McSorley's of Ranelagh sold to group owned by former Irish international rugby players

Ellen O'Donoghue

Ranelagh pub McSorley’s has been purchased by the team behind Lemon & Duke and The Bridge 1859 for €5.5 million.

McSorley’s will join Lemon & Duke, The Bridge 1859, The Blackrock and Little Lemon in the pub group, which will now be known as Grand Slam Bars.

The group is owned by Noel Anderson, former chair of the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) along with former Irish international rugby players Jamie Heaslip, Dave Kearney, Rob Kearney and Sean O’Brien.

A total of 25 members of staff work in McSorley’s, bringing total employment across Grand Slam Bars to over 200.

McSorley’s remains open and the group plan to maintain many of the established features that have made the Ranelagh pub such a popular spot, including the Thursday night pub quiz and a DJ set every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm.

Building on McSorley’s popularity with rugby fans and in a nod towards Grand Slam Bars' own rugby heritage, the group are planning events in the Ranelagh venue around the Autumn Internationals and next year’s Six Nations.

They also hope to add an extensive cocktail menu to the venue.

Noel Anderson, group managing director of Grand Slam Bars, said that the company is deeply honoured to be taking over as custodians of McSorley’s, “one of the greatest suburban pubs of Dublin.

“We understand what McSorley’s means to its customers, and the special place it occupies in Ranelagh and beyond. We fully intend to maintain that, to keep the special heart and soul of McSorley’s intact. So we can assure customers there won’t be any major changes taking place. You don’t need to fix what certainly isn’t broken,” he said.

Mr Anderson also thanked the Murray family and “all the team who made McSorley’s such a special pub.”