{"id":619969,"date":"2026-08-04T13:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/619969\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T13:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:32:15","slug":"the-pubs-of-cork-i-just-had-to-buy-this-place-i-had-no-clue-what-i-was-doing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/619969\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pubs of Cork: I just had to buy this place, I had no clue what I was doing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rolling Stones sang, \u2018you can\u2019t always get what you want\u2019. But sometimes you can – Geraldine Kidd did.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was living in Ballycotton, and when I saw Barnabrow House, near Cloyne, up for sale, I just knew I wanted to buy it,\u201d says Geraldine.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

\u201cI had delusions of grandeur!\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Is that why her favourite tipple is champagne?<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd because champagne is purer,\u201d adds Geraldine. \u201cI never suffer a hangover like I do sometimes with wine. That or Guinness is my favourite tipple.\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana, the historical \u2018shebeen\u2019 bar at Barnabrow House, wasn\u2019t always so grand as it is now. It didn\u2019t have the solid teak counter, the soft furnishings, the open fire or the selection of books to read while you enjoy a tipple and relax.<\/p>\n

\"GeraldineGeraldine Kidd behind the bar at M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana, situated at Barnabrow House in Cloyne. \tPicture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bar used to be the cottages where the workers lived,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cI know the buildings date back to 1801. A lot of the archives were lost in a fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I arrived here there were lots of animals about, not people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a lot of renovations, and I opened for business on Paddy\u2019s Day, 1998. The building progressed by degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had visions of living \u2018the good life,\u201d adds Geraldine. \u201cI had no clue what I was doing!\u201d<\/p>\n

She changed careers and did the three-month cookery school at neighbouring Ballymaloe Cookery School, which gave her a clue as to what her forte was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the hospitality business,\u201d says Geraldine.<\/p>\n

She learned more about M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana from the local workmen who helped with the renovations of the bar and the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cLegend has it that M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana was a fairy goddess that dwelt in Cloyne near a fairy fort,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cShe was very beautiful and came here to Barnabrow for a visit. The house itself was an encumbered house, always leased or mortgaged. A lieutenant owned it at one point and he kept horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GeraldineGeraldine opened the venue for business in 1998. Picture by Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

The bar is at the top of a romantic trail, near the fairy trail, snuggled by the hills of east Cork.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is small and cosy,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cPeople who come here enjoy their privacy, even though I like to chat to people who come into the bar, it is good to be discreet also.<\/p>\n

\u201cM\u00f3r Chluana is a hidden gem where people can meet up without interruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geraldine is a fan of snugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I lived in Dublin, I liked the lovely snugs there, like Ryan\u2019s near Heuston Station. There is something cosy about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tell Geraldine that in my family pub in Oranmore, Co. Galway, the snug was reserved for women in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is right,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cYou\u2019d always see women in the snug. Times have moved on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can Geraldine, always discreet, let one or two famous names drop that were patrons at M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana?<\/p>\n

She laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cGay Byrne came in here when he was appearing at the Grainstore in Ballymaloe some years ago. Mary Harney was here and Sinead Sheppard, former member of the band Six, got married here 14 years ago. The wedding party enjoyed cocktails out on the deck sheltered by the trees after the celebratory toasts in the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geraldine, a people-person, likes to stay in the background, making sure that everything is ship-shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy staff rotate throughout the year,\u201d she says. \u201cThey tend to be college students. With Ballymaloe so close by, there is an awareness of good food and good hospitality in east Cork.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe snug, M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana, has a real traditional rustic vibe, and often traditional music sessions are part and parcel of the bar.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

Geraldine often hosts private parties at M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana. \u201cI remember when I had young children and the barman got sick and I had to take over,\u201d she says. \u201cI served a party 17 people all evening. You could say I learned on the job!\u201d<\/p>\n

The lady likes a party. \u201cIt felt like I was at the party myself!\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

There was a different party animal in M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana once upon a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had twin goats, and one of them was rejected by the mother,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cI brought him in front of the fire in the snug and my neighbour came over with a wine bottle filled with beestings milk, a thick, nutrient-dense milk produced by a cow immediately after giving birth. I put a teat on the wine bottle and fed the goat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did it do the trick to revive the goat?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goat got better and then it got sick again with an abscess on its spine,\u201d says Geraldine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beestings milk did the trick again. It is highly prized in farming and Irish tradition for its unique properties. When I brought the goat into the kitchen beside the Aga, he was jumping from one couch to the other! Mighty stuff!\u201d<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019d rather a glass of champagne myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe too!\u201d says Geraldine.<\/p>\n

\"GeraldineGeraldine in the upstairs section of the \u2018shebeen\u2019. Picture by Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

The feisty goat became a regular. \u201cHe appeared in the bar when there was a pre-drinks wedding party going on,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cThe Dublin people thought it was hilarious. They made a big circle around him. The poor goat was terrified. I had to get help from my son to catch him by the horns to let him into the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

What did people think?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey thought it was a fertility ritual!\u201d<\/p>\n

The five donkeys and the pygmy goats often make for good conversation over a tipple.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called the goats Eeny, Meeny, Miny, and Moe,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cThere is 30 acres here, so they have plenty of scope.\u201d<\/p>\n

And access to the bar?<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the rare occasion, yes!\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Santa makes an appearance at Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children travel up the fairy ring to greet Santa where he starts his magical journey,\u201d says Geraldine, who has hosted rugby teams, hen parties, and parties from afar in M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m often in bed and can hear the revelry,\u201d she says. \u201cI remember one group of lads from Down Under who came here for a wedding. They had a secret code to give to the barman to get drinks for their mates. Only the Aussies could buy the drinks, no Irish allowed!<\/p>\n

\n \u201cSeemingly, Ireland is the only country that operates a paying bar for weddings. It is not usual in Europe the USA or Australia.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

M\u00f3r Chl\u00faana is a popular haven for people near and far.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother time, we had Japanese guests and they came to the bar all dressed in kimonos. A beautiful sight,\u201d says Geraldine.<\/p>\n

She got what she wanted when she set her sights on Barnabrow House and acquired it, but says she has to stay on top of everything given the cost of living, the overheads, and staffing challenges in running a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to streamline it and see what works and capitalise on that,\u201d says Geraldine. \u201cIt\u2019s a full-time job and it’s hard work, but I really enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is living the good life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Rolling Stones sang, \u2018you can\u2019t always get what you want\u2019. But sometimes you can – Geraldine Kidd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,19,17,17827],"class_list":["post-619969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-pub"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117037495807473088","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}