The Harp Bar

The Harp Bar was a public house and live music venue based in Hill Street, central Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was owned between 1977 and 1984 by Patrick (Patsy) Lennon who some years later built and owned the Limelight nightclub and Dome Bar (two adjacent premises in Ormeau Avenue, Belfast).

The Harp Bar is synonymous with the history of punk rock, particularly from a Northern Ireland context.[1] It was functioning as a city centre bar and music venue at the height of the conflict/troubles in Northern Ireland.[2] Despite tensions in the city and occasional bomb attacks on the premises by paramilitaries the bar continued to trade and young people from all across the city and further afield regularly attended gigs.

Many local punk rock bands including The Outcasts, Rudi, Stiff Little Fingers, The Defects and others appeared at the venue. It was quickly recognised as the premier punk rock venue in Ireland and started attracting touring bands such as The Nipple Erectors and The Monochrome Set. According to one regular, "It stank. It smelled of armpit and stale beer. The toilets were DREADFUL." They loved it. [3]

The original venue closed in the 1990s, and a new Harp Bar opened elsewhere in Belfast in 2013, as a tribute to the original venue.[4]

In 2019 there were plans to build a hotel on the Hill Street site.[5]

References
  1. Canning, Margaret (2013) "Middle-age kicks won't be hard to beat when Harp Bar goes live", Belfast Telegraph, 27 August 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2015
  2. Haslam, Dave (2015-08-13). Life After Dark: A History of British Nightclubs & Music Venues. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-85720-700-5.
  3. Alan Dein "The Godfather of Ulster Punk", BBC Radio 4, 5 July 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2017
  4. "Punk pub gives name to bar on site of pioneering restaurant". The Irish News. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  5. Scott, Sarah (9 March 2019). "Original Harp Bar site in Belfast set to be turned into boutique hotel". belfastlive. Retrieved 16 July 2020.

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