Lowry's Offaly heart guided him to invest in new Tullamore gastropub

SHANE Lowry said his heart ruled his head when he decided to invest in Tullamore's newest bar, restaurant and coffee shop.

The Old Warehouse on Bury Quay will open its doors on Thursday, December 1 and Lowry's partner, the leading hotelier and publican Alan Clancy, aim to make it a destination of choice in the region.

The Clara-born golfer has been friendly with Westmeath native Clancy for many years but this is their first venture into business together.

“I'd never done anything with him before and he came to me with a couple of things over the years and to be honest I never foresaw myself doing anything like this. I thought, I just didn't think I'd want to,” said Lowry.

Then about two years ago he got a phone call from Clancy who told him he “might have something” for him.

When Lowry viewed the building, which was formerly the Tullamore DEW whiskey visitor centre on the Grand Canal in the town, he recognised it as an “amazing building and an amazing piece of history”.

“And I just thought, yeah, it's a cool place,” he said.

Explaining why he decided to buy the bonded warehouse with Clancy he remarked: “I always thought I'm a golfer, that's what I do. But I think, and people will probably tell you, you shouldn't be investing with your heart, you should be doing it with your head.”

And two factors then swung him – his belief in Alan Clancy's ability to develop a premises and make it a success, and the location.

“He just said to me, 'Shane I think this would be perfect for you' and the fact that it's in Tullamore, I grew up 10 miles away. That's the only reason. If this was Kildare or Mullingar or Portlaoise I wouldn't have done it. The only reason I did it is because it is in Offaly. That's genuine, that's a fact.

“Obviously I've had opportunities to do stuff over the years and I never fancied it but I think there's a uniqueness about this building and this place that you can't get really anywhere else and we're fortunate it's in Tullamore and we're fortunate we're able to do what we did with it.”

Alan Clancy has bars and hotels in Dublin, Limerick, Kilkenny, Portlaoise, Mullingar and Athlone.

“Anyone that knows Alan Clancy knows how well he has done throughout the country and I don't think I would have done it with anyone else and I definitely don't think I would have done it on my own,” said Lowry.

The Open champion was speaking on Saturday afternoon when he joined Clancy and others for a preview of the Old Warehouse in advance of next week's opening.

Clancy described it as a bar, a lounge, restaurant and coffee shop, “all combined into one”.

“The vision here was to create something that people would be excited about going out to, that they felt good when they came here and then to make sure they get good service,” said Clancy.

He had previously viewed the former Wolftrap pub (now Browne's Bar & Venue) when it was for sale but was seeking something different.

“I felt it wasn't for me. I wanted the outdoor space. In the current climate you need outdoor space,” he said.

The Old Warehouse has outdoor seating on the boardwalk on the canal bank.

The Clonmellon man has been building his own hospitality business for 11 years since he left the Wright Group and bought Mrs Robinson's in Greystones.

Through the recession and beyond into Covid-19 he developed a portfolio of pubs and hotels and the current cost of living crisis is not going to stop his expansion.

“There will always be peaks and troughs so if you're waiting for the peaks and troughs, which one are you going to go [for]? This is what I do, this is my job, this is what I love doing. I would see everything as a challenge. If I'm waiting for things to be right, not everything will ever be right to make a decision,” he said.

“I see the opportunity here and I see the opening,” he added, saying he made some changes to the building but wanted to retain and intertwine some of the Tullamore DEW “DNA”.

“My thing is to give people what's missing in a town. I felt [what was missing] was a nice place to come for lunch for food, for drinks, cocktails.”

When he opened one of his flagship businesses, 37 Dawson Street, in Dublin in 2012 he incorporated a separate whiskey bar into it, inspired by what he had seen in New York.

Lowry, who is flying to the United States on Sunday in advance of taking part in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas PGA Tour event next week, said he will be frequenting the Old Warehouse once it's up and running.

“I'll make it my business to come down as much as I can and it'll be a nice place to come down and meet my friends and family for some dinner and drinks,” he said.

“Even on a Sunday people will get into their car with their family and people will drive here. That's where I see this place going.”

He is scheduled to have one of his busiest ever years in golf next year, with a tightly packed calendar of events already lined up.

His focus will firstly be on the Masters in Augusta in the spring with a season highlight being the Ryder Cup in Italy next October.

When he won the Open in 2019 the first celebration party was at one of his friend Clancy's venues, 37 Dawson Street.

And if he wins on tour again? “Hopefully we'll have the odd time where we're having a celebration party - in here,” he said.