New Irish pub a Limerick Haven in Alicante
Article in the Limerick Leader & Live95 Limerick Radio Podcast
The Haven Bar on Davis Street Limerick, established in 1866 closed in 2016 only to be reborn on a foreign shore. This has been the subject of an article in the Limerick Leader. The leader reports on how a Limerick local found herself sitting in the Haven bar once again 3 years after it closed it’s doors, only this time she was in Alicante, Spain.
The owner of McCoys John Costello was interviewed by the paper and told of how he found Used Pub & Hotel Equipment and subsequently had the Limerick bar stripped, transported and rebuilt as an authentic Irish bar in Alicante.
Also below is a podcast from Live95 Limerick radio about a group of Limerick people visiting McCoys.
Limerick people follow the Haven Bar to McCoys Alicante
Live95 Limerick radio station podcast on how a group of Limerick people followed the Haven Bar to Alicante.
From the article in the Limerick Leader
LIMERICK people visiting Playa Flamenca in Alicante in Spain might experience a strange sense of deja vu if they stop in McCoy’s Irish bar on Calle Clementina. This is because, up until 2016, all the fittings now seen in MyCoys were part of the Haven Bar on Davis Street in Limerick.
The bar owner, John Costello, has invited any Limerick person who is in the area to call in and experience a little taste of home.
John, who is from Galway, recently set up McCoys with his wife. He made the decision to have the bar shipped over from Ireland in order to capture an authentic Irish feel.
“I went looking for an original Irish bar. I was lucky enough to find Used Pub and Hotel Equipment, from Kilbeggan,” said John.
“When the Haven closed its doors in Limerick, the lads from Used Pub and Hotel Equipment bought it directly. We bought it off them and they transported the whole thing out to Spain. The bar went through a lot to get here. It even survived storm as it crossed the Bay of Bisque. They took it all the way, over 1000 miles, across oceans, and set it up here perfectly,” he added.
The bar has only been open a week but has already been noticed by a former patron of the Haven.
“A girl was here the last day, and she said she had been sitting in this exact bar three years ago in Limerick city,” said John.
“There have been one or two slight modifications to the layout, but other than that it is identical. The same marks, the same screws, the same character – it’s all there,” he added.
This is John and his wife’s first go at running a pub, but so far, their adventure has been quite a success.
“It’s early days but it is going well. Everybody who comes through the door says it’s as though the bar has been here for years,” said John.
View full article:
https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/473073/new-irish-pub-a-limerick-haven-in-alicante.html