Just a stone’s throw away from Grafton Street, on Harry’s Street you will find Bruxelles, the name was chosen to mark Ireland joining the European Economic Community (EEC). A city pub steeped in both political history and architectural, former Mooney’s pun. Built as an elaborate Victorian public house. With corner turret and fine gothic-inspired dormer windows, the building is every history buff’s dream. The bar went onto play a huge part in the birth of the Irish music scene. To Skid Row, then Thin Lizzy, this became their second home around the late 1960’s-early 1970’s. Bruxelles has been providing the locals of Dublin with a place to retreat since 1886. It’s the heart and soul of the Dublin community offering something for everyone with three bars under one roof.
Visiting Bruxelles is a truly unique experience and one you will struggle to find anywhere else so whether you’re calling in for a catch with friends over traditional Irish food or looking for a taste of some good old rock music our passionate team are focused on providing a unique and unforgettable experience whilst serving up your favourite treats and tipples.
The Zodiac Lounge was first established in the late ‘60s when public house doors were opened to women. Hence the name The Zodiac’s role is continually evolving and now it’s where you’ll go to hear alternative rock music and hang out with a younger, more fashion concious crowd.
The Flanders bar located in the basement. Is every rock lovers haven. It is for this reason you may spot a few more famous rock lovers such as Iron Maiden who drop by when in town. The Flanders was set up to accommodate the pub’s growing legions of rock heads. The new refurb gives a nod to the legends who once met here, pop down, check it out and be inspired in the Phil Lynott snug.
Bruxelles is as the legends say a cosmopolitan pub and
embraces diversity It is all about its customers feeding them entertaining them but above all, making them welcome
Sculptor Paul Daly never sculpted before he made his dream come true. He grew up steeped in the lyrics and music of Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynott, sitting on the floor of his parents’ home in Raheny, doodling with crayons while his older brother rocked out to Thin Lizzy and Shades of a Blue Orphanage.
He had a close encounter with his hero once while on a weekend jaunt with a buddy around some Howth village drinking haunts. ‘It was in the early ‘80s,’ he recalls, ‘we were coming down from the Cock Tavern, along Abbey St when there he was, tall as life…leather strides, white shirt, black boots. We didn’t say hello and I regret it since but, you know how it is, we thought it would be uncool.’ That regret hung with him. While his brother played air guitar to ‘The Rocker’ and ‘Vagabonds of a Western World,’ Paul drew his hero, the Crumlin Cowboy.
He got a job, fell in love, and raised a family. Philo died and his legend grew. Paul kept his dream alive by attending Smiley Bolger’s annual Vibes for Philo. Then serendipity stepped in.
“I saw Philo’s mother, Phyllis on the Kelly Show in 2001 and she said the Roisin Dubh Foundation was going to raise the money for a statue to commemorate him. She said they’d be looking for an artist to do it. I knew it had to be me.’
That single-mindedness reaped its reward. Paul experimented with clay and soft wax. He created an image of that man he’d seen back in Howth in the ‘80s, standing tall and proud with the swagger of the cowboy and the vagabond. ‘It was what he was all about,’ says Paul.
The statue was cast life-sized in bronze by Cast Foundry of South Brown Street, The Liberties, Dublin, from Paul’s original bronze maquette that now stands on the shelves of Bruxelles’ bar, Harry Street, Dublin 2.
Since those early days, Bruxelles bar has become synonymous with the new Dublin music scene. Because even though the bands moved on, they left behind a gathering place for like-minded souls. When the bar extended into what is now The Flanders bar, its part in the lore of Irish rock was established.
