The Long Stone - Townsend Street
Situated near Trinity College and around the corner from Temple Bar, The Long Stone was a buzzing Dublin boozer. Located on Townsend Street it was established in 1754 and remained a family owned pub at the heart of the city. The pub took it’s name from the long stone pillar or ‘steyne’ erected in the sea by the Vikings to symbolise their new settlement at the mouth of the Liffey.
The design of The Long Stone incorporated all the best aspects of an old boozer and a modern bar in the capital. There was plenty of comfortable seating winding around the bar downstairs and upstairs there was some more intimate seating for a drink and a bit of gossip.
Sadly it was demolished in conjunction with Apollo House to make way for a 11 storey development. In an interview with the Irish Times, The Long Stone's manager Dan Ryan said:“We knew this day was coming, but when it arrives it is always different. You always feel a bit sad. ... The Long Stone is a unique pub and will be sadly missed by us and our customers. People loved it - locals and tourist alike. The sale and the redevelopment of this block was always on the cards over the last couples of years, and now that day has arrived.”
Let us all hope that our beautiful pubs so long out of business will survive and reopen their doors to us. We cannot afford to lose this part of our special culture.
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