I return this week to the endless plethora of Irish bars in Liverpool where live music seems to be taking place on a seemingly constant basis. First up I shall cover the Liverpool Irish House, which is located on the busy vibrant Ranelagh Street, residing next door to Lanigans Bar.
It has a large main room with the traditional wood surrounds, complete with the scarf and flag adornments dotted all around the walls and ceilings. There was wall to wall sport showing on the multiple big screens and they also have regular live music taking place there and, on my visit, I saw a chap called Seamus playing on a small stage in the corner.
Over on Great Charlotte Street you wouldfind Liverpool Nelly Foleys which is an archetypal faux décor Irish bar which consists primarily of one sizeable room and has the seemingly obligatory cheap drink offers. It is an eminently forgettable establishment with the dark spectre of karaoke also on its roster. I have visited just the once and I saw a chap called Freddie playing there.
Nelly Foleys. Image Credit nearer.com
Also, on that old main drag you have Liverpool Grand Central Smokie Mo’s, part of a brand chain that has had a suite of branches around Liverpool ever since they were founded back in 2007. They are named after the owner Maureen Blackwell, who was already an established leisure industry operator.
She also has been commendably responsible for setting up the Top of Town cards scheme which issued out over 35,000 cards to local pensioners to enable them to be eligible to purchase cheaper drinks. To link the establishments together, it is worth noting that Mo is the daughter of the aforementioned Nelly Foley.
They had previous sites in the Mount Pleasant and Mathew Street areas before the Lord Mayor opened a larger venue in 2019 within the Grand Central complex, the location of which had previously housed the Barcelona Bar and Quiggins.
The new establishment encountered financial challenges as the landlady was involved in a long running £1.2m rent dispute concerning water issues and dry rot which had been encountered in the old building. It escalated at one stage in 2022 to her being locked out of the entire site when she returned one morning from buying the staff breakfast at the local Greggs, resulting most importantly in the bacon butties going cold!
The Smokie Mo’s joints are known for their American-themed layout and décor, and they stage drag queen nights and regular live music nights. On the evening of my visit there was a male vocalist on stage called Paul Gillies who plays there regularly.
Post pandemic there was a Grand Central Irish Village created within the auspices of the Grade II listed Grand Central Hall on Renshaw Street. This contains the two previously mentioned bars and also incorporates Roe’s Bar and The Liffey.
New Century Picture House. Image Credit reddit.com
It originally opened as a Methodist church in 1905 and still contains the 100-year-old pipe organ. It also housed the New Century Picture Hall cinema and from 1933 to 1939 it was the temporary home of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra whilst their bespoke venue was being repaired after a fire.
The rental dispute referenced above subsequently resulted in the bars moving out of the village alongside the Grand Bazaar food hall. Thus, the modern-day complex now contains an art nouveau Grand Central Hotel which has 46 rooms and an expanded Liverpool Dome. The Dome now has a 3576-capacity venue and stages Irish festivals, cabarets and champions league nights as well as numerous live gigs. Upcoming gigs on the roster include The Coral and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Liverpool Dome. Image Credit flickr.com
It originally opened in 2011. The refurbishments eleven years later included improvements to all aspects of the venue to cope with the increased capacity. My one attendance thus far was earlier this year as part of the Sound City festival, and I was impressed as it was a terrific old fashioned style venue.
The band playing was Corella who met whilst at university in Manchester and initially started to receive some attention when their single ‘Barcelona Girl’ gained some airplay on ITV’s Good Morning show. They have gradually moved up from the ‘trainee’ Joshua Brooks and Zombie Shack venues up to headlining New Century Hall later this year. They got an appreciative reaction from the audience and reminded me somewhat of the Beta Band.