Callanan's Bar — Restaurant in Cork

Callanan's Bar has to one of the best Murphy's and Beamish pubs in all of Cork City, if not the entire county. A couple of friends and I were walking along George's Quay one Friday evening in January of 2024 and as we passed we decided to pop in. There was a traditional music session happening that night so we only had standing room at the bar counter. You can soak up the atmosphere of this bar from anywhere inside and we had a wonderful evening with our friends in Callanan's!

The Staff: The staff are very friendly here and the service is very quick. They like a bit of chat too and are a wealth of information if you get talking to them when its quiet.

Layout: The layout of the bar is pretty simplistic. There is esentially just one main room with a little snug at the front on the right as you enter. There is a little room at the back of the bar however, it is very small and only has a few tables and chairs. The bar counter is located in the main room at the right hand side and the seating along with tables are mainly along left hand side of the room. The snug like all other snugs can only take 4 or 5 people but if you are lucky to get into it not only will you have your own seperate access to the bar but its probably the best place to sit in the bar in general.

Decor: Callanan's is another one of Cork's old timey bars and it is decorated in such fashion too. The walls are lined with timber panelling and there are a couple of pictures dotted along the walls however, the decorating is kepth mostly plain and simple. There are no tvs in this bar which is nice as this bar is where people come for conversation and a few sociables!

Pop Up Gaeltacht: I came here once in my college days as a few friends were Irish speakers and they had heard about the Pop Up Gaeltacht that was taking in Callanan's that particular night. It was a brilliant experience to talk and share stories with people who ranged from basic conversation to a fluent grasp of the Irish language and ever since then I have wanted to come back. I asked the bar man when I visited a few weeks ago if the Pop Up Gaeltacht was still going and sure enough it was being held that very night in another pub in Cork city. If you are interested check out PopUpGaeltacht on Instagram or Facebook.

Location: Its located on the corner of Mary St. and George's Quay oppiste Parliament Bridge.

Overall Opinion: I highly recommend stopping by Callanan's Bar for a pint of Murphy's and Beamish and the pints were flowing the night we were here. If Guinness is more your thing, they have bottles of Guinness that you can order. Apparently a warm bottle of Guinness is a thing so I must give it a try. I would give Callanan's Bar...

The most Corkonian pub. No Guinness, just local stuff & when Beamish is far superior anyway, it's really excellent. Very Irish decor & feel. Easily the cheapest pint within the City Centre area & hand on heart, the best pints you will get in the City. The regulars & the owner were absolutely fantastic people, made us two blokes from Stoke very welcome. Absolutely...

...we went in last night feeling very beamish indeed and had a pint of Murphys there after....both on draught and excellent... cant really say which one was nicer... extra bonus, power-cut, so the candles came out... lovely atmosphere... thanks guys for that time-warp-feeling... we shall meet again next time Im in...