UK pub operator JD Wetherspoon will begin building work on its first pub in the Republic on Monday. The Watford-based company plans to spend €1.5 million refurbishing the former Tonic Bar in Blackrock, Co Dublin.

The pub will be renamed The Three Tun Tavern and will open for business on July 8th. The new name was chosen by local residents, with 150 offering suggestions.

This brings to €3 million the cost to Wetherspoon of purchasing and developing the site in Blackrock. The Three Tun Tavern will employ 60 full-time and part-time staff. The pub will be open-plan with quality furnishings. It is expected to serve food all day.

Entry to Republic

The Blackrock pub marks Wetherspoon’s entry to the market in the Republic although it has nine pubs in the North. Wetherspoon has also acquired the former Newport Cafe pub in Cork, which will be refurbished at a cost of €1.5 million later this year. It is believed to be in negotiations on another 15 premises and has indicated

it wants to put together a chain of about 30 pubs here.

The Blackrock pub will be managed by Irishman John Hartigan who has worked for Wetherspoon for the past 13 years and is manager at one of its pubs in London.

Born in Kerry and raised in Dartry in Dublin, Mr Hartigan has worked in England for the past 30 years.

“I am delighted to be returning to Blackrock to manage Wetherspoon’s first pub in the Republic of Ireland,” Mr Hartigan said. “I’m confident The Three Tun Tavern will prove popular with people of all ages and that it will act as a catalyst for other businesses to invest in the area.”

Wetherspoon was set up by Tim Martin in 1979 and began trading in London initially. Listed on the stock market, it has more than 880 pubs and employs about 23,000 staff.

In the year to the end of July 2013, it made a profit before tax and exceptional items of £77 million (€93.7 million) on revenues of just under £1.3 billion.