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Brian Boru Public House Will Close After More Than 25 Years

Troy R. Bennett
/
Bangor Daily News
Steven Priestley touches up a Guinness mural on the side of the Brian Boru Public House in Portland in 2015.

On Thursday, popular Portland pub Brian Boru Public House announced that it will be closing permanently. On its Facebook page, the business announced that at 1 a.m. on Monday, August 26, the business will close its doors for the last time.“Current owner, Daniel Steele, expresses his deep appreciation towards its loyal patrons, vendors, and the City of Portland, for their decades of support,” the post reads.

In its time as a Portland staple, Brian Boru has been behind some big news. In 2013, Steele pushed for legislation that would allow his pub to be open until 6 a.m. on St. Patrick’s day, the pub’s biggest day of the year.

“This is a small-business issue in a tough economy,” said Steele told the Bangor Daily Newsthen. “This is about my employees. This is about tax revenue. This is about jobs.”

In a move that created tension with Portland nightlife owners, then-governor Paul LePage instead prioritized repaying Maine’s Medicaid debt.

The pub was founded in 1993, and the Facebook post celebrated its legacy: “‘The Pub,’ as it is affectionately known by its regulars, has been a landmark in Portland’s Old Port for more than a quarter century.”

This story appears through a media sharing agreement with Bangor Daily News.