This building, erected in 1867 by Charles Geoghegan for the wine and spirit merchant John O'Connor, forms an important element in the built heritage of Dublin. The upper floors are enlivened by colourful ceramic details while the well-executed carving and moulding to the shopfront add further aesthetic interest. The building, located as it is on the corner of two busy streets and having the aforementioned colourful detailing, is a focal point on the streetscape.
Capel Street was laid out in the seventeenth century by Humphrey Jervis to link the new Essex Bridge (now Grattan Bridge) to the Great North Road. Originally a fashionable residential street of houses it became largely commercialised around 1800 and this building stands as a testament to this later development.
In March 2017 I read the following story in a number of publications: "JACK NEALON’S BAR on Capel Street is set to close next month after over a hundred years in operation, due to a decision by a foreign vulture fund. The popular and well-known pub on Capel Street close to the Quays in Dublin city centre will permanently shut its doors on 17 April."
And then a few weeks later I saw the following in the Irish Times: "The Capel Street bar will remain open under new management who are working for the receiver that manages the property on behalf of the US private equity fund, Oaktree Capital. The business, which has operated as a pub since 1905, was set to close last week after staff were told by the long-term leasehold company the bar would be closing at the behest of the fund."
