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Irish Independent

‘Big-hearted' Wexford woman retires from historic pub after 80 years behind the bar

Now 93 years old and with nearly 80 years of experience at the pub in Craanford, Maryanne Doyle has finally decided to take her due leave and retire. "She's very well-known around the countryside for her hospitable welcome. She's heavily involved with all the community activities here and was always known as the place where the kids from GAA would stop off after matches. She's very generous and always made sure there was sweets and drinks there for the kids from Craanford GAA,' said her nephew, Will Doyle. Maryanne's long stint at the pub began when she was a young girl and returned home from boarding school to work at the pub alongside her aunt who ran it at the time. In 1965, she took over the pub from her aunt, making her the fifth generation of her family to manage the pub since the 1780s. Incredibly, this tradition will continue into the next generation of her family, as her grandnephews are now taking over from her after all these years. "She'll still be in the background giving guidance and support as she's very interested in the pub but is happy to let the new generation push ahead with it going forward,' said Will. One of the truly unique elements of the pub is its thatched roof. 'She's very proud of the history of the pub and keeping the heritage and thatch in place so it's as traditional as possible. Up to last year there were only bottles available in the pub and was one of the only bottle pubs left in Ireland. Even Guinness were shocked when we rang to ask about getting the taps because we hadn't had taps before,' said Will. The pub is also known for being a hub for traditional Irish music, with regular sessions held there over the years. Maryanne has always been heavily involved with the local community and was a member of the ICA and Tidy Towns. Furthermore, up until the 1980s, she ran the farm as well as the pub. "She's very big-hearted. She was always a popular stop for the children at Hallowe'en because they always got lots of sweets, drinks and a bit of money too. She loved everything about Hallowe'en. She was a very hospitable landlady and her regulars were very good to her and she was very good to them,' said Will. One of the pub's claims to fame is when James Bolger, the Prime Minister of New Zealand in the 1990s, popped in for a drink with his family. "Randomly, he'd be a descendent of the first owner of the pub, so she was very proud of that when he visited. We're descendants of the Kenny family. Moses Kenny was the original owner of the pub and James Bolger would be a descendant of him on a different side,' said Will. With everything she had going on, Mary Anne still found the time for her loved ones and Will said she is an amazing aunt. 'Her nieces and nephews used to come down to her to have lunch after school time. She was a great hostess and every Christmas time, she had a big party for her family at the pub. She's always been very family focused,' said Will.