Courting The Dame

George Tyson, whose name still adorns the front of the Stags Head was a wealthy businessman in Dublin and married well, exchanging vows with Esther Mooney, the daughter of James and Maria Mooney, the Mooney family being well established as public house owners across the city at the time. Even after his purchase of the Stags Head,on Grafton Street, George Tyson traded in fine clothes and was especially known for his ties and cravats. He was the 'Royal' tailor to the Royal representative in Ireland, the Lord Lieutenant. Tyson needed transport for his new pub on Dame Court. Most publicans of the day used a horse and dray to both collect and deliver beer and supplies. The horse would travel empty down to Guinness's St. James Gate Brewery but with a couple of full casks of porter on board, the trip back up the hill into the centre of the city was an arduous one.  Around the corner from his Grafton Street shop was Neary's public house which was opened in 1887 and

The Moira Hotel, 15 Trinity Street & 1&2 Dame Lane Today as you turn the corner from Trinity Street onto Dame Lane opposite the Bankers Pub you will find two great businesses, The Pichet Restaurant, a modern Irish restaurant with a French twist opened for over a decade and one of the few remaining Dry Cleaners in this modern city Excel Dry Cleaning. But they were not always there and in days of old one of Dublin’s most famous hotels was located there, The Moira. This is its story. Sean O’Casey dined here and James Joyce featured it in Chapter 6 of his renowned book Ulysess but its history stretches way back into the 1700’s when a hotel opened first here as the Ulster Hotel later to become known as the St. George Hotel.   By the mid-19 th century the hotel was purchased by the Crosbie family who originally owned the name the Moira Hotel when it was located on Sackville Street, now O’Connell Street dating back to 1754. In 1890 owner was Miss B Kelly refer