly behind, which fronted on to College street. A new hotel is to be built in almost the same spot soon.

The fittings in Bowe's are of solid Dublin craftmanship and date from the days of John O'Connor (c.1880 - 1890) The old two-faced angular clock at the front of the pub is of a type now rare in the city, and is still wound manually. The lads from the Irish Times have been drinking here since O'Connor's day. The rear entrance to the Irish Times was then sandwiched between Jim O'Hara's billiards rooms and Amelia Barker's Carlisle Temperance Hotel. Today these buildings have disappeared but the Irish Times is still publishing.

James Rochford was the name over the door from 1895 (traces of Rochford's name can still be seen on mirrors inside the bar and on the end wall outside the building and there are some bottles with Rochford's name on show inside the pub). James Bowe finally arrived to pull pints in the 1920's.

Today, Bowe's still echoes to the gossip and laughter of people who drop in to sample the food and drink of this great Dublin bar; the friendliness extended here is for everybody - even when it gets crowded.

The best time for a drink here is probably in the afternoon, the sun shines through the large front window and there is a great feeling of warmth and friendliness .... the Guinness here is amongst the best in Dublin.

The current manager of Bowes is the extremely affable James Murphy (no relation!). It may surprise you to learn that he is currently president of the Bartenders' Association of Ireland and that he has written a history of the organisation - details of the book are available here. He keeps the bar running smoothly with the help of J. J. O'Donoghue. Both James and J. J. are award-winning cocktail mixers.

page maintained by f. murphy