The largest collection of rare whiskeys in the country

In 1599, Sir William Temple, a renowned teacher, and philosopher built a house here on newly reclaimed land from the River Liffey. In 1656, his son, Sir John Temple, developed this sea wall (or Barr) even further and the area thus became known as Temple’s Barr. In 1707 a new customs house was built on the site where U2’s Clarence Hotel now stands and soon warehouses, taverns, theatres, and even brothels shot up at every corner. The boom lasted barely a century when the new Custom House Quay was built across the Liffey in 1791 and this area became a run-down inner-city slum. In the 1980s there was a proposal for a bus station but luckily the empty premises with cheap rates attracted many artists, fringe boutiques, and alternative eateries. This led to the area becoming a unique bohemian buzzing quarter and the state got involved in 1991 with a non-profit company to oversee the future development of a new quarter known as Temple Bar. The Temple Bar is now one of the most famous pubs in Ireland and boasts 450 whiskeys making it the country’s largest collection.