The largest Irish pub in the world has officially opened its doors in Dubai – and it is far from cheap.
The bar’s area is half the size of a football pitch, with 148 beer taps and pints of Guinness that cost nearly €15.
McCafferty’s in Dubai is not exactly the quaint Irish pub that many people would associate with our island.
After opening its doors on Monday, it went straight into the official Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Irish pub on the planet.
Located in Jumeirah Village Circle, it hopes to become a home away from home for thousands of ex-pats and tourists.
However, a pint of Guinness would set them back just under €15 while a whiskey chaser would see another €13 dropped.
Guinness World Record adjudicator Emma Brain was on hand at the opening to officially recognise the behemoth bar which, amongst its attractions, boasts a brand-new ‘Guinness garden’.
The owners run a chain of McCafferty’s Irish bars in Ireland and abroad.
They say the huge venue ‘blends Irish culture for ceoil agus craic with Dubai’s unstoppable appetite for doing everything bigger, bolder and better’.
The owners stated: ‘At a staggering 32,000 square feet (approx. half the size of a football pitch) McCafferty’s JVC is more than a bar, it will be home to the thousands of expats – Irish and international who will gravitate to the bar for its Irish charm and the unmissable character of an Irish bar and the off the cuff patter from Irish bar staff!’
McCafferty’s re-opened on Monday after a massive expansion that doubled its capacity took over the whole roof top in Circle Mall Dubai.
Over the past 12 months, it has undergone a major transformation.
Hundreds of containers full of Irish pub artefacts and antiques from old telephone boxes, antique red Massey Ferguson tractors and thousands of pub signs were shipped from Ireland to Dubai to ensure the authentic feel for the giant pub.
The footprint of nearly 30,000 square feet makes it the largest of all 18 McCafferty’s pubs worldwide and brings the number of McCafferty venues in the UAE to five.
The new venue boasts multiple indoor and outdoor stages for traditional Irish music and live entertainment, a massive outdoor terrace for events, over 148 beer taps, a state of the art LED screen for sports viewing as well as community spaces, with pool and table tennis tables.
Michael McBreaty, the COO of McCafferty’s, said: ‘We envisaged creating something very special in Dubai and I think being recognised by the Guinness World Book of Records as being the biggest Irish bar in the world is indeed very special!
‘In each of the five McCafferty’s pubs we pride ourselves in the welcome we give, in the perfect pints we pull and in this new location we believe that we are putting our own Irish handprint on the UAE – a country that has for many years welcomed the Irish.’
