{"id":272757,"date":"2026-01-30T23:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/272757\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T23:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:18:09","slug":"weve-made-great-memories-west-cork-pub-hits-the-market-as-owner-to-retire-after-38-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/272757\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We’ve made great memories’- West Cork pub hits the market as owner to retire after 38 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pub remains open while the search for a new owner is underway<\/p>\n

Chaplin’s Bar in Bandon(Image: Daft)<\/p>\n

West Cork has no shortage of top-class local pubs<\/a>, and now one long-serving publican is getting ready to step out from behind the bar after almost four decades behind the counter. Chaplin’s Bar in Bandon was purchased by Councillor <\/a>John Collins and his late wife, Mary, back in 1988, and as he prepares for retirement, John says there’s plenty to look back on fondly.<\/p>\n

John entered the pub trade at 18, and after taking a liking to it, he spent several years working at Foley\u2019s Bar in Ballineen <\/a>before trying his hand at running his own pub. The Bandon-Kinsale councillor rented out another pub in Bandon and spent some time running it before Chaplin’s hit the market, and he decided to take a chance on it.<\/p>\n

What followed was a decades-long career filled with familiar chats behind the bar, brilliant sporting moments, and, of course, plenty of pint pulling. Now in his sixties, John continues to run the pub as he searches for a buyer who will keep the doors open for many years to come.<\/p>\n

The listing on Daft.ie highlights the bar’s great location – just a ten-minute walk from the town centre – its impressive trading figures and potential for growth as Bandon continues to expand. The bar comes fitted with a very cosy, traditional interior, a well-maintained coldroom, an outdoor seating area, bathrooms and a two-bedroom apartment on the first floor for potential publicans who fancy the world’s shortest commute.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The counter at Chaplin’s(Image: Daft)<\/p>\n

As for the price, it has not been publicly listed but will be made available to prospective buyers upon application. John says the decision to sell wasn’t taken lightly, but that at this stage in his life, he needs to spend more time on other affairs.<\/p>\n

He told CorkBeo: \u201cBefore I bought Chaplins, I spent four years working for a good friend of mine at Foley\u2019s Bar in Ballineen. After that, I rented a bar in Bandon in 1987 and spent some time running it before Chaplin\u2019s came up for sale, and I took a chance on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started out in bars at 18, and I got to like the trade. At that time, a lot of people were heading abroad, and after working in Foley\u2019s, I was either going out on my own or immigrating.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had Chaplin\u2019s for 38 years. I was involved with other bars in Cork during that time, and I rented Chaplin\u2019s out between 1996 and 2008, but since then, I\u2019ve been back behind the bar here. Now I\u2019ll be 61 in April, and I\u2019m getting older; I\u2019m finding I need to spend more time on other affairs, and this business needs someone who can commit the time to it.”<\/p>\n

John’s time at Chaplins was not without its challenges, and over the last 38 years, it has survived everything from massive unemployment spikes and recessions to more recent problems like the pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n

However, no matter what was going on outside his doors, John kept the taps flowing inside Chaplin’s and put the challenges down to ‘a simple fact of life.’<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The cosy traditional pub has a lot to offer(Image: Daft)<\/p>\n

John continued: \u201cWhen I was starting off here in the 80s, unemployment was very high at the time, and since then, we\u2019ve faced our own challenges throughout the years.<\/p>\n

“Challenges are a natural part of business. Every trade has been hit by the cost of living crisis, and before that, it was Covid, and before that it was the recession. The bar and restaurant business was hit particularly hard during Covid, and I\u2019m sure there will be different challenges over the next twenty years – but that\u2019s life, and these challenges can always be overcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some fabulous times here. Italia ’90 was an extraordinary time because even for people who didn\u2019t have an interest in soccer, it was such a big occasion. We\u2019ve had great GAA wins like the Cork double, a good few local victories; it\u2019s been great here down through the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early days, my late wife Mary and I lived over the bar until 1996, and we even had our first child here. I\u2019ve had nothing but a good time here, and I\u2019ve made some fabulous friends.”<\/p>\n

While John said he’d welcome someone with new ideas, he’d also be happy to impart some wisdom to any new owner who wanted to take over the reins at Chaplins.<\/p>\n

He concluded: \u201cThe next person who comes in will have their own ideas. I\u2019d have no problem if they want to take my advice, but we all have our own ways of doing things.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a great local bar for all its time here, and it\u2019s very personal; you\u2019d know most of your customers on first-name terms. We\u2019ve run it quite well and built up lots of friendships – I think you\u2019d want somebody personable to fit in well here, the bar has that feel about it.”<\/p>\n

You can find out more about Chaplins via the Daft.ie listing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The pub remains open while the search for a new owner is underway Chaplin’s Bar in Bandon(Image: Daft)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,103902,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-272757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-cork-pubs","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272757","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=272757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}