Located in the picturesque village of Adare County Limerick, Aunty Lena’s reigned supreme at the Irish Pub of the Year Awards 2023. This gastro pub beat off competition from 63 other regional winners to become the top pub in the country and the first Limerick pub to ever win the title.
Established in 1806 by the Chawke family, Aunty Lena’s has famously served the needs of its patrons with great success keeping the bar as a focal part of the community and serving both locals and visitors from all over the world. The pub’s proprietor, Charlie Chawke, a long-established publican, originally from Adare, grew up between Bill Chawke’s (run by his parents) and his aunt Lena’s pub, both nestled in prime locations in the famously picturesque village.
Aunty Lena’s was originally a shop run by Charlie Chawke’s aunt Lena in the early 1980s. She passed away in 1985 and it was eventually turned into a full time bar and restaurant. In 2018 the pub re-developed the abandoned Adare Courthouse, annexing it to Aunty Lena’s and completely refurbishing an historic building so linked to Adare since 1836, but forgotten for over 30 years. The Adare Courthouse now has new life breathed into with a bespoke restaurant, bar, and Courthouse Museum, which can also be used as a themed function room.
While the win was unexpected, Charlie Chawke talks about taking great pride in the win, “You never expect to win a national award because there are so many people involved in it. There’s nearly 5,000 pubs involved,” he said. “I want to thank our hospitable staff and customers. Without them we’d have won nothing, so we would just like to say thank you to them and hopefully we will go onto greater things in the future, if we all stick together,” Mr Chawke added.
Aunty’s Lena’s now has 32 staff and General Manager, Gary Murnane explains the excitement generated among them from the win. “After our win, the mood among staff shot up immediately. It’s great for them to be acknowledged for their hard work and great to be recognised. It puts you on the map. They are really enjoying it and we know it’s short lived so enjoy it while we can.”
