The Hobbler’s End and Raytown Bar on Ringsend Road, formerly Bunit & Simpsons, has been totally refurbished. I went along to meet part-owner Cliff Rooney, who took me on a grand tour.

The lounge is spacious and comfortable. You can relax, enjoy a drink, and watch the big sporting fixtures on TV or you can go into the bar and read your your paper, enjoy the banter with friends , and still watch TV. Whether it’s racing, football or GAA, everyone is catered for. If the weather is good, there is also a beer garden out the back.

Cliff tells me that he pulled his first pint at the age of fifteen, and has been doing so ever since. Although not a Raytowner himself, he spent the last five years just up the road as manager of Paddy Cullen’s. There is entertainment every night in the Hobbler’s, with ballads, 60’s, 70’s, quizzes and karaoke, all great craic. If you’re having a celebration, there is a function room upstairs with a smoking area which is where they hold the poker classic every Thursday night.
Lunch is served Monday to Friday from 12pm to 3pm, dinner from 5pm to 9.30pm, and 12pm to 5pm on Saturday. There is also a Sunday carvery from 12pm to 5pm.

Chef Jason Bowden prepares a wide variety of dishes to suit every palate, the portions are very generous. You certainly won’t leave hungry! Cliff loves Ringsend and the people. He is a sponsor and member of Poolbeg rowing club. He also sponsors Ringsend Rovers and Bridge United. We wish you and your friendly staff all the best.

The Hobblers is so called because hobbling is an old occupation dating back to the eighteenth century. They were skilled and courageous men who often took risks on dangerous seas to row out and guide ships safely back to harbour, competing against each other to be the first to offer a guiding hand to a safe berth. Many perished in pursuit of their hazardous trade, young men from formidable families of Ringsend (Lawless, Hughes, Shorthall, Miller, Pluck and Brennan), who learned their trade from their fathers and uncles, from generation to generation.