Photographed Using A Apple iPhone 18 Pro
A VERY MUCH ISOLATED BERNARD SHAW ON RICHMOND STREET IN SEPTEMBER 2026
The former Bernard Shaw public house at 11–12 South Richmond Street sits in a state of suspended transition. Once the cultural heartbeat of Portobello’s alternative arts and music scene, the pub closed its doors in October 2019 after temporary permissions for its famed rear yard and "Big Blue Bus" expired, with operator Bodytonic subsequently relocating the brand north of the Liffey to Phibsborough.
Today, the original Victorian premises remains stranded amidst vacant, hoarding-lined plots and surface car parks, dwarfed directly to the northeast by the extensive, glazed corporate campus of Amazon’s European headquarters at Charlemont Square and Harcourt Road.
Status of the Building and Surrounding Lands
The survival of the building itself rests on its status as a Protected Structure. Built in the late 19th century (originally operating as Bambrick’s), the property retains its historic Victorian timber-panelled pub front, mahogany bar fittings, decorative tiling, and upper brick façade. Because of this statutory heritage protection, Dublin City Council and planning bodies have prohibited wholesale demolition of the core structural envelope.
The cleared sites flanking the pub comprise parcels that formerly housed low-rise retail units, light industrial workshops, and the venue’s former open-air beer garden and market yard. For years, these tracts remained vacant urban voids, subject to land speculation, stalled commercial schemes, and shifting post-pandemic office requirements.
Approved Redevelopment Plans
Following successive revisions and appeals, formal redevelopment permissions have coalesced around a substantial mixed-use scheme encompassing Nos. 11–13 and adjoining lands along South Richmond Street (Dublin City Council Reg. Ref. 4148/23; An Bord Pleanála ABP-318150-23):
Heritage Conservation and Integration: The historic two-storey Victorian pub building (Nos. 11–12) is retained and restored. Non-original modern extensions to the rear and side are cleared to make way for new structural integration.
Mixed-Use Infill: The surrounding voids and cleared plots are permitted for a multi-storey commercial and hospitality/residential development, reaching up to approximately 25 to 26 metres in height.
Public and Street-Level Activation: Plans incorporate an expansive glazed internal atrium and lobby off South Richmond Street, reactivating ground-floor retail and food-and-beverage space to stitch the street frontage back together. The retained pub structure is designed to function as an active heritage hospitality anchor within the wider development.
Urban Context: The scheme serves as an architectural buffer between the smaller grain of Portobello's residential streets and the high-density corporate office cluster around Charlemont and Harcourt Street.
While construction timelines remain subject to wider commercial property conditions, the legal planning framework guarantees that the Bernard Shaw building will not be razed, but rather absorbed into a dense modern streetscape that closes the current urban gap.
The former Bernard Shaw public house at 11–12 South Richmond Street sits in a state of suspended transition. Once the cultural heartbeat of Portobello’s alternative arts and music scene, the pub closed its doors in October 2019 after temporary permissions for its famed rear yard and "Big Blue Bus" expired, with operator Bodytonic subsequently relocating the brand north of the Liffey to Phibsborough.
Today, the original Victorian premises remains stranded amidst vacant, hoarding-lined plots and surface car parks, dwarfed directly to the northeast by the extensive, glazed corporate campus of Amazon’s European headquarters at Charlemont Square and Harcourt Road.
Status of the Building and Surrounding Lands
The survival of the building itself rests on its status as a Protected Structure. Built in the late 19th century (originally operating as Bambrick’s), the property retains its historic Victorian timber-panelled pub front, mahogany bar fittings, decorative tiling, and upper brick façade. Because of this statutory heritage protection, Dublin City Council and planning bodies have prohibited wholesale demolition of the core structural envelope.
The cleared sites flanking the pub comprise parcels that formerly housed low-rise retail units, light industrial workshops, and the venue’s former open-air beer garden and market yard. For years, these tracts remained vacant urban voids, subject to land speculation, stalled commercial schemes, and shifting post-pandemic office requirements.
Approved Redevelopment Plans
Following successive revisions and appeals, formal redevelopment permissions have coalesced around a substantial mixed-use scheme encompassing Nos. 11–13 and adjoining lands along South Richmond Street (Dublin City Council Reg. Ref. 4148/23; An Bord Pleanála ABP-318150-23):
Heritage Conservation and Integration: The historic two-storey Victorian pub building (Nos. 11–12) is retained and restored. Non-original modern extensions to the rear and side are cleared to make way for new structural integration.
Mixed-Use Infill: The surrounding voids and cleared plots are permitted for a multi-storey commercial and hospitality/residential development, reaching up to approximately 25 to 26 metres in height.
Public and Street-Level Activation: Plans incorporate an expansive glazed internal atrium and lobby off South Richmond Street, reactivating ground-floor retail and food-and-beverage space to stitch the street frontage back together. The retained pub structure is designed to function as an active heritage hospitality anchor within the wider development.
Urban Context: The scheme serves as an architectural buffer between the smaller grain of Portobello's residential streets and the high-density corporate office cluster around Charlemont and Harcourt Street.
While construction timelines remain subject to wider commercial property conditions, the legal planning framework guarantees that the Bernard Shaw building will not be razed, but rather absorbed into a dense modern streetscape that closes the current urban gap.
THE OLD BERNARD SHAW