There may be the chance over the Christmas Festive season that if you drop by the Old Warehouse pub on Bury Quay in Tullamore, you may just bump into the owner – Shane Lowry.
We learned last month how Lowry had teamed with close friend and pub tycoon, Alan Clancy in delving into the pub and restaurant business in his native Offaly.
Very exciting day with my first big venture outside of golf with the opening of the Old Warehouse Tullamore, a bar and restaurant in my home county of Offaly. @Alllanclancy and his team have transformed this amazing building. Looking forward to seeing you all there. ☘️🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/ReVYvooBhR
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) December 1, 2022
The Open Champion got involved in this first business adventure with the purchase of the pub, known previously as The Old Bonded Warehouse, about a year ago but it was Clancy who was instrumental in the refurbishment of the premises that is now fully open for business, and by reports doing a good trade.
The building was built in 1879 and most recently was used as a Tullamore Dew whiskey heritage centre and restaurant but the tourist attraction was closed down in October 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
“When this building became available, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” Lowry said.
However, it was not till November 24th, and a week prior to the Hero World Challenge, that Lowry got to see the finished work for the first time.
“Getting involved in the pub business is something I never thought I would do but then I’ve known Alan for a long time, and the pub is located only about 10-miles from where I grew-up,” said Lowry.
“When I sat down with Alan, I thought it would be a good investment, so hopefully it’s going to do okay while it’s also created a good link to the town from where I am from.
“It’s something different, it’s pretty cool and it’s going to be nice to visit with family and friends but I will have nothing to do with running the premises.”
Lowry said he’s also promised to add a more of a ‘golf’ theme in the pub, explaining the three-storey building boasts a top-floor room with Lowry keen to turn it into an event room with a bar, and include some of the golfing memorabilia he’s collected since turning pro in 2009.
“There’s a really nice room on the top floor where we are going to turn into a bar and event room where I’d like to put on display memorabilia I’ve collected from the Open Championship, the Ryder Cup and other tournaments I’ve contested,” he said.
What about the Claret Jug?
“I thought about putting the Claret Jug for a while but that’s not going to happen,” Lowry said with a big smile.
And news of Lowry being involved in the pub business, and now also joining fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell who owns a similar facility named Nona Blue at Lake Nona in Florida, prompted the cheeky question to Lowry if there will be free drinks for visiting members of the golfing media.
“We’re hoping for the business to do well, so not sure about free drinks for the media,” said Lowry now laughing.
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