The Transgenerational Palace.
The Palace Bar has seen it all in its 200 years of licensed heritage. Affluent Victorian ladies, accompanied by their housemaids, commandeering the snug while waiting on their orders of Indian, China and Ceylon tea to be filled…and occasionally partaking of a stiff gin. The Palace has witnessed sedition, conspiracy and revolution; two world wars and rationing of product; the movement from empire to independence and the emergence of the new Irish Free State. And just when all seemed dull and monotonous, this old repository of history and heritage gave birth to the golden age of the Dublin literary revival in the 1940s and 50s.
From generation to generation the Palace has been evolving, adapting and born anew. Today a new liberal and more transient generation are making the Palace their social home of refuge. Tourists visit and wonder how a pub so old could retain its popularity for so long. Perhaps it is the attraction of the mahogany, the authentic antiquity of the place; or perhaps just the ambience and the character of the place?
But from age to age the secret of the Palace Bar has always been about people, and how people are respected and valued. Each person has a story to tell and the proprietors and bar staff of the Palace – male and female – have always been interested listeners. The art of conversation flows freely here even when the house is packed. The Palace is unique in that there’s an ongoing eclectic mix of pleasantries, conversations and philosophies within a social environment where there are no barriers of age, race or gender. And this is essentially what distinguishes the Palace from other contemporary social outlets.
The Palace Bar is nowadays a multi-generational oasis of craic, laughter and culture. Currently, at least three different generations make this house their social home. Some of the more mature generation arrive early in the day and go home early; others wait a little longer; and there are a few who hate to leave. Within this coterie there’s an unprecedented richness of culture, wisdom, story and song. The Palace Bar remains their ever faithful stage of life.
May they long continue to walk the Palace boards!