History

History of O'Reilly Bros Pub, The Chancery Inn, 1 Inns Quay

Standing on the site of the long vanished St Saviour's Dominican priory, the
northern
bank of the medieval city and today in the shadow of Gandon's Four Courts,
activity on the site of No. 1 Inns Quay is as old as Dublin itself. The current
building was erected in 1826 following work carried out by the Wide Street
Commissioners to mould the area surrounding the set piece public building
of the Four Courts. It so happens that according to early 19th Century survey
maps, charted by the Commissioners, the lots that occupied today's site
were also owned by a man called Reilly, thought the current name of the pub
is derived from Peter O'Reilly who purchased the building in 1924.

Due to the importance of its location the Board of Wide Street
Commissioners considered carefully the design of this building. Dennis
Kehoe of Bedford Street Dublin was granted the lease of the site in April
1826 but already had a design for houses he intended to build here rejected
the year before. An elevation, designed by the architect Patrick Byrne was
submitted to the Commissioners on the 4th May 1826 and was accepted the
following day. The signatures affixed to the elevation included that of John
Claudius Beresford, the lord mayor of Dublin in 1815. The board also directed
that an elevation submitted by a Charles Hope for a house at No. 3 Inn's
Quay should be modified to conform to Byrne's design.

By 1830, No. 1 Inn's Quay was occupied by William Connick who was a
grocer and wine and spirit merchant. He would maintain a presence here
until 1883. Briefly in 1839, the Law Society of Ireland made use of the house,
presumably as a temporary meeting place. From 1847 to 1857 the house
was a Post Office Receiver. Receiving Houses such as these were first set
up with the establishment of the Penny Post in 1773. Faulkner's Dublin
Journal of the 28th September 1773 wrote: "To extend as far as possible the
benefits of this establishment, to every part of the City. Eighteen receiving
houses will be established where letters may be put in every day from eight
in the morning till ten at night". In 1840 the General Post Office who set up
an office here in 1847, adopted the operation of these houses.

From 1884 to 1913 James Cooney, spirit merchant, was the principal
resident of No. 1 Inn's Quay until James Gleeson became the owner. Thom's
Directory deigned not to note this man's profession and it is difficult to say
what role if any he had to play in the torrid history of the Four Courts in the
first quarter of the 20th Century. Fierce fighting took place in these streets
during the Rising of 1916 and the Civil War of 1922. The bombardment by
Free State troops and the subsequent detonation of mines in the Public
Records Office was the biggest explosion in the history of the city. Priceless
fragments of Ireland's documentary past rained down on Inn's Quay and the
rest of the capital for days.

When the Four Courts were rebuilt, the new owner of 1 Inn's Quay, Peter
O'Reilly had to do without the previous frequent custom of the bag women of
the Four Courts. According to the Irish Times of 28th June 1930, before the
advent of the "Legal Express", the only way a lawyer could have his brief bag
conveyed to the Four Courts was to hire one of a number of these bag
women who also "supplied members of the profession with buns and fruit for
their luncheon" from the surrounding shops. "When the Four Courts are
reopened after the rebuilding we shall miss the sight of the bag women
sitting in the central hall"

An early licence was granted to the pub under the Licensing Act of 1927
which allowed the pub to serve food and drink to people attending the local
market. Farmers from outside the City bringing their produce to the market
by horse and cart would have to set out as early as midnight the previous
night. By seven in the morning they would understandably be in need of
sustenance for the journey home.

The pub was run by E J Curley from 1943 and has been known as The
Chancery Inn since 1977. Publican Michael Hughes made the pub a haven
for traditional musicians during the 1980's and the rafters have rung to the
voices and music of great musicians such as Donal Lunny, The Dubliners,
Mary Black, Christy Moore and many more.

Nowadays, the simple décor and consistent service has ensured a regular
clientele of market workers, local residents and labourers as well as those
regular and otherwise visitors to the Four Courts. An early licence and a
friendly ear have provided relief for generations from the tribulations of life and
the trials of the law.