The History of Lowry’s Bar

One of the best pubs in Clifden!

Lowry’s Bar Clifden has been in the Lowry family since 1949. It was at this time that Patrick Lowry, a Garda sergeant who had been stationed in Donegal decided to retire from the police force and move back home to his native Connemara. Upon his return he decided to buy a pub and as chance would have it a cousin of his was selling a pub in Clifden located at Market Street which was then known as Connolly’s Bar. With the proceeds of his pension, Patrick duly bought the pub in Clifden, renamed it Lowry’s Bar, and the rest as they say is history! Patrick ran the business as a pub/grocery with the grocery section at the front and the public house section at the back so if you were tired after doing a days shopping, you could stop out the back to Lowrys Bar where a Guiness or a good Irish Whiskey would give you your strength back for the walk home before dinner!

Lowry’s Bar also had the unique selling point of offering patrons the chance to cure a toothache as unusually, a dentist called Mr John Bermingham operated his dental practice from a small room located at the back of the pub. The story goes that patrons in Lowrys Bar would be sent out to have a large Jameson whiskey after a visit to the dentist to numb any pain and to settle the nerves. Its no wonder that it soon developed the reputation for being one of the best pubs in Clifden!

In 1977 Patrick’s niece Eilish and her husband Paul took ownership of Lowry’s Bar which they ran until Paul passed away in 2010. Paul was a natural in the pub and was a particularly popular figure with all customers, both locals and visitors and is sorely missed. Eilish is still involved in the pub but she is now taking a well deserved break from the day to day running of the business. Damien, the current owner is the third generation of the family to own and run the pub and hopes to emulate the great success of Patrick, Paul and Eilish before him