The Pubs of Moville

For the latest news and reviews of the pubs and restaurants in Moville please visit the CraicOn website.

My grateful thanks to Gerry McLaughlin from Moville for this guide. In particular, I appreciate his single-minded dedication to his research, putting commitment before pleasure, and giving up his free time to visit the pubs of Moville, just to research this article.

Thanks too, to Baird Ferguson from Scotland for his views on the pubs from the viewpoint of a visitor, who is not so familiar with the town.

Pubs ("Public Houses") are the centre of Irish social life. Here you'll find the music, the conversation, the craic .. and of course, the drink! Here is Gerry's review of the pubs in the centre of Moville. There's plenty in Greencastle and Carrowtrasna, too. Let me know what you think about them!

" ...... As a result of our research which was carried out in a single day we shall be having a period of recuperation before returning to Moville but rest assured we shall return to a gem of a place whose locals make you feel extremely welcome ..... " - Baird

Here's Gerry McLaughlin's definitive guide to Moville's pubs ... and Baird's views too!

Rosata's Bar

Rosata's is a great little bar on the Malin Road about 50 yards off the main square in Moville. It’s my favourite bar. Many of its male regular customers say that it has the best looking women in the town. As with all bars in Moville you get people there of all ages (over 18) but the majority of the customers would be the slightly older younger crowd, if you know what I mean. It’s a place where couples, married or single, often go, but many single people go there too.

Friday night is my favourite night. That’s music night, with the music usually on acoustic guitar, where the classic rock, pop and Irish classics are played. Probably the most played artist there would be Bob Dylan, but others like Cat Stevens get played a lot as well. Usually the singer(s) will do requests from the audience. Does good food – especially pizzas. Try the spicy meat one - Gerry

Great wee pub, excellent staff and marvellous food. Our favourite all round pub in Moville, a credit to the staff. Has a wee beer garden at the back - Baird

Rawdons Bar

I probably go there second most. It’s one place where you will almost certainly find somebody there – even on a Monday night in January. They have a well-supported Quiz night every Wednesday throughout the year, come thick and thin. There’s usually about half a dozen teams with more in the summer. It is usually in aid of the Donegal Hospice. It has had as much as 17 teams playing the quiz.

Most nights are good, but Friday night is especially good with traditional Irish music (as well as more modern music) being played there on that night. Paddy McLaughlin, who is probably the town’s best musician, plays there but anyone who wants can come and join them (if they can play music, of course, or sing). It really is an all-ages pub with no one feeling out of place. It’s the type of place where the whole family can go. Has a shop and an off licence - Gerry

Another very friendly bar. It has a large selection of drinks and an off sales department which comes in handy for the road home. On a previous visit this was a major centre during the traditional music festival with a great atmosphere. Very friendly customers willing for a chat about anything - Baird

Hair of the Dog

This pub is now closed.

The Eggman’s

I usually go there when there is a good football match on as it has a good atmosphere. They have a women’s darts team playing on Wednesdays and have a pool team as well. The owner is often asked if the name comes from the Beatles song “I am the Walrus” which has the line “I am the Eggman”. However, in reality, it is much simpler than that - he used to be the local egg man.

It is situated on the Lower Main Street of Moville which is the road where you come into town from Derry. There’s a lot of good craic and repartee from the regulars. It’s one of those places where if you go in by yourself and sit at the bar you’ll get into a conversation - Gerry

Trawlerman

This is just off the main road of the town going seawards (or loughwards) and has a very friendly atmosphere. This is the real Moville people’s pub. If you are not from Moville but your relatives come from here, you will find somebody there who will know something about them. Another pub where you can get easily into a conversation if you come in by yourself and sit at the long bar which takes up most of the pub. Conversations there are often pub wide.

