Kearney brothers announce the name of their new Ballsbridge pub

Leinster Rugby players Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney and Dave Kearney at The Bridge 1859

The Bridge 1859 has been officially announced as the name of the Ballsbridge bar formerly known as Bellamy’s.

Recently acquired by Noel Anderson of The Grafton Lounge alongside Ireland and Leinster Rugby stars Jamie Heaslip, Sean O’Brien and Willville brothers Rob and Dave Kearney, The Bridge 1859 is looking forward to welcoming a scrum of customers from the end of September.

“I’m obviously over the moon to have gone into business with the four lads,” said Anderson.

“I can see us having some great days ahead in The Bridge 1859. The highs and lows of the last few months will all be worth it when we open the doors and pull that highly anticipated first pint.”

Heaslip added: “For all of us it was important to get a name that paid homage to the history of the building and the area. We feel that The Bridge 1859 captures both – we’re located in Ballsbridge, and the building was first used as a pub in 1859. We also wanted a name that was easy to roll off the tongue standing in the RDS or the Aviva – let’s go to The Bridge for one.”

The Bridge 1859 has been completely redesigned. The bar counter is now longer and the new back bar has a selection of wine, whiskey and spirits. It is currently recruiting full-time and part-time bar and waiting staff at jobs@thebridge1859.ie.

The new pub will open on Thursday September 25th.

Work begins on Kearney brothers’ Dublin 4 pub

Work is underway at Bellamy’s at present to get it ready for its opening

The Kearney brothers – Rob and Dave – have moved a step closer to becoming publicans after it was revealed that work has begun on the D4 pub which the pair have purchased along with their Leinster and Ireland teammates Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip.

The quartet had a €1.35m offer for Bellamy’s pub in Ballsbridge accepted in February with Rob Kearney revealing on Twitter earlier this week that “work is under way in Ballsbridge, exciting times ahead!”

Reports earlier in the summer suggested that the players hoped to have the pub open in September following refurbishment.

The name of the bar will change, with Heaslip and Kearney encouraging people to guess the new name for the pub via Twitter with the hashtag #guessourpubname.

A prize of four tickets to a Leinster home match and four invites and a bottle of champagne to the opening have also been offered up for those who guess correctly.

The public house is located just a stone’s throw from the Aviva Stadium and also close to the RDS, right in the heartland of rugby in Dublin’s southside.

 

Shaw to present Engineer’s Ireland Excellence Awards

Niamh Shaw, right, pictured at the launch of the Engineer’s Ireland Excellence Awards with ESB chief executive Pat O’Doherty and John Power, director general of Engineer’s Ireland

Dundalk woman Niamh Shaw will be hosting this year’s Engineer’s Ireland Excellence Awards, which will take place in the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge in Dublin on Friday November 7^th.

The awards, in conjunction with the ESB, have been running since 2010 with aspiring astronaut and engineer Niamh set to act as MC at the event.

Entries are now open with further details available here.

Kearney brothers become publicans

Last night’s announcement from The Grafton Lounge

The Kearney brothers, Rob and David, are well known for the exploits on the rugby field but they are also set to become known as publicans after taking over Bellamy’s pub in Ballsbridge.

The news was officially announced last night by The Grafton Lounge, who have purchased the Dublin 4 boozer with the Kearney’s and their Leinster team-mates Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien.

A major refurbishment is planned towards the end of this month, with the hope being that the pub can be opened by September – just in time for the new rugby season.

Reports suggested in March that the Leinster and Ireland quartet had bid more than €1m for the pub along with Dublin publican Noel Anderson. It had gone on the market for €825,000 but the selling price is reported to be around €1.35m.

The pub is located just a stone’s throw from the Aviva Stadium and also close to the RDS, right in the heartland of rugby in Dublin’s southside.

Dundalk man given suspended sentence for possession of child porn

A Dundalk man has been given a two year suspended sentence for possessing child porn in cartoon and written fiction form.

Simon Fallon (38) from the Red Barns Road pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court to possessing over 1,600 images and 18 stories of child porn at his home and at his former work at Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 in October 2010.

A doctor’s report said that Mr Fallon had no sexual attraction to children but found that he met the diagnostic criteria for Aspergers – which leads to difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication.

The court heard that a colleague of Mr Fallon’s had found files containing stories, which he later admitted to downloading because he had no internet at home.

He said he realised the fiction depicted young children but said he didn’t condone similar actions in real life.

Judge Patrick McCartan suspended a two year sentence for two years after saying he was impressed by the manner in which Mr Fallon had sought rehabilitation.

Dundalk couple in the running for dream Second Honeymoon

Grace and Emmet Byrne

A local couple are one of four who have been shortlisted for a trip to San Francisco in the Sunday World/Mooney Show’s Second Honeymoon competition.

Emmet and Grace Byrne made the shortlist after sharing the story of their wedding with readers of the newspaper in recent weeks.

The pair – who both work in Digiweb – had dreamed of a fairytale wedding in Spain but it turned out to be a nightmare when their church and hotel flooded.

Grace (27) and Emmet (34) first met at a house party Emmet threw and he quickly fell for Grace.

“She gatecrashed the party and three years later we’re married,” said Emmet.

They planned their wedding in Nerja in Spain in September last year. However, when they arrived there were the worst storms in 70 years and everywhere was flooded, including the church and hotel.

Raw sewage swept into the chapel and they had to open the doors and burn incense to get rid of the foul smell for a ceremony that lasted just 12 minutes.

Grace was hospitalised in Ireland before the wedding trip. She managed to still fly out but was then unwell for the whole week in Spain.

“Every girl dreams of the perfect wedding and she didn’t get it, so if we win hopefully it could make up for it,” said Emmet.

The pair now have a four month old called Jake.

All the couples who have made the shortlist are already triumphant, as they’ve earned a two-night break in Bewley’s Hotel in Dublin’s Ballsbridge and a case of Sutter Home White Zinfandel wine.

But the overall winner – who will be announced in the Sunday World on December 22 – will be whisked off to San Francisco courtesy of BudgetAir.ie for a seven-day holiday of a lifetime worth €10,000 and a further €1,000 spending money.

Full details on all the finalists can be found here.

Gardaí appeal for help in locating missing Dundalk man

Gardaí have appealed to the public for help in finding a 47-year-old Dundalk man who is missing in Dublin.

Gerry McCann was last seen in Stillorgan on the morning of Thursday September 26 at approximately 10am and it is believed that he then went to the Ballsbridge area.

Gerry is described as approximately 5ft 9in height, of medium build with blonde/greyish hair. When last seen he was wearing charcoal grey jumper, brown trousers and brown shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Blackrock Gardaí at 01-6665200, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

Gerry, who is originally from the St Alphonsus Road, is an actor by trade and has appeared in the likes of Fair City and Raw.