Interview with Peter and Cheryl Kenny of The Dubliner, Capitol Pub and The Gin Mill

By Lauren Drewes Daniels Thu., Mar. 14 2013 at 1:01 PM

Categories: Interviews

Cheryl and Peter Kenny

There's something a bit charming about the Irish. Maybe it has to do with the rich, sometimes mystical, elements of their culture. Like leprechauns, a penchant for
being a tad hotheaded, folk songs that can bring everyone in a bar to tears, and Jameson, of course.

We love us some Irish. Each year the "Greenville" St. Patty's Day parade has grown hugely and those of us with nary a drop of Irish anything in our blood frolic.

Native Dubliner Peter Kenny never really meant to live in Dallas, much less open a bar and two restaurants. After growing up in Ireland, he headed over to the United States as a young man, looking for better a economy than what Ireland had to offer at the time. He landed in New York City, where he got a job clearing tables in Rockefeller Center. After a few months, he left the Big Apple with plans to travel to the sunshine of the California coast. He made a stop in Big D on the way and never left.

Kenny started bartending at the Knox Street Pub and eventually saved enough money to open The Dubliner along with some friends in 1994. Now a staple along Greenville Avenue, the room's dim lights and heavy wood offer a nice little escape from the typical bar scene. Foreign accents often punctuate the air, particularly when a big football game is on. The spot seems to be much wiser and fraught with character than it's 20 years suggest. And, obviously, it's hopping on St. Patrick's Day.

Kenny says for the past several years a group of guys have started their morning with breakfast across the street at the Blue Goose Cantina. As soon as they see Kenny rummaging around the Dubliner, they raid the place and insist on having the first shots of Jameson at the bar. And so the party gets started.