![\"Barry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5084457_2_articleinline_LC_20pa_20johnsons_2004.jpg\" "\\"Barry")
Barry Johnson at Pa Johnson’s Bar. Picture: Larry Cummins<\/p>\nPa Johnson\u2019s bar is a huge part of Barry Johnson\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
The pub on Devonshire Street, Cork city, has been in his family\u2019s hands for 167 years – and he even met the woman who became his wife there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pub has been in the family since its establishment in 1859, the year after Murphy\u2019s Brewery was established, 1858,\u201d says Barry, who was a well-known athlete in cross-country and long distance at St Finbarr\u2019s Club back in the day. \u201cPa Johnson\u2019s is the oldest family-run bar in Cork.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry has a claim to fame.<\/p>\n
\u201cRory Gallagher was in my class in the North Mon,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
What was Rory like?<\/p>\n
Barry Johnson at Pa Johnson’s Bar. Picture: Larry Cummins<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very unassuming,\u201d says Barry of the iconic Corkman who made his mark in the world of the blues and rock music.<\/p>\n
\u201cMossie Keane was another nice man who often stopped by for a drink here when he headed into town,\u201d says Barry, of football legend turned pundit Roy\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was just like Roy, and he had a great sense of humour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry, who lived here, worked here, and took over the pub from his dad, Pa, didn\u2019t always stay put in the charming pub on the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was at the Munich Olympics in 1972,\u201d says Barry. \u201cI booked ahead and the tickets for the Games were quite affordable back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Olympics were marred by an attack by a Palestinian terrorist group. That must have been scary?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was chaos,\u201d says Barry. \u201cI only found out about it that evening. There were no athletic events that day and I was staying miles outside Munich.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Moscow Olympics in 1980 were memorable too for Barry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a great experience,\u201d he says. \u201cAlthough that was also the year the Americans boycotted the Games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry knows a lot of Irish athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cEamon Coughlan was often in here,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd John Walker, the New Zealand middle-distance runner who won the gold medal in the 1500m event at the 1976 Olympics was in here too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did Walker enjoy the ambience, the lively group of locals, the lively music sessions, and the stream of conversation in Pa Johnson\u2019s that flows faster than the drinks?<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, he was a bit on the dry side!\u201d says Barry. \u201cI always remember his long blonde hair.\u201d<\/p>\n
But John Walker never left his hair down?<\/p>\n
\u201cNever!\u201d says Barry laughing.<\/p>\n
The great and the good often frequented Pa Johnson\u2019s which has always been a popular neighbourhood favourite.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeamus Heaney was here,\u201d says Barry, adding: \u201cThis was always a bar known for music. The Dixies had their office around the corner. Joe Mac and Brendan O\u2019Brien of Little Arrows fame often struck up a tune here. As you can see, we have a photograph of Joe Mac up on the wall near the bar counter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry, well used to travel, toured with The Dixies in the USA when he was in his 30s.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI had a ball,\u201d he says. \u201cWe went to New York and Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
Nearer home, Barry found love.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met Mary here. She was training to be a nurse in the North Infirmary. The nurses, and the consultants socialised here. The dental hospital students were always in and out.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Barry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5084460_2_articleinline_566359.jpg\" "\\"Barry")
Barry with his wife Mary behind the bar in 2005. The couple met in the pub<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019d come in when she was off duty,\u201d says Barry of his future wife. \u201cThe place used to be buzzing.\u201d What were the popular drinks to order back in the day?<\/p>\n
\u201cVodka was always popular,\u201d says Barry. \u201cAnd lager and lime. No one drinks that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Athletes still frequent Johnson\u2019s after race events. \u201cThe Leevale lads were great cr\u00e1ic,\u201d says Barry. \u201cThey always enjoyed a singsong.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were always welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeevale Club was a rival to St Finbarr\u2019s,\u201d says Barry. \u201cThat never mattered. We all enjoyed a good night out.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does Barry, who is a long time in the pub business now, like about the trade?<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the chat,\u201d he says. \u201cI enjoy talking to the locals and to the people coming in after an evening at the Cat Club next door.\u201d<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t always able to enjoy the chat.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Holy Hour, we\u2019d have to close in the afternoon,\u201d recalls Barry. \u201cIf there were matches on TV, I\u2019d close the door for one hour and then let people in again!\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry is part of a city business community.<\/p>\n
\u201cLower John Street with all the little shops, was known as \u2018Little Baghdad\u2019,\u201d he says. \u201cThere were lots of businesses there, like Natt Ross and Whitakers Hatcheries. We had a lot of custom from John Street. People die off and it is hard to replace them.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be hard to replace Barry, who is so interested in people and in his surroundings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pub is a great interest for me,\u201d says Barry. \u201cI have no notion yet of retiring! But there comes a time when I have to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has a right-hand man.<\/p>\n
\u201cRay is with me 12 years now,\u201d says Barry.<\/p>\n
The music sessions in Pa Johnson\u2019s are a mainstay.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty years, and they are still going,\u201d says Barry.<\/p>\n
His good memory is still going strong too.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI remember when the Cavern Club opened on Leitrim Street in 1966. The band that played there, The Watts, all in their 70s now.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
Barry likes to keeps up friendships.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have some good mates, and we go out for lunch on our birthdays,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are out now this coming Wednesday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry, who has ran a sound public house for decades, can only recall once ever someone being out of order.<\/p>\n
\u201cA guy got locked into the gents loo after closing time! I got a call from the guards, and I had to come and let him out!\u201d<\/p>\n
There may be fewer pubs now than there used to, but the culture remains strong in Cork city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is always room for a pub,\u201d says Barry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s where people meet and chat and make connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just like Barry does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pa Johnson\u2019s bar is a huge part of Barry Johnson\u2019s life. The pub on Devonshire Street, Cork city,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[14641,61,60,77899,80],"class_list":["post-456149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-cork-city","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-publicans","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456149","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=456149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}