{"id":231334,"date":"2026-01-07T00:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T00:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/231334\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T00:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T00:26:11","slug":"well-known-cork-publican-buys-the-wilton-bar-as-e1m-revamp-to-transform-landmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/231334\/","title":{"rendered":"Well-known Cork publican buys The Wilton bar as \u20ac1m revamp to transform landmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cork publican Paul Montgomery has bought the renowned suburban bar and restaurant The Wilton, with a \u20ac1m refurbishment set to begin next week.<\/p>\n

The 10,000sq ft venue, located opposite Cork University Hospital and beside Wilton Shopping Centre, was built 36 years ago by the Peters family. The sale will complete on Monday, January 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bar will cease trading under current owner Colum Peters this weekend, with new ownership taking over on Monday. The off-market deal is valued in the multimillion-euro range, though the final figure has not been disclosed.<\/p>\n

The two-storey complex will immediately undergo a major renovation and reopen as a pub, restaurant and live music venue in time for St Patrick\u2019s weekend in March, Mr Montgomery said. Staffing is expected to double to 100 following the reopening.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all happened quite quickly. I\u2019ve been interested in The Wilton for some years. I contacted Colum this year and I was really pleased when we spoke. We agreed a deal very swiftly,\u201d said Mr Montgomery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Peters family developed it 36 years ago, and now we are the next custodians. We will enhance it and we will take care of the staff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\" The Wilton Bar & Restaurant will reopen on St Patrick’s weekend. Picture: Larry Cummins<\/p>\n

Mr Montgomery promised \u201cspectacular changes\u201d, including expanded live music offerings, while retaining a strong food focus and its role as a local bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will keep the name but, in many ways, The \u2018new\u2019 Wilton will change,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We will have a big focus on night-time entertainment, with live music, DJs, and Irish music. We do a lot of that with JJs and Clancys, and now we are going to bring a bit of that to the suburbs.<\/p>\n

“Sport and music were my first loves and we have always had a strong emphasis on sports, and The Wilton will be a venue to watch matches. We will bring the balcony more into the bar. We will continue to have an old world drinking bar, but we are also going to become a destination venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe building itself has a lot of character and is unique. It is stunning and we can only add to that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Montgomery owns Clancys on Princes Street, JJ Walsh\u2019s Irish bar on Oliver Plunkett Street, the Latin-themed cocktail bar Mamacitas on Marlboro Street, and Wilde, an LGBT+ club on Oliver Plunkett Street. The Clancys Group employs 170 full- and part-time staff, and The Wilton now joins the group.<\/p>\n

\"CliodhnaCliodhna Octigan Montgomery\u200b and Paul Montgomery at the reimagined Clancy\u2019s Bar which added a new Arthur\u2019s Bar area as part of its reimaginging in July 2025. Picture: Alison Miles \/OSM Photo<\/p>\n

Clancys Group operations director Shane Spillane and director of sales and marketing Dave Daly will play key roles in the \u20ac1m refurbishment. New \u2018Saints and Sinners\u2019 menu options, due to launch in Clancys later this month, will also be introduced at The Wilton, offering lighter meals or more indulgent options.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people like that option of the price point around \u20ac16 where you have the option to have a meal in 40 minutes,\u201d said Mr Montgomery. \u201cThese days, people expect and demand value and we will look at that through the year.”<\/p>\n

A member of nearby Bishopstown GAA club who lives on Western Road, Mr Montgomery said he recognised the venue\u2019s potential. The venue was reportedly the subject of a \u20ac10m bid during the Celtic Tiger years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a real opportunity for the area. In some ways Bishopstown doesn\u2019t have a centre but this is one venue that has huge advantages. It is across the road from the hospital with 5,500 staff; it is beside the shopping centre, and the church. It stands out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

December proved especially significant for Mr Montgomery, who purchased The Wilton with his wife, Cl\u00edonadh (n\u00e9e Octigan). On the day the sale was agreed \u2014 Tuesday, December 16 \u2014 Cl\u00edonadh gave birth to their daughter, Han\u00f3ra May Montgomery. The couple married in September 2023.<\/p>\n

Mr Montgomery has two sons from his first marriage. He developed the Reardens complex in the late 1990s alongside his first wife. Originally from Co Clare, his first Cork pub venture was the Western Star more than 30 years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cork publican Paul Montgomery has bought the renowned suburban bar and restaurant The Wilton, with a \u20ac1m refurbishment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,8531,80],"class_list":["post-231334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-munster-business","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}