Jamie Heaslip-Rob Kearney consortium to buy McSorley’s pub for €5.5m

Two of Dublin city’s best-known pubs are set to change hands for sums of up to €7 million and €5.5 million respectively.

In the first instance, The Irish Times understands that Foley’s bar on Merrion Row is in the process of being acquired from its current owner Seamus McEnaney by Emerald Investment, a private-equity vehicle headed by Cairn Homes co-founder Alan McIntosh.

While the price has not been confirmed, market sources said the pub is set to trade for between €6 million and €7 million, with the deal expected to close in the coming weeks. Either figure would see Mr McEnaney secure a significant markup on his original investment. The hotelier and former Monaghan, Meath and Wexford football manager acquired the landmark venue from receivers for €3.3 million in 2014.

Elsewhere in the city, a consortium of former Irish rugby internationals led by publican Noel Anderson is understood to have agreed to purchase McSorley’s pub in Ranelagh for €5.5 million from its long-standing owner, the Murray family.

The completion of the deal, the negotiations for which were first reported in April by the business website, The Currency, will see ownership of McSorley’s pass to Mr Anderson and rugby stars Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney, Dave Kearney, and Sean O’Brien. The consortium already owns Lemon & Duke in Dublin city centre, The Bridge 1859 in Ballsbridge, and The Blackrock in Blackrock, in South Dublin.