Murphy's Irish Stout, brewed at the Leitrim Street brewery since 1856, is Cork's answer to Guinness and its Leeside residents are fierce in their loyalty.
James J Murphy founded the Lady's Well Brewery on Leitrim Street in 1856; the brewery still sits beside the natural spring that gives the beer its name. Murphy's Stout, now owned by Heineken and brewed in the same Cork city site, has a lighter, less roasted character than Dublin's stout, with a faint chocolate sweetness and a creamier head. The Cork pub canon insists on the slow two-part pour, three minutes settling, then topped flat to the rim; serving temperature is 6 to 8 degrees Celsius. Murphy's outsells Guinness in Cork and parts of Munster, and the proper pour is a point of regional pride debated at the Hi-B and Mutton Lane Inn.
3 editor picks for Murphy's Stout Properly Poured in Cork, ranked by editorial score. All Cork signature dishes · Murphy's Stout Properly Poured across every city.
The Long Valley Bar ★ 4.5
City Centre · 10 Winthrop Street, Cork, T12 NW64
Established in 1842 and run by the Moynihan family since 1927, the Long Valley is Cork's most storied bar. The counter is famously long, the decor unchanged.
An Spailpin Fanach ★ 4.4
City Centre · 29-30 South Main Street, Cork
Open since 1779, An Spailpin Fanach is one of Ireland's oldest continuously trading pubs and Cork's foremost trad music destination. The Lee Sessions trail.
The Mutton Lane Inn ★ 4.4
City Centre · 3 Mutton Lane, Cork, T12 RV07
Accessed down a narrow laneway off Patrick Street that leads into the English Market complex, Mutton Lane Inn is Cork's most photogenic traditional pub.