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Conor Byrne
5140 Ballard Ave. N.W.
Seattle, WA 98107
784-3640
Narrow bars, such as the Conor Byrne Pub, remind me of train cars. I love walking through the door and having the entire scene stretch out before me. The elaborate bar made of dark wood, the big brick wall, the tiny little stage in the corner, the 14-foot-high ceilings, the portrait of James Joyce on the wall. It touts itself as an Irish pub, which, in essence, it is. But in the past few years, Conor Byrne has played a pivotal role in the North End's roots scene. Goateed pickers in fleece and flannel play alongside recent new-grass converts (those who discovered bluegrass via Jerry Garcia and David Grisman). There's usually a different live act on weekend nights, but Mondays and Tuesdays are consistent, with an open Bluegrass Jam and Ol' Timey Social, respectively. Boddington's and Guinness flow from the taps, naturally, but this is a Northwest bar, after all, so Rainier is abundant and cheap ($1.75 at happy hour!).
It's interesting. For being such a self proclaimed nice guy, I have found that Diarmuid Cullen is actually a very pretentious individual with his own interests in mind. I find he isn't restoring the building for the aesthetics or history, but so that he can try to make himself and his patrons "cool" and not just in temperature. Diarmuid has actually been quite rude and obtuse towards employees and customers both and I would prefer to see one of the other current owners step up and take charge and help re-create what used to be on of the best atmospheres in Ballard.
I guess I do agree with one thing he said. He definitely wants to make the place his. "...It’s kind of a way to make it mine,” he says with a smile." Yes, with an ego like that, I can only suppose that he would like to make it HIS and ignore the partnership.