We found online a TV advert for Murphys stout from the 1970s that contains footage of some well known Dublin pubs. Chief among them is The Swan bar on Aungier street, which has barely changed since the filming of this ad.
Fair play to YouTube user killianm2, who uploaded this and has some excellent Irish videos and adverts on his channel.
You can view the advert at the bottom of this article.
Interestingly, the stout is called ‘Murphy’ , not the pluralised ‘Murphy’s’ that we know it as today.
Other pubs to feature include The Palace, Thomas Maher, L Mulligan Grocer, R.K. Devane, and some others where the name is not visible.
In the exterior shot of The Swan you can see the stained glass window design of a swan that is still there today. It seems that in those days the pub was still the domain of the man, with no women featuring in the advert save a female newspaper seller in the street.
The lyrics of the song in the advert go:
At 6 o’clock or 7, there’s a little bit of heaven
that’s always right, in every way.
There’s no need to worry, there’s no need to hurry,
Just step into your local and say,
I’ll have a pint of Murphy, there’s nothing to compare
with the creaminess and the smoothiness, of a pint that’s brewed with care.
So if you feel like joining me, come on in and share,
a Murphy when your working day is over, hah.
It’s wonderful that we have videos like this, showing the exteriors and interiors of pubs that are still standing, and some that are sadly gone. Long may The Swan and pubs of its kind reign!
The advert.
