The Dinn Ri at Tullow Street, Carlow, has been named Pub of the Year for the second consecutive year. It was chosen from more than 600 entries for its cleanliness, broad range of drinks, quality of staff and welcoming interior and exterior.
"It's the team that has got us the award", said Mr Niall McLough lin, one of the co-owners of the pub. The team includes Niall's brother, Sean, their father, John, the pub's general manager, Mr Eugene McGovern, and a staff of 120.
The awards are sponsored by the Black and White Scotch Whisky company.
The McLoughlin family opened Dinn Ri, with a capacity for 700 people, in 1995 on the site of a former shopping mall. Since then, according to Niall McLoughlin, it has expanded to include a European-style cafe and two discos.
The family had entered the licensed trade because they considered it "a vibrant, exciting industry", Mr McLoughlin said. In addition, the site on which the Dinn Ri was eventually built had been ideal for a pub. The recognition the pub has received extends well beyond winning the award, Mr Sean McLoughlin said. "It's put Carlow on the map."
Pubs entered in the contest are visited by two judges and are awarded a rating. The highestrated pubs in each county compete for five regional awards. The qualifiers for the national title of Pub of the Year include the five regional winners, Best Newcomer and Best Superpub.
The judges who decided the winners in all categories were Tommy Dowd, captain of the victorious 1996 Meath All-Ireland football team; Jim Sherwin, the RTE sports commentator; and Sharon Ni Sheolain, a newsreader with Network 2.
"The Irish pub is where friendships are made and indeed are maintained", said Mr Joe Jacob, Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise, speaking at the presentation.
Mr Jacob described pubs as a "quality tourism product", adding: "Millions of tourists in growing numbers appreciate the value of the Irish pub and the fact that it is part of our heritage and part of our Irishness today."
McSorley's in Ranelagh was named Dublin Pub of the Year. The Dublin Hotel Bar of the Year and overall Hotel Bar of the Year was the Royal Court in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Ballsbridge. The Dinn Ri was also named Superpub and Provincial Super pub of the Year.
Other winners were: Ulster Pub of the Year: Danny Minnies, Annagry, Co Donegal; Connacht: John Doddy's, O'Connell Street, Ballymote, Co Sligo; Munster: Crotty's, Market Street, Kilrush, Co Clare; Leinster: The Thatch, Crinkill, Birr, Co Offaly.
Best Newcomer: The Blackthorn, Crowe Street, Gort, Co Galway; Dublin City and County Superpub: The Playwright, Newtown Park Avenue, Blackrock; Provincial Hotel Bar: Brehon Bar, Knockcranny House Hotel, Westport, Co Mayo; Heritage Pub: Giltraps, Kinnity, Birr, Co Offaly.