THE HOLE IN THE WALL

Established

Building dates from the 1870s — originally Galway's leading agricultural supply store, with stables out the back. The pub trade on the site goes back further still.

Family

Owned and run by the Fahy family since the 1970s.

Earlier uses

Story #1: 18th-century smugglers cut a literal hole in the old town wall just off Eyre Street, and ran their contraband through it to waiting buyers on the other side.

Earlier uses

Story #2: A hole in the back garden gave directly onto the rear of the Garda Station on Eglinton Street. Members of the force were said to slip through the hole in uniform for a quick pint without scandalising the public.

Architecture

One of Galway City's most distinctive frontages — partly because of the surviving thatched roof.

Reputation

A Galway pub whose name predates the present trade — and whose two competing origin stories the locals refuse to settle.