If you have come into town by bus, you may be surprised that the owner says he’s seen you already. He also drives the bus into town and has nonplussed many visitors by this!. Sunday night is a big night there with old time music and dancing - Gerry

A long dark bar but again friendly and gave the impression of being very much a mans' bar as the name suggests. There is a large function room at the rear which was not in use during our visit. Good prices again probably due to the amount of competition in the town. - Baird

McGettigan’s

Very friendly atmosphere created by the husband and wife owners and very much a Moville pub. Again, there are all ages of people that come here with the majority slightly older. It has a large screen TV so it is very popular when there is a big football match on. (Glasgow) Celtic would probably be the best supported team in this bar. The price of the beer here is a little lower than some other places in town for those that like their beer cheaper, i.e. everybody - Gerry

The previous pub report suggested that this was a pub used by supporters of (Glasgow) Celtic. The member in our company who supports (Glasgow) Rangers was absolutely delighted to recount later that this was our least favourite pub in Moville. There is a sun balcony but unfortunately there is a large hole in the floor over a 20 foot drop to a pile of rubbish bags full of empty bottles. Perhaps the rubbish collection was due and we arrived at a bad time. - Baird

Corner Bar

This is the first bar that you see when you come into town from the Derry Road, and, as its name suggests, is on the first corner. Friendly atmosphere created by the husband and wife owners. He always keeps it nicely festooned on the outside. As it is the first bar that you hit when you come into town, it often has a lot of people from just outside Moville. The big night is Saturday night where they have live bands playing traditional Irish music sprinkled with some Country & Western - Gerry

Extremely friendly staff (Dolores) and clean comfortable bar. Things were getting a bit hazy now but a seat outside on the benches in the evening sun revitalised us a bit and we set off again - Baird

The Waterfront

Now mainly a restaurant

It is of a very high quality and worth a visit for a meal - Baird

Maguires

This is situated on the main square in the town. A DJ plays music there at the weekends. Customers are of all ages but younger people predominate. It has a nice ambience and friendly and efficient bar staff - Gerry

An extremely relaxed atmosphere with very comfortable seating and lots of interesting artefacts to inspect while sampling the drinks (maybe we were starting to slow down!) - Baird

Foyle Hotel

This is a bar, restaurant and hotel to boot. Most people agree that the food is very good. They also have a Disco round the back called The Boom Room which is open on Saturday night. It is situated on the main square in town - Gerry

Primarily a Hotel but decent prices, pleasant staff and very clean bar / dining area. Serves a large menu and has music at the weekends - Baird

Town Clock

The Town Clock is known for two things, its food and its lively Friday and Saturday nights. When I had a survey of young women and asked them where the best looking men were in the town they said it was the Town Clock. It has high ceilings with wooden panels and it has very relaxed atmosphere. It is very good for those who bring young children with them because of the friendly atmosphere created by the manager and staff.

It is also the place where most tributaries flow on a weekend night, i.e. if you suddenly see people leaving the pub where you are drinking, later on during a weekend night, it is probably because they are going to the Town Clock. Many of the youngsters (and not so young) end up there - Gerry

Very large and clean bar which serves food. We got the impression it may have livened up later on as our visit was quite early. Again very reasonable prices and pleasant staff - Baird

McNamaras

Temporarily closed

It is a hotel, restaurant and bar. Because of its very relaxed atmosphere I find it a great place to take my young children – and they love it too. There are many ‘big nights’ at McNamaras. The other week there was an offer of Sunday lunch which also offered a Bouncy Castle for the children. Just the perfect place to go if you would like to have a quiet meal or drink with your partner and not have the worry of an over starchy place which frowned on your children - Gerry

Susie’s Bar

If there was any bar in town that could be called a Sports Bar then it would be Susie’s at the top of the main square. During the day the Horse Racing is usually on, and at any time of the day it will usually be some kind of sport on the TV. GAA (Gaelic football and hurling) is very popular in Susie’s as the owner is a big fan and organises buses to the big games. It is another place where you could go in by yourself and expect to have a conversation – although that is true of most bars in Moville - Gerry

Excellent pub to start in apart from the fact that the staff were so friendly it was difficult to remind ourselves that the purpose was to visit all the pubs in Moville. A Glasgow Celtic top is on discreet display and you can pass some time trying to decipher the signatures. Also satellite television is available for sports fans. Very reasonable prices and excellent craic on both sides of the bar - Baird

Thanks for the great reviews, Baird and Gerry!

.. so what is your favourite Moville pub? Do you agree with Gerry, or do you think Baird is right?

E-mail me at the top of the page and let me have your opinion... and if you run one of the pubs, and want to respond to the comments, e-mail me, and I'll put your thoughts on the site.