Conor McGowan, landlord of the Dog and Partridge, on what makes a great Irish pub

The Star, Sheffield

The Dog & Partridge is the pub every Sheffielder 'needs to visit' according to our readers.  Landlord Conor McGowan talks about what makes a great Irish pub

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Conor. I'm the landlord of the Dog and Partridge on Trippet Lane in Sheffield.

00:07So, I've been in the pub trade quite a long time, but I've been in this pub since February 2013.

00:13It's had a good history as an Irish pub for many, many decades, probably centuries even.

00:22So yeah, there's been a couple of little interludes where it didn't maintain that same sort of style,

00:30but we've done what we can to try and bring that back here really, since we've been here in 2013.

00:35So the pub I was looking for, I worked as a general manager for some of the big pub companies for several years

00:41in the managed side of the industry, and I was looking to get my own business.

00:46And I'd looked at a few venues around Sheffield, and I was about to sign for another one, funnily enough,

00:51and the guy who I was talking to, the representative from the company, he said,

00:56hang on a minute, this one's just come up, do you want to have a look at it?

00:58And I said, absolutely, yes please. Obviously knowing the history of the place.

01:02So yes, we had a good look around, the terms seemed, from a pub company's point of view,

01:08yeah, they make loads, I didn't make so much, but anyway, there we are, it's a slow build.

01:13But there was a lot of, it hadn't been an Irish pub for about three or so years.

01:19It had been, lots of people had it on short terms and holding,

01:23and it was even closed for a little while as well, I believe, in that period.

01:26So the thing about Irish pubs, they're a bit different to a lot of the pubs around,

01:31and the main difference is the hospitality.

01:34Obviously there's the whisky and the beer, I won't mention the brands, but you know what they are.

01:42They're obviously a big part of it, and the music and all the rest of it,

01:44but a part of it is the hospitality, and that seems to be something that's missing in a lot of pubs.

01:48The warm welcome, the feeling that you're in somebody's home,

01:51and that's what we try to bring to it that's a bit different.

01:54It's not really a job, it's more of a vocation. It sounds a bit cheesy, but it kind of really is.

01:59You're not going to make yourself a millionaire by doing this sort of work.

02:02But it's a very fulfilling lifestyle, and that's the thing, it's a lifestyle rather than a job.

02:08And that's what it's all about really.

02:12I enjoy the interaction with people, I enjoy seeing people have a good time.

02:15I'm actually sitting in my favourite room right now.

02:17This room is the smug, it's got it's own little private serving hatch,

02:21and it's own little doorway so we can close it off.

02:23I think that's an issue with a lot of pubs around, where they've just been knocked out,

02:27and they're all one big mad drinking zone.

02:30And to me it takes away a lot of the character and the history and the nostalgia of it really.

02:36This room is lovely, we don't have any speakers in here so it's nice and quiet,

02:39so you can come in and sit in here with your pals and have a few drinks,

02:42or play some games, or do whatever, play some music if that's what you want to do.

02:46But you can see there's little carvings on the wood all around here.

02:49This is from all the little domesticers, all the little cutlery makers and things

02:53that left their logos on the wood panelling many, many years ago.

02:56So there's a lot of history in this room.

02:58You're actually sitting right now on a ghost.

03:01So I'm led to believe there's one who sits there all the time.

03:04There's another one at the bar.

03:07I don't think you can catch them on film, mind you.

03:10So yeah, it's lovely in wintertime in this room as well, when the fire's lit,

03:13and it's cold and windy and wet and horrible outside.

03:16There's nothing better than sitting in a nice little cosy room,

03:18sitting with some friends and blowing off some steam.

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