UK-based pub chain JD Wetherspoon has announced the opening dates for two new pubs in Blanchardstown and Swords in Dublin, and a third in Cork.
The Irish Times reports that The Great Wood in Blanchardstown, The Old Borough in Swords and the Linen Weaver in Cork will open in June, July and September, respectfully.
In total, the company has invested €6 million into the new ventures, and 150 jobs will be created as a result. The three new pubs will add to the two currently operating in South County Dublin.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman Tim Martin (pictured) said that the first two pubs, the Forty Foot in Dun Laoghaire and the Three Tun Tavern in Blackrock "have proven extremely popular and we are looking forward to opening our next three pubs.”
The chain has plans to open a further 30 bars across Ireland over the next five years, including one in the former homeless hostel in Camden Hall, Dublin, in which it has invested €4 million. It also recently purchased a site on Lower Abbey Street in Dublin for €1.5 million, which it plans to renovate.
Although profits have dipped slightly across the chain of over 900 pubs - with Martin blaming discount supermarket prices - he reiterated that in ireland business has been "in line with, if not better than expectations."
