The claim
Beside the Liffey near Christ Church, the Brazen Head is Dublin's most storied tavern. The 1198 date is legend, but a property of that name is recorded here from 1613, and the present coaching inn dates from the 1750s. Its crowded rooms recall United Irishmen and Robert Emmet, and free traditional music sessions and a courtyard restaurant keep it busy.
What the records show
No record supports 1198. A property called the Brazen Head is documented in 1613 (Richard Fagan), an ale licence in 1661 and use as an inn by 1668; the present building was completed around 1754. The 1668 has a second reading behind it now: John Thomas Gilbert, in his History of the City of Dublin, written from the city's own records in the 1850s, says that the Brazen Head was an inn located from the year 1668 in a recess at the rear of the western side of Bridge Street, where it still exists, and that the United Irishmen met in it - Oliver Bond laying his plan for seizing the capital before the society there in February 1797. That is a Dublin historian, a century and a half ago, giving the same date for the inn as the registers give, and none for anything earlier. Continuous use on the site since the medieval period is unproven. The 1613 reaches this page through Wikipedia, which cites Frank Hopkins's Rare Old Dublin of 2002 at page 26 and Timothy Dawson's note in the Dublin Historical Record of 1973. Both describe a merchant's dwelling held by Richard and Elinor Fagan, and the same article says that no document calls the place the Brazen Head until 1700, so the 1613 is a house identified as this one in hindsight rather than a drinking house recorded by name.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1198 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| 1613 | First record of a drinking house here | Wikipedia, citing Frank Hopkins's Rare Old Dublin |
What to look for inside
- Associated with United Irishmen and Robert Emmet, who is said to have planned his 1803 rising here
- Documented as the Brazen Head property in 1613
- 1750s advertisement promised 'neat accommodations and commodious cellars'
Visiting
The Brazen Head is in Dublin, Ireland, at 19-20 Lower Bridge Street, Usher's Quay, Dublin 8, D08 WC64. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brazen_Head
- brazenhead.com/story/
- www.irishhistory.com/places/the-brazen-head-inn-dublin-south-city-co-dublin/
- www.visitdublin.com/the-brazen-head
- www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/50080525/the-brazen-head-19-20-bridge-street-lower-dublin-8-co-dublin
- www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/excise/licences/liquor-licences.aspx
- archive.org/details/ahistorycitydub02gilbgoog
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Oct 2026
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