Fire destroys 150-year-old pub in Co Meath

Louise Walsh

A fire has caused extensive damage to an iconic 150-year-old pub, which featured in an Oscar-nominated movie.

The blaze at Scut Fagan's in Moynalvey, Co. Meath, is believed to have started around 5 am on New Year's Eve.

Fire units from Trim, Navan, Kells and Ashbourne attended the scene, which was preserved for a technical examination.

Well known for its traditional music, the pub featured on RTE and more recently in the Oscar-nominated movie An Cailin Ciuin.

Local Fine Gael Councillor Noel French described the pub as 'a huge feature of the community."

"It was more than a pub. It meant a great deal to not just locals, but visitors and tourists who came to it from far afield.

"It was a unique place, and I'm sad to hear this on the eve of a New Year, what should have been one of the busiest nights for the industry."

Local businessman Mick Hughes of The Stockhouse in Trim added: "It was an iconic rural pub that survived every challenge in the last number of years for business and, not only survived, but thrived.

"Patsy 'Scut' Fagan himself was a character very well liked in the community."