Whelan’s of Wexford Street is in the unique position of being not only one of the most important live music venues of the last decade, but also one of Ireland’s most famous pubs, favoured for its warm, convivial atmosphere.
Whelan’s live venue and bar is located on the bustling Wexford Street strip in Dublin’s city centre. The earliest definite record of a public house on this site dates from 1772 when Christopher Brady operated a licensed premises on what was then still popularly known as Kevin’s Port. The premises changed hands many times throughout history.
Whelan’s reputation is universal. Tourists from all over the world regularly visit to photograph the venue that has played host to such legends as Jeff Buckley, Nick Cave, Christy Moore, and Peter Buck and Mike Mills from REM. In recent years Whelan’s has hosted concerts for important new stars such as Damien Rice, Artic Monkeys and the Magic Numbers. It is a venue that musicians from all over the world consistently request to perform in and return to.
The venue’s existing layout includes two levels, a main ground floor surface with an overlooking balcony, with a combined capacity of 400.
The current décor features illustrations from the ancient Book of Kells. One interesting feature of the venue is the Stone Man – a life size statue of a lone Dublin drinker propped against the stone bar.
A renovation project to expand the capacity of Whelan’s front bar, as well as to install a number of new facilities on the second and third levels of the building begin in April 2007. Included in these new facilities will be an additional smaller-capacity venue and bar, smoking area, and a state of the art dressing room and preparation area.
