ALL IN A NAME:
From the Burren to the Blarney Stone, local Irish-bar names salute the old country

By Henley Vazquez | Stuff @ Night | March 12th, 2006

Most names have a story. When you entered this world, your parents likely named you after a favorite uncle or a long-gone grandparent. Well, bars are no different, and many of the Irish pubs around Boston derive their names from places back in the home country. We recently set out to learn what’s behind the names of some of our favorite Irish watering holes. Along the way, we also picked up plenty of Irish trivia, so the next time you stop by your local pub, see what the bartender knows about the place where he or she works. With our help, you might be the best-informed person in the room.

> Blarney Stone

Kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle and, legend goes, you’ll be endowed with the gift of gab. Down a couple drinks at the Blarney Stone (1505 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, 617.436.8223), and we’re guessing your results will be the same. The first American bar to serve draft Guinness, the pub recently underwent a face-lift and now boasts a hip lounge, an upscale menu, and a landscaped patio perfect for warm afternoons. Drawn by the pub’s new look and its schedule of trivia nights, pool league, and weekend music and dancing, the crowd no longer comes only from surrounding streets. Friends from all around the city are meeting here, as are the neighborhood’s new residents: downtown transplants in search of affordable housing. Since your conversation with that cute stranger might lead to a date, good thing you’re such a talker.

[The Blarney Stone, 1505 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester. 617.436.8223. www.blarneystoneboston.com]

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