Dublin’s Long Stone pub to close its door after 264 years

One of Dublin’s oldest pubs is to close its door for the last time this weekend before being demolished as part of a major city centre development.

The Long Stone on Townsend Street was established in 1754 and has been a favourite of Trinity College, Dublin students for generations.

It takes its name from the long stone that vikings used to signal that they had captured the lands around it.

It is being demolished in conjunction with Apollo House to make way for a 11 storey development being built by Marlet, which paid €56 million for the cleared site on which Apollo House stood last month.

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Adjacent to it, permission has also been given for the demolition of Hawkins House, which was the headquarters of the Department of Health.

While those buildings are cited among the ugliest and most disliked in Dublin and no one will lament their passing, the same cannot be said for the Long Stone.

The pub will shut its doors on Saturday and its 15 staff dispersed to the other pubs in the Murray group which has owned it for the last 11 years.

"We got to know a lot of people around here who were good people," said manager Dan Ryan. "We knew this day was coming, but when it arrives it is always different. You always feel a bit sad. It's a pity because it's been a good business over a long period of time.

“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 the that day has arrived.”

Marlet intends to move into the premises in January with a wrecking ball to start its work.