'We know this is an outlandish idea, but it’s not impossible': Locals hope to open Cork’s first community run pub

A group of locals in Kinsale have come together in the hope of bringing Cork its first community-run pub.

The Harbour Bar, located along the Scilly Walk in Kinsale town, has more than 150 years of history, having served as a public house and residence since the mid 1800s.

The three-storey property, which has been put up for sale for €1.5m, was purchased by the previous owners, Jebb and Stanley Platt, alongside their son Tim, in 1977.

The sale of the property comes following Tim’s death, and has garnered the attention of locals, who have created the Not So Scilly committee, and are seeking options to purchase and run the venue as a community syndicate.

Speaking to The Echo, chair of the Not So Scilly committee, Lynn Harding, who originally shared the idea for the community-run pub on Facebook, said: “The whole idea is obviously a bit pie in the sky right now, but it’s absolutely doable.

“We have to work out how the fundraising would work — we don’t know yet practically what the fundraising process would be, but we would need to raise the full amount,” said Ms Harding.

“There is a lot of goodwill and grá for Kinsale, even amongst people who don’t live here, and there’s something very special about Scilly Walk — it’s one of the few largely pedestrianised places left in Kinsale.

“This would be the last spot in all of Scilly, that we as a community have as an opportunity to make our own, and to keep for locals and visitors,” she added.

“It’s such a unique space — it’s one that has history, and a legacy that was built up over decades, and once it’s gone, you can’t get that back, so we just want to try and hold onto a really special part of old Kinsale.”

Included in the sale of the venue is the downstairs pub area, which features a solid fuel stove, decorative ceramic tiling, wood flooring, exposed ceiling beams and two large sash windows overlooking Kinsale Harbour, as well as an upstairs residence, which includes three bedrooms and a small balcony.

“For running it, we would envision it being someone who lives there and runs the place, or done by a rota — it would have to be at every point a team effort, and we’ll get an idea through fundraising how committed people actually are,” said Ms Harding.

“We would want to keep as much of it the same as we can — the general vibe to the place is cosy and a moment in time, so we wouldn’t do anything that would impact the structural integrity of the place — we would just tidy it up.

“Really we just want to see if we can get this off the ground fast enough — if it was a community space, it would be great to have different events on there too like open-mic nights or poetry evening,” she added.

“We were also thinking of having the [upstairs apartment] as a space for a writer in residence — so if we could use it that way too, it would be amazing.”

Ms Harding further said that the next few months are going to be integral to their plans, with the committee open to “feasible options” like generous donations from donors with means, or an interest-free loan.

“We do want to fundraise generally, so that people really feel involved — that’s the only way for something like this to work,” she said. “We know this is an outlandish idea, but it’s not impossible.”

Interested parties, who would be willing to donate or fundraise, can get in touch with the committee via email: NotSoScilly@gmail.com.