The oldest Irish Pub in Seattle - Murphy's Pub

We are working on securing a SBA loan and need help with the down payment.

Thank you to everyone who has shared this! The community is talking and that is one of the goals. Please send interested buyers our way! Note, the property is for sale while the business stays in tact.

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. This affirms what we know to be true. Murphy's matters! With that being said, if this does not turn out the way we wish, all monies will be refunded.

Many of you have brought up some very valid points and we thank you for your input. It means the world to us that you care.

We know that the goal we have set is outrageous however we want to be completely transparent on what we are up against.

We are absolutely interested in finding an investor who shares the same values we, including you, share.

The funds here will be used to help buy the property. Whether that is us or someone new. We need a long term lease.

Here is the history:

On May 18, 1981, a year after Mt. St. Helen’s blew, Seattle’s first Irish bar opened: Murphy’s Irish Pub.

When Chris Barnes and Dan Cowan originally opened Murphy’s, it stood where Starbucks stands today, a half a block to the east (a Radio Shack stood on the corner of 45th and Meridian, where Murphy’s is today). Dan left shortly after (and went on to open The Tractor Tavern in Ballard), while Chris slowly built a Seattle institution.

For years, its stage was host to the nationally syndicated Sandy Bradley’s Potluck, a sort of Prairie Home Companion of Seattle, featuring “traditional old-time American music, ragtime and blues to movie cartoon sound tracks and novelty songs”.

Being the first Irish pub, it managed to log a few firsts along the way: the first bar in Seattle to start a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, the first bar in Seattle to pour micro brews from the tap (Redhook opened in Fremont in 1982), and first in the hearts of its patrons all the way.

On February 12th, 2015, Murphy’s Pub reopened under new management and ownership. The new crew is Phil and Chelley Bassett, and Eamonn Davey.

After the much needed facelift, you’ll find that Murphy’s is still pretty much the same: a bar in the Irish tradition, where you can chit chat with friends over a Guinness and other great Northwest beers, dine on great tasting food, listen to some live music a few nights a week (Irish music jam session on Mondays), and just relax after a long day.