Address
26 Main St,
Groomsport,
Bangor
BT19 6JR

You’re a stone’s throw from the sea in the Groomsport Inn, so it’s appropriate that there is a strong maritime air in the pub, with a series of dramatic pictures of sailing ships around the walls, and a ship’s bell to sound “Time please”.

An old photo shows the pub as it was in 1860, and downstairs we see it again, this time featured as the Groomsport Hotel on an old postcard, and looking very similar in its exterior appearance to today’s fine house front.

There’s an amusing story told by the local customers about a former owner called Murphy who used to chalk details of the credit he had allowed to his fishermen patrons on a slate. Every time Murphy turned his back on these debtors, the crafty fishermen would wet their fingers and rub out their accounts. Things are a lot less haphazard today, it must be said.

The bar underwent a thorough revamp about seven years ago, and is now enjoying an enviable popularity. The impressive mahogany showcase is actually a hundred-year-old bookcase taken from a luxury ship, and the ship’s light above it is perfectly at home. The care that has been taken in the refurbishment is seen in the inch mahogany plank floor which is kept as clean as the scrubbed decks of a ship.

Downstairs the Smugglers Lounge, with its very Iow ceiling, flickering open Iog-fire, and discreetly lit snugs, calls up clandestine dealings for contraband goods between landlords and smugglers, safe from the eye of the revenue man. If you want in here on a Saturday evening, to listen to the entertainment provided by the excellent resident folksinger, you’d better arrive early.

The place is jammed from about eight o’clock on. In the enclosed backyard, the snooker room, opened by Dennis Taylor, offers two full-size tables. Plans are going ahead for an extension which will provide sixteen bedrooms, a Function Room, and a Conservatory Restaurant overlooking the harbour and open sea. Yes, Groomsport is the “Inn Place” to be in North Down, and with a clean slate, you should get smuggled in all right!