Developers seek €1m backing for landmark Dublin pub

Businessmen Simon Kelly and Jay Bourke are seeking €1 million from private investors through a State scheme to refit a landmark pub close to Croke Park in Dublin.
Property developer Mr Kelly’s company, Discipulo Developments, is refitting the currently closed Quinn’s Pub in Drumcondra, Dublin, once a popular watering hole with fans on their way to the nearby GAA HQ.
The venture is seeking €10,000 each from 100 individuals through the State’s Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS) to raise half the €2 million needed to refit and reopen the pub, Mr Kelly confirmed at the weekend.
The scheme encourages investment in job creation by giving tax breaks to those who take part.
Mr Kelly said that the business was seeking the investment through the scheme to ensure the project was properly capitalised.
The developer is a well-known figure in Irish business. He and his father Paddy Kelly were among the higher-profile casualties when the Irish property and financial markets collapsed in 2007 and 2008.
Their businesses subsequently became clients of the State’s National Asset Management Agency (Nama), established to take over billions of euro of property debt from banks left crippled by the crisis.
Mr Kelly confirmed that he exited Nama in 2016. He has been involved in various businesses since.
Mr Bourke originally made his name with well-known Dublin pubs and night clubs, including Rí- Rá, The Globe, Panti Bar and Eden Restaurant.
He said that he was not an investor in Quinn’s, but “hoped to be”.
Mr Bourke said he was working on the development because of his experience in building and running pubs and other venues. He stressed that he was not involved in raising money for the project.
The High Court declared Mr Bourke bankrupt in April 2022 over a €558,000 debt to the Revenue Commissioners.
He said at the weekend that he exited the court-supervised personal insolvency scheme last year. Mr Bourke spoke publicly about this experience at last year’s annual general meeting of professional body, Restructuring and Insolvency Ireland.
Discipulo Developments owns Quinn’s Pub and several linked properties. The company originally sought permission to build apartments on the site.
However, planners turned this down on heritage and cultural grounds. Mr Kelly said this decision prompted the move to reopen the pub. “In hindsight they were right,” he said of the planners’ ruling.
Mr Kelly said Quinn’s had a “long history”, particularly because of its importance to hurling and football fans.
Participants in the EIIS can claim relief against their income tax. It is one of a number of schemes designed to aid businesses in raising cash.