An event to celebrate the official biography of one of Dublin's best-loved watering dens, Mulligan's: Grand Old Pub of Poolbeg Street drew not unaccustomed crowds to the lounge and bar yesterday.

Declan Dunne’s book (launched by Eileen Dunne, pictured) takes the reader from the 1780s when the first Mulligan put his name over the door to the present day, profiling the ordinary drinker as well as the stories of the famous faces who visited including John F Kennedy, Judy Garland, footballer Eusebio, Sean Penn and Julia Roberts.

Owner Gary Cusack, who has been behind the bar since 1988, said he was delighted when Dunne, himself a regular, asked could he write the book. “This is a fantastic day, I have to say it’s the highlight of my last almost 30 years here.”

John Mulligan was the last of the Mulligans to own the pub in the 1920s before it passed to a Mick Smith and then the Cusack brothers Tommy and Con who bought it along with Paddy Flynn.

“My dad Tommy was here since 1944 and spent 58 years behind the bar, he was as much an institution as the place itself,” Mr Cusack said.