The Village Pubs of Cork: ‘There’s character in the walls here’

The Blackbird is a family-run pub situated along the main thoroughfare of one of Cork’s most picturesque maritime villages, Ballycotton. It caters to locals, passers-by, and even the odd celebrity.

In folklore, a blackbird can be symbolic of many things and in Ireland it is associated with transformation and rebirth. A fitting name over the door of this business; the building dates back to the 1820s and has seen numerous incarnations, as a pub and at one stage as a hotel.

The licence is still that of a pub and a hotel.

Dogs are welcome too. “We’re totally dog- friendly,” says Mossie. “We used to have a sign on the door that said, ‘Hello dogs, we hope your owners are attached to the lead’. Some people might only have a dog in their life, and this gives them somewhere they can come, have lunch, watch the match, and not leave the dog behind.”