Contents of landmark Cork bar Reidy’s Vault are up for auction

Everything in Cork landmark Reidy’s Vault Bar will soon be going, going, gone in a clear-out of contents by auction following its recent sale for close to €600,000.

Anyone who’s had the pleasure of supping at its incredibly impressive bar counter will appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship that went into the ornate back-fitting with fitted clock and 30ft counter which originally came from an old pub in Liverpool.

Denis Lynes, of Cork auction house Lynes & Lynes, is selling the entire contents in a single lot and he says the D-end bar counter “is one of the best I have seen in a long time”.

“When the Reidys bought it 40 or 50 years ago, I heard about it and I think it cost serious money at the time, not too far off the lower end of my estimate, which is €70,000-€120,000,” Mr Lynes said.

He thinks it may have been supplied by architectural antiques and salvage firm Andy Thornton, whom he said expressed an interest in buying it back.

ORNATE

However, the British firm wanted the counter without the ornate glazed dividers – which Mr Lynes believes were added by the Reidys after the counter was installed.

He added that it would compromise the counter to remove the dividers, which he thinks were made by a cabinetmaker in Cork.

Mr Lynes is selling the counter, back fitting, dividers, lights, snug, keg lift and all the remaining furniture and internal doors in one lot. The only thing not included is the bentwood stools.

Mr Lynes said a couple of people have already registered to bid and have paid the €2,000 deposit.

The items can be viewed at Reidy’s Vault Bar at 15 Lancaster Quay, Western Road, on Wednesday, May 6, from 10am to 5pm, and the auction will take place both online and in-person at 11am on Saturday, May 11, at Lynes & Lynes Unit 2F, Eastlink Business Park, Carrigtwohill, Cork.

The lot can be viewed online at www.lynesandlynes.com.