Irish musician takes out lease on Lanzarote's oldest Irish bar

There’s a new venue in Lanzarote where you can catch Irish singer-songwriter Rory Gallagher doing what he does best.

Rory, the former Revs frontman, who, of course, had the county singing along to ‘Jimmy’s Winning Matches’ as Donegal won the 2012 All-Ireland title, has along with his wife Cara taken up a new lease in Puerto Del Carmen on the Spanish island.

“As you know over the past 12 months I have been struggling to gig in our own wee bar in Lanzarote - Rory's Corner Bar - due to overcrowding, well, Cara and myself are just buzzing to announce that we have taken on a 10-year lease for The Irish Viking Bar,” Rory posted.

“A stunning old bar right in the heart of Puerto Del Carmen that holds up to 180 people! So we can breathe again, and I can book as many gigs as I want! I will be bringing the family over a lot as well so let me know when you are in Lanzarote and hopefully we're there too!

“We will also be bringing our current brilliant lineup of musicians from The Corner Bar to join us such as Mick Garry, Pedro, Conor Sloane, Jackie Brennan, and Joey Bracken and they will hopefully be joined by the likes of the fantastic Collie Farrell who gigs in the Viking already.

On a personal note, Myself and Cara would like to thank Terry Rodgers, who owned and ran The Viking since 1986! He gave us such an amazing deal we would not be able to take on this big venture without his kindness and understanding of the circumstances. And I know he turned down better offers so it does mean a lot thank you Terry for choosing us to captain your beautiful old ship, Our family cannot wait for the voyage.

“The fact it has been running since 1986 and is the oldest Irish bar in Puerto Del Carmen, we have decided not to change the name and keep all the classic vintage Irish signs and pub paraphernalia that Terry has built up over the 40 years - it is reminiscent of the cool Dead Rabbit bar in New York city with its sawdust on the floor vibe, We will just add to it -new signs, maybe a Donegal flag or three!

“It will be closed for a while at the start of April to transition and reset. We will then have a soft launch and I will be doing my first set of gigs there from April 18 to April 25. Are you ready?

It's been a slow slog since we lost badly on The Wildcat Bar in Scotland during the 2020 Pandemic but over the last few years with all your support for the likes of the Lockdown sessions, the touring, Rory's Corner Bar and Bar13 Edinburgh it feels like we are getting back on our feet. Big shoutout to The Spinnaker Bar for letting me perform there these past 13 months! Legends.

“So folks, Let me know when you are coming to Lanzarote and hopefully I will be there too! Have a great St. Patrick's Day.”