The claim
A narrow bar on Athlone's Main Street near the Shannon crossing, Sean's is famous for claiming hospitality on the site since around 900 AD. The present building is an eighteenth-century coaching inn, once called the Three Blackamoor Heads. A section of old wattle walling uncovered in the 1970s is displayed inside, keeping the legend of Ireland's oldest pub alive.
What the records show
The 900 AD founding by Luain is tradition with no archival support. The NIAH dates the building to c.1725 and describes the wattle partitions found in the 1970s as possibly 17th-century, not 10th-century; the inn is recorded as The Three Blackamoor Heads in 1738. Guinness World Records named it Ireland's oldest pub in 2004 but reportedly no longer keeps an oldest-pub category. The present trade is on the state's own list: Revenue's register of liquor licences renewed for 2025/2026, standing as at 2 September 2026, carries a seven-day ordinary publican's licence at 13 Main Street, Athlone, County Westmeath, under reference ATP056, held by Leinster Overview Concepts Limited and trading as Sean's Bar. That class of licence is a full public-house licence rather than a wine or restaurant one, so a drink may be had here without a meal.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| AD 900 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| c.1725 | Present building | National Inventory of Architectural Heritage |
| 1738 | First record of a drinking house here | National Inventory of Architectural Heritage |
What to look for inside
- Certified by Guinness World Records in 2004 as Ireland's oldest pub
- Section of wattle wall uncovered during 1970s renovation displayed in the bar
- Recorded as The Three Blackamoor Heads in 1738 and linked to an early Athlone-Dublin coach service
- Ionic columns on the facade came from Gill's bookshop in Dublin c.1980
Visiting
Sean's Bar is in Athlone, Ireland, at 13 Main Street, Athlone, Co. Westmeath N37 V2C4. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- www.seansbar.ie/history/
- www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15000331/seans-bar-shines-hairdressers-11-13-main-street-athlone-and-bigmeadow-athlone-county-westmeath
- triskeleheritage.triskelepublishing.com/2023/10/22/mediaeval-mythbusting-blog-25-seans-bar/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean%27s_Bar
- www.westmeathindependent.ie/2026/07/30/a-guide-to-the-sessions-of-feile-na-sionainne-2026/
- www.westmeathindependent.ie/2025/05/22/athlone-wins-on-the-double-as-seans-bar-and-thyme-triumph-at-restaurant-awards/
- www.westmeathindependent.ie/2024/10/23/seans-bar-in-athlone-to-close-as-mark-of-respect-after-death-of-our-friend-and-owner/
- www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/excise/licences/liquor-licences.aspx
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
Run this pub? There is a badge for it
Free to put on your own site, no permission needed. It shows what the pub claims and what the records support, and it changes when the data does.
How to use it, and how to change what it says — if you have a document we have not seen, we would like to read it.
