Located on a far corner of Valentia Island, off the coast of the ring of Kerry, O’Shea’s pub has the honor of being one of the furthest flung bars in the world, that you can’t—and could never—buy a proper pint at.
“Next Pint New York!” are the words proudly displayed on this old abandoned “pub” once used for a Guinness commercial. There’s just one catch: the pub itself was never actually open for business. Guinness conjured O’Shea’s Pub out of thin air for a commercial to represent a place that was oh so far away, yet serviced by their loyal, hard-working distributors and tap-line runners.
This sticky little detail shouldn’t detract from the delight from a visit to O’Shea’s in person. The “pub” still stands today, along a terribly potholed road, abandoned and overlooking the rough Atlantic. The building itself is slowly being taken back by nature, with little standing in the way of intrepid explorers poking around to the crumbling former set-piece.
A gentle suggestion, if we may: When visiting this haunting Potemkin pub, don’t forget to pack in a pint of the black stuff to properly toast this quirky piece of forgotten pop culture.
Update as of October 2019: A fence has been erected around the pub and may be best admired from afar.
While driving the Ring of Kerry, take the car ferry at Reenard point into Knights Town on Valentia island. From Knights Town, take the main loop around the island on R565. Pass Valentia Candles and follow signs towards St. Brendan's Well. The abandoned pub will be on the road towards the well. The road can be quite rough so take care!
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