Closed on the 15th of March, due to Covid 19 restriction / guidelines in Galway
Re opens on the 29th of June, 2020.
Mc Hugh's Pub or Bar, was/is Landmark in the North-East of Castlegar, County Galway.
Coordinates; 53.313587 , -8.986039.
Townland; Killeen
Mc Hugh's is featured in a video about Pubs been shut during Covid 19.
Yahoo map in new window.
The Lovely Margaret Mc Hugh, married Paddy Mc Grath, but the premises held the historic name.
The Pub was sold in the Celtic Tiger, to Mr Tynan who still owns it, and leases it. The Restaurant, came into being, after this change of ownership.
- It is said to be established in 1830, and began in a building to the west of its current position.
- The main Building of today, was the new family house, and the Restaurant of today was incorporated into out-buildings and new builds.
- This general area is also known as Bothar na Cuinne - the road of the corner. There are a few interpretations of why it was called this, other than the obvious.
- An R.I.C. Barracks was across the Road (north of the former N17, which is now the N83), and this particular building was later to be used as an ad-hoc Handball Alley. No remains exist today.
- Late in 2019, access from the main road ended - with motorised traffic now having to enter via the side road to the south, towards Killeen village.
- Since the property was sold, Tenants include Kelly, Loughlin and the current leasee of Leonard - taking us up to 2019.
- The old Pub - the historic one, can still be estimated in the memory as that room is still there. It looks small, and was small. It had a side room, a sort of Lounge - where People who wanted a bit of privacy would go. Women, in a different era, would go here too.
- This Pub, had a great clientele base from the Turf sector, with Bogs to the North and North-East of Cloonacauneen, Cloon and Carrowbrowne. It had everyone else of course, so the discussions were both narrow and broad.
- It drew from across the Parish, from as far as Ross Hill to Anglingham. It still does, some of the time.
- Madge (Margaret) Mc Hugh (R.I.P.) was the Matriarch and the finest example of one. She was intelligent and knowledgeable, and needed to be to manage the variety and characters of the punters. Her Children, inherited this quality, and trouble was closer to non-existent than rare. They knew how to diffuse trouble and understood their Patrons. Particular people for example, that were barred from other Local Pubs, were welcome here, but behaved differently here. It wasn't a common practice, but not an unusual one either, to leave a Man home when drunk - and leave his car home too.