Community mourns loss of landlord Gerry
Gerry Dolan was generous, tough but well-loved
Friday, 25th August 2023 — By Anna Lamche
GERRY Dolan worked on the buses in Dublin, later as a prison officer, before running McGlynn’s Free House in King’s Cross.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why he never had a problem taking over a pub,” said the Whidborne Street pub’s manager Liam Birney. “He was one of those very strict but very fair bosses.”
Mr Dolan, who has died aged 64, might have been “very tough” but he was well-loved by those he worked with.
Mr Birney said: “He warmed to people. To me it shows how good a boss he was by the fact that I’ve been here 10 years, other staff have been here 15 years. We’ve all been here for long, long periods of time.”
Mr Birney added: “He was one of the only bosses I’ve ever worked with that would always make sure that if you’re going on holiday, you’ve always got money in your pocket, and for Christmas presents.
And if ever anyone brought their kids in, he’d make sure he whacked a tenner to the kids… he was very generous.”
Having taken over at McGlynn’s in the early 1990s, Mr Dolan witnessed many changes around King’s Cross. “The area’s changed, but we pride ourselves on being
one of the only pubs – there’s only a couple in this area – that hasn’t changed.
If you come in here, it still looks like you’ve walked into the late 80s. It’s still very traditional – we’ve maintained that.”
And Mr Dolan, who lived above the pub, played a key role in keeping the community together.
Mr Birney said: “We have people from every aspect of life coming in here. We’ve got our locals, we’ve got our tourists, and he was the sort of person that would talk to anyone.”
He added: “Hundreds and hundreds of people have sent messages of condolence – it really has shown how big a community the place is.”
The community often came together at weekends to watch the horse races. “On a Saturday, the pub would just be filled with people watching the races, ” Mr Birney said, adding they had gone to the Royal Ascot together in June. “Horse racing was a big [hobby], going off to days at the races.”
He was fond of cats and cared for many over the years, including George, who’s now “quite old”, and Jackie, a “real character” who died earlier this year.
Known for his good sense of humour, Mr Dolan often told “dry jokes that would go on for ages… we’d get the same jokes repeated over and over again – but no one really minded hearing them over and over again.”
Mr Dolan died suddenly in hospital last week after a short illness, leaving friends and family in shock.
Mr Birney said: “One of the sad things is that Gerry was set to retire in six months.”
His family, who live in Ireland, are “devastated” by their loss, as are the pub staff.
“There is a quote he’d always say to us when he was going up in the afternoons after he finished,” Mr Birney said. “He’d look at us and say: ‘Well lads, I’d love to keep you company, but I can’t keep your hours.’”
A funeral mass for Mr Dolan will be held at 11am at St Aloysius Church in Eversholt Street on September 1.