JIMMY’S INN ON THE PARK A POPULAR STOP OFF

THE PARK STREET PUB WAS THE FIRST IN TOWN WITH A CONDOM VENDING MACHINE IN TOILETS

All it took was one bad winter working as a diesel mechanic out on a freezing cold building site during the late 1970s to convince Peter McMahon it was time to move to a warmer job and from that the legend that Jimmys in Park Street was born.

Although the bar had been in the family since the 1940s, Peter’s dad Jimmy McMahon had been successfully running it for more than 30 years and decided it was time to take things easy. He approached his son who was only 21 and offered him the chance to take over the running of the pub. Peter realised he had had enough of cold outdoor work and was happy to replace this with the warmth of running what became one of the most iconic pubs of the past 40 years.

His dad had cut his teeth as a barman in The Commercial Bar (ex The Punters, now Gormleys), and got the opportunity of buying the bar from Walsh’s in the 1940s. He moved his family to the spacious surroundings above the pub and set about making it one of the best in town.

It didn’t take long for it to become a real landmark in town, its location on the corner of Park Street and the Demesne was also, at the time, the half way point on the main route between Dublin and Belfast (no M1 or bypass in those days) and proved a hugely popular stopping off point to break up the journey between the two cities.

Another bonus for the pub for their daytime trade came from the opening of Dunnes Stores across the street, back in the mid 1960s which proved a waiting area for many men at the time. While their wives shopped in Dunnes, their other half usually popped into Jimmys ‘just to kill the time’ until the ladies were finished doing their weekly shop.

Peter’s dad was also a big GAA fan and the pub was also a stop off point for teams going to and coming from Croke Park down through the years. Down were particular favourites with the pub and their wins in 1960, 1961 and 1968 proved some of the most memorable nights the pub during that decade.

Jimmys had a major renovation in 1967 when the lounge was added to what effectively has been a small pub with a pot bellied stove for warmth. But it was the transformation that Peter undertook in 1986 that totally gutted the premises and gave it a completely fresh feel that really boosted the pub and the crowds flocked to appreciate it.

The pub was probably one of the first in town to start serving lunches (something more than just soup and sandwiches), the kitchens upstairs saw an energetic staff that included Jacinta, Julie, Maria and Andrew providing a very reasonably priced meal at lunchtime that proved popular with bank, office staff and shop workers located around the area.

Although Jimmys didn’t have a reputation for live music or DJs, the two week period of the Maytime Festival saw it packed most nights when it played host to some of the best jazz musicians to be found in the country. They also had a dabbled in pub drama led by Frank Boyle who always produced some of the best in local humour at the time. But one mainstay in their entertainment arsenal was ace DJ Baz who became a regular fixture on Bank Holiday weekends in the 90s and remained there for close on two decades!

During the festival Jimmys were also the very first pub in Dundalk to promote and stock Corona Beer. The idea came from one of their themed nights and as part of their tribute to Mexico they brought in 40 cases of the Central American beer. Such was its popularity; they had to contact the distributers the following morning because all the beer was gone. Also back in the day, the availability of sourcing limes for the mouth of the bottle, took on major proportions too.

Down through the years Peter was a member of the Dundalk Round Table an organisation set up to help young men do more with their social lives and help raise money for local charities. Their Midsummer Night Madness was a huge fundraiser held every year. The starting point of the evening was always Jimmys before heading to the Ballymascanlon Hotel and after a number of years it moved to the Dundalk

Rugby Club. The starting point was always an excellent night for Peter and his regulars.

Jimmys was a pub never far away from controversy, in the mid 1980s Peter decided to do his bit for safe sex and the fight against the AIDS epidemic and had a condom machine installed in the toilets. Easily the very first pub in Dundalk to have one, it didn’t last too long, word got out and before he knew it, Peter was visited by the Garda superintendent who went in, took a look at the machine and informed Peter that it had to be gone by the following day, he would be back to close him down. Needless to say the machine was swiftly removed from the wall! The pub also had a sporting pedigree and hosted a pub team that played some of the most epic challenge matches against their local rivals with the games against the Tara and Russells being the highlight of their sporting prowess. Loyal followers of Jack’s Army the pub was festooned with bunting and flags whenever The Boys In Green were on the move and some even ventured on some of the Irish campaigns.

During those campaigns Peter was ably assisted by living legends behind the bar, his sister Sheila, Barney Carolan and Eddie Finnegan who were always a pleasure to meet when anyone called in. Familiar faces in the bar also included

Don Watters, John and Maurice Murphy, David Breslin, the Marron’s and Lynch’s from Ard Easmuinn and the inimitable Martin Russell who would take a break from his duties in his own watering hole just up the street to call in for a swift thirst quencher.

Change is an inevitable thing and Peter decided after 18 years owning the pub and helping his father over the years, it was time to sell Jimmys. He had a young family of four girls whom he was only seeing in the morning before he took them to school and didn’t want to miss them growing up and put the place on the market.

It was snapped up in May 1997 by Nobby Quinn, was run by son Stewart and it became Oscars. Gerry Mathews then bought the pub with Kevin Holland in charge. The pub changed hands again and well known publican Vincy Duffy had it for a number of years until his untimely death. It is now in the more than capable hands of Mark Gogarty who has breathed life back into the popular Park Street venue and is ready for all eventualities when the ban is lifted in a couple of weeks.