THE SHOP FRONTS OF IRELAND

One of the most distinctive features of an Irish pub is the traditional design and architecture of its facade. Many towns and villages have become world famous for the quality, design, and craftsmanship of their shop fronts. They come in a variety of shapes, designs, and colors, from the highly decorative Greek Revival ones, with an entablature resting on pilasters or columns, to the plain styles found on many small country shops and pubs. The windows and door are generally placed in pleasing proportion to one another.

Some of the earliest shop fronts, particularly those that date from the eighteenth century, have small panes of glass set vertically in small bow windows, while others have leaded fanlights over the doors. In the mid-nineteenth century, two-by-four-inch glass panes were introduced, which encouraged perpendicular shop front designs. These have heavy, round-headed mullions (vertical divisions between the panes), sometimes with tiny capitals and carved panels in the triangular pediments above them. Large panes of plate glass, filling the entire window, were not introduced until late in the nineteenth century.

Shop names were painted on fascia boards or raised letters were carved into them. During the late nineteenth century, several attractive forms of lettering were introduced, including raised marbled ceramic, and channeled letter or trompe l’oeil, both of which gave an artificial three-dimensional effect and were often placed behind glass. Most shop fronts are painted in strong colors, which are slow to fade, and many are given an added decorative touch with graining, staining, and marbling wood and plaster.

Pub signs are another interesting aspect of Irish pub design. Cian Molloy, author of The Story of the Irish Pub, tells us that “in the late nineteenth century, the Irish abandoned the English-style pub sign with names like ‘The Nag’s Head’ or ‘The Crown’—illustrated as an aid to those who couldn’t read—and chose instead to adopt the practice of naming the pub after the current licensee or the family name of the pub’s founder.” This remains a common practice.