'It is a pub where memories were made': Couple to retire from iconic Cork venue

Sitting on the same chair film director John Huston sat on each morning while casting roles for local extras in the film Moby Dick during the idyllic summer of 1954, Captain Ahab - aka Kevin Linehan - has a rather imposing whaling harpoon in hand.

“Here, in our sitting room, Huston and his film crew held meetings every morning about their film,” says Kevin, a father of three who is married to Bríd.

“This was their office, or their headquarters if you like.

“It is hard to believe, but here at this very mahogany table, John Huston, actors Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Orson Welles and Leo Genn, held their meetings and met the locals who were hoping to be extras on the film.

“John’s good friend, journalist, Claud Cockburn, often joined the group. The men were often here from 6am to sunset.”

Kevin and his wife Bríd are navigating a new voyage and are closing their pub, Moby Dick’s, on January 1, 2026, after 30 years at the helm.

“My family, the Linehans, have a long association with this pub lasting more than 140 years,” says Kevin.

The star-studded history of the pub was repeated many times here since 1954.

“The Yanks always loved hearing about the legend of Moby Dick and the making of the film,” says Kevin.

He made sure he looked the part for them.

“I always put on my Captain Ahab gear when recounting all the stories to them below in the bar. They loved it!”

Irish coffee was the drink of choice for the American visitors who travelled across the Atlantic to hear tales of yore.

“Indeed it was,” says Kevin. “We sold hundreds and hundreds of Irish coffees to American tourists over the years and when Moby Dick was being made here in Youghal, my parents, Paddy and Maureen, said they sold enough sherry and port to sink the Pequod!”

At 6p a pint, the locals, visitors, film crew and extras must have been riding on a crest of a wave during the filming?

“They were all delighted, to be sure,” says Kevin.

“The extras involved in the film were paid two pounds a day. Even if they were not cast in the film, they still got paid. John Huston was a generous, affable man. Legend has it the whole town earned a living off the film in the ’50s,” adds Kevin.

Moby Dick was a whale of an undertaking.

“The preparation for the set, which took up two blocks along the quayside, employed painters, carpenters, sailors, and handymen. Ten full trains arrived every day from Cork filled with people hoping to get a look at one of the film stars or an autograph. There were 11 hotels in Youghal at the time.”

Why are Kevin and Bríd calling time on their three decades of precious memories with family and friends, the enjoyment, the engagement, the celebrations over the years, holding court with punters near and far?

“We’ve had an incredible journey here,” says Kevin.

“Now the time has come for Bríd and I to retire.”

And sail into the sunset together?

“Something like that!” says Kevin.

“We want to enjoy our grandchildren and do other things while we are still able and are relatively young. We are in no hurry to sell but we would like the new owners to retain the Moby Dick theme.”

Bríd, from Skibbereen, journeyed from West Cork to East Cork back in the day.

“We met in the ballroom of romance,” says Kevin.

In Redbarn in Youghal?

“No. We met in The Talk Of The South in Fermoy,” says Kevin.

Where their beautiful love story began?

“That was the start of it, yes,” says Kevin, smiling at the memory.

Great Irish stories often involve the local pub. Moby Dick’s is no exception. Kevin tells me about some of the history associated with his iconic pub that is part of the fabric and the history of Youghal.

He might put the whaling harpoon aside?

“Oh sorry,” says Kevin who asks his first- mate in the bar, Anne, to brew us a cup of coffee.

“My grandfather, David, first purchased this pub and what was a butcher shop in 1880,” says Kevin.

“His American wife, Anastasia, brought a lot of the furniture for the house here from the States.”

The house is a three-storey building, the stairs donned with soft diamond Youghal Carpet that has lasted through the ages.

“The butcher shop, which was housed at the left of the pub’s main entrance, closed in 1969 when the bar was extended,” says Kevin.

“My dad, Paddy, saw the potential of the pub. He was a man before his time.

“Mam and died both died in the early 2020s.”

Paddy was a man of the people.

“Dad served for many years as a town councillor,” says Kevin.

“He replaced his name over the door to Moby Dick’s when John Huston, Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart and Leo Genn filmed the opening scenes of the movie. The film really put Youghal on the map.”

The people and the locals alike loved Paddy.

John Huston did too.

There is a note in a gilded frame displayed on a wall of the bar from the legendary film director, who was named Best Director by the National Board Review in 1956.

It reads; ‘Under your roof I found warmth, comfort and friendliness. Thank-You Paddy and Maureen.’

The people loved Maureen too.

“One local man used to come in and always order ‘a basin of soup’, says Kevin laughing. “Mam was famous for her oxtail soup.”

The bar and the kitchen were always buzzing.

“Our kitchen was a busy spot for soup and sandwiches,” says Kevin.

Apart from the people of Youghal and the visitors who came in their droves to the town by train, plane and automobile, Paddy often welcomed well-known figures. Kevin did too.

“Charles Haughey moored his boat in Youghal harbour and enjoyed a tipple of two here,” says Kevin.

“Jack Lynch was a lovely man, who smoked his pipe having his big glass of Paddy whiskey, Jack mixed in great with the locals.”

What was it like growing up in the pub synonymous with putting Youghal on the map?

“I took the pledge when I was 21,” says Kevin. “But I had tasted every drink by the time I was 15! I made handy pocket money collecting glasses and stocking shelves.”

Kevin is like his dad.

“I love the cráic and the banter with the customers,” he says.

“Sharing the news of the day over a cuppa or a pint was always a thing in the bar.”

Kevin was reluctant to share his latest news.

“I was quite emotional last weekend, announcing our retirement to our loyal staff and our customers,” says Kevin.

“It is the end of an era for us.

“We all had a lovely relationship together that lasted years and years.”

The business has lasted many years. And then some.

“In the 1970s and 1980s, business was booming,” says Kevin.

“Youghal Carpets, Seafield Fabrics, Blackwater Cottons, were all going strong.

“Mr Kodak even set up shop in Youghal for 10 years. Murray Kitchens were assembling flat-pack kitchens long before Ikea or Cash & Carry Kitchens. Salmon fishing was a huge industry. Today, St Raphael’s Hospital is the town’s biggest employer.”

Sweet Youghal Bay, with its natural beauty, enticed lots of people from near and far.

“The magnificent scenery here is second to none,” says Kevin.

“From the bar window you can see across to west Waterford.

“When we eventually move to a new home, we will miss the panoramic views from the windows upstairs and downstairs.”

Back in the day, cash was king.

“There was no such thing as visa cards or credit cards, or Revolut,” says Kevin.

“It was all cash. Stout was the best seller. Lager took over in later years. Gins too have died a death.”

Traditional pubs in Ireland have died a death in recent times, sadly.

“They have,” agrees Kevin. “It is a shame. The local pub was always a meeting place, a place for people to socialise.”

Kevin and Maureen have lots of lovely memories, but no regrets as they spend their last month at Moby Dick’s.

“Moby Dick’s was always more than a pub,” says Kevin.

“It is a pub where memories were made. Laughter echoed and connections were forged. Music and song were always a big part of Moby Dick’s.”

Captain Ahab was always a big part of Moby Dick’s too.

“For sure,” says Kevin.

Part of Captain Ahab will travel new horizons with Kevin and Brid.

“I’ll be bringing Captain’s Ahab’s costume with me when we move out,” says Kevin, as he dons his top hat that came all the way from Royal Ascot.

“Moby Dick’s will always be a big part of our lives,” adds Kevin.

Bon voyage, Kevin and Bríd.