Burren Pub Celebrates 28 Years as Boston's Iconic Traditional Irish Pub

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 Happy 28th anniversary to the Burren Pub and its owners, Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello! 


Since opening its doors on January 12, 1996, the Burren Pub in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts has been one of the top traditional Irish music pubs in the world for well over a quarter century!  From the start, the pub nestled between Tufts University and Harvard has been a sought-after destination for music lovers who play music, aspire to play, or simply appreciate top shelf traditional Irish music. 

Over the years, Ireland's major bands such as the Chieftains, Altan, Lunasa, Da Dannan, Bono and U-2 have made a pilgrimage to the Burren to sample some of the best Irish music in North America, and to bask in an ambiance that is always welcoming, interesting and chill.

The Burren is owned by two fine traditional musicians: fiddler Tommy McCarthy and his wife Louise Costello, a champion on the banjo and accordion. The couple met in Boston in 1986, moved back to Ireland and got married, traveled the world, and then returned to Boston in 1994.  They decided to open a pub so they could play music anytime they wanted. 

Tommy recalls how the pub got started.  “I saw an ad in the paper for a liquor license for sale in Somerville and we decided to go for it. Davis Square was all boarded up at the time, but the Somerville Theatre right down the street was ready to grow with World Music, so we took our chance. 

“My dad, a master carpenter as well as a concertina player, came out from London and helped us build the front room of the Burren, including the bar." 

With deep roots in traditional music in London, Clare and Galway, Tommy and Louise brought to Boston a genuine appreciation of what makes a successful Irish music pub: quality live music each night, a hearty menu, from standard fare to vegan dishes, and a fun, easygoing atmosphere that welcomes both musicians and music-lovers. 

“The Burren was an instant success from the day we opened. There was a huge draw. A year later, we opened the Back Room, with a 250 seat capacity, bringing in a whole range of rock, blues, jazz, and country bands,” Tommy says. 

The pub is named for a barren expanse of Limestone rock in Ireland’s County Clare, known as the Burren.  Ireland's tourism officials described the Burren as "one of Ireland's most compelling landscapes (where) cool grey rock etched with crevices and cracks tumbles down to the wild blue Atlantic Ocean. The result is one of nature's most extraordinary phenomena: a huge rocky pavement dotted with rock formations, caves and fossils, as well as an incredible array of flowers, from native species to Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants."

The Burren has racked up numerous awards for excellence, from Boston Magazine, Time Out, Thrillist and other publications and reader polls.  It has a loyal following of locals who frequent the traditional Irish sessions, college students who come and go every four years, along with visitors and tourists who come back to the Burren every time they're in the Boston area.

Here is a calendar of upcoming music and entertainment at the Burren this winter. 

(This story was updated from stories we wrote on the 15th and 25th anniversaries of the Burren Pub.)
 


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