Is The Drunken Poet Melbourne’s best Irish pub? 

A pub without pokies has become somewhat of an oxymoron in today’s day and age, but just outside the Queen Victoria Market stands an anomaly – The Drunken Poet. 

What the pub lacks in size, it makes up for in character, and it would be easy to miss if it weren’t for its proudly displayed Guinness heraldry and the constant hum of its stout-loving punters lost in conversation.

Despite the trials and tribulations faced by many publicans in the wake of the pandemic, the owner of The Drunken Poet, Siobhan Dooley, said that she has been lucky that her loyal customers have continued to come along in droves. 

Behind the pub’s success is Ms Dooley’s reverence for a good yarn, live music and literature, which has never wavered ever since the pub first opened its doors at 65 Peel Street.

Live music is played six nights a week and there are portraits of Irish poets hung on the walls. 

Before becoming a publican Ms Dooley embarked on a global odyssey, relocating from Kilkenny in Ireland to the United States where she lived and worked for seven years. 

Throughout her stint in the US, she saw a lot of great Irish pubs that inspired her to start her own. However, due to the prevalence of such pubs in the States, Ms Dooley thought it would be difficult to enter the market. 

This all changed, however, when she made her way to Australia and saw that the only Irish pubs were large operations run by hospitality and entertainment groups. 

There was a definite market opening for a niche and authentic Irish pub that was run by a publican, so Ms Dooley seized the opportunity and hasn’t looked back since. 

The Drunken Poet was even nominated among the 10 best Irish pubs in the world outside of Ireland by The Irish Times – the only venue in Australia to make the list. It was selected out of more than 1,500 pubs from 41 countries. 

“I just wanted a place where people would chat, and have a great craic, as we say,” Ms Dooley said. 

This was one of the key reasons for starting the pub on the drunken poet theme. Ms Dooley wanted the watering hole to be a place where patrons could have fun and interesting discussions, too. 

The pub itself is filled with Irish literary references but in true Irish fashion, Ms Dooley has done so in jest by hanging up portraits of artists and authors who may not have seen eye to eye. 

With Irish luminaries and characters like James Joyce and WB Yeats hanging on the wall, she imagines that while the pub is heaving, they’re all having their own little discussions and quibbles. 

While the lively atmosphere that Ms Dooley has carefully fostered continues to bring customers in, she said there have been a lot of Irish people coming to Australia, among them plenty of young folk who help keep business going strongly. 

“These are young Irish people who keep you in touch,” she said. “They just show you how far Ireland is coming along.”

When growing up, Ms Dooley remembers her peers didn’t want to speak Gaelic but now the young people are very proud of it and are coming in to recite Irish poetry on open mic nights. 

The Irish tradition remains strong at The Drunken Poet and punters from afar and close by are able to connect with a culture that has shaped our own. 

Since the First Fleet, the Irish have made their mark on Australia, from the Toohey brothers brewing one of the nation’s most frequently imbibed beers to the Kelly Gang becoming a part of our cultural psyche. 

And, with more than 14,000 people of Irish descent living in Greater Melbourne, it’s easy to see how The Drunken Poet has found a home in this marvellous city. •