Named after Johnny O'Donnell
Every good pub has a name with a story behind it. Ours begins on an island off the west coast of Ireland.
An Achill man
Johnny O'Donnell was the uncle of Sarah Lambe, one of the pub's two owners. He came from Achill Island, the largest island off the Irish coast, in County Mayo in the far west. Like so many from Achill he moved on for life and work, and made his home in Cork, Ireland's second city, right down in the south.
The island never quite let him go. That is how it is with Achill people: you take the wind, the sea and the way of welcoming guests with you wherever you end up. Sarah is from Achill herself, and when it came to naming the new pub, the decision was made quickly.
An O'Donnell pub in Freiburg: Johnny would have laughed, leaned on the bar and asked what was on tap.The family
From Achill to Freiburg
Sarah Lambe and Kieran Mullen have run two of Freiburg's best known Irish pubs for years: O'Kellys and Oscar Wilde's. Both sit right in the city centre. With O'Donnells they wanted something different: a smaller, quieter corner pub in a quarter where people live and work, and where a good local was still missing.
The choice fell on Waldkircher Straße 1 in the north of the city, where the old freight yard has become a new piece of Freiburg. A pub to drop into for a pint after work, and to sit quietly on a Tuesday evening.
What we take from Johnny
- Island hospitality. On Achill nobody asks why you have come. You get a seat and something to drink.
- Honest goods. A well poured pint, a decent whiskey, no gimmicks.
- Conversation. The best entertainment in any pub is still the chat at the bar.
Sarah will happily tell you more about Johnny, about Achill and about Cork in person once the doors are open. Until then: Sláinte.