Tir na nOg - Another Irish Casualty

The Littlest Bar shuttered the doors last year after a prolonged closing. What remains in the Littlest spot is a gutted construction site (though you can still see the mirror behind the bar and wood paneling) for a set of upscale condos being constructed at the downtown location. On January 30 Tir na nOg in Somerville will be the latest Irish bar casualty to gentrification in the area. The Brendan Beehan may now be able to claim the title as the smallest Irish pub in Boston metro.

Tir na nOg had a good run in Union Square for the last decade. It was always on our spot of places to meet up with friends, especially for a pre-show pint when heading to P.A.'s or for the music you'd find at Tir na nOg. When an acquaintance mentioned that she'd purchased a condo across the street from the nOg we got seriously jealous. But perhaps that was the problem. A condo across the street from Tir na nOg. The account the Phoenix gives this week sounds a bit like gentrification might be taking hold in Union Square:

“We were trying to renew the lease and the landlord put it on hold,” said manager/booker Robert Elliott, “and then he said he wasn’t going to renew the lease, he was going to take it back himself.”

and from the nOg website itself:

Yes the rumors are unfortunately true. On January 30th Tir na nOg will close it's doors forever. At the time of this web-publishing neither proprietor was available to comment. Previously when asked, proprietor Robert Elliott responded "just put something up on the website, anything!" When asked if this was another "retirement" ploy such as the final Johnny Come Latelies gig (which occured a record four times) he responded with a . . . well, oddly enough, he actually just vanished. If anyone sights Robert, please have him contact Friends of the nOg, a myspace group of regulars determined to spread the scandal and rumors long past the nOg's closing date. To everyone who has shared a pint or a memory in Tir na nOg be sure to come down for a pint during January 2007, and Thank you.

The sights may be set on a tenant that can bring more revenue for the location to the buildings owner, especially if Union Square does see the Green Line roll in sometime in the next 7 years.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Browning Photo