Pop culture
Cathal Dolan has been running his own businesses in the drinks industry for nearly 30 years, the first being a bar and late night venue in Dundalk, opened when he was just 19. His latest venture is called Pop Up Irish Pubs operating primarily in continental Europe but he is based when in Ireland in Kells, Co Meath.
“I operate pop-up Irish bars at festivals and corporate events in Germany and around Europe, serving Irish drinks, Irish food and live Irish music,” he explains. “The opportunity came about to operate this venture, so I jumped at it because it combines several of my personal loves: performing live music, bartending, travelling and management.”
He says that the focus is on providing a genuine Irish pub experience, with a strong emphasis on service, customer interaction, craic and authenticity. “The Irish have a reputation for being fun-loving and welcoming. These are traits that are often missed by vendors at festivals or companies providing corporate hospitality. We offer it in abundance, making sure that everyone who visits us remembers it. Be it the live music, or simply the craic with the bar team, we want our guests to experience anatmosphere that is not normally achieved by vendors at street festivals or corporate events,” he explains.
He is currently working alone but relies heavily on friends and family to help him out at events, sometimes needing a team of up to 12. “I’m constantly on the lookout for bartenders and musicians who enjoy a working holiday,” he says.
Target market
Adding a “little bit of charm” to an event
The appetite for Irish bars is strong across Europe and Dolan has honed in on street festivals and corporate events, where the Irish bar element really works. “The Kieler Woche in Northern Germany (3.5 million visitors), put us in front of every age group and demographic, and every age group and demographic attends our stand,” he states.
Dolan believes that his offering can bring a little bit of charm to an event. “We work a lot with companies who promote themselves at trade fairs and offer drinks on their stand, or who want to offer something different at a staff or customer event.”
When not attending an event, Dolan spends his time organising future ones. This includes the logistics of moving the bars from one location to another, arranging permits and licenses from local governments, gathering up a team, and generally making sure all angles are covered. “I generally work 8 to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week,” he admits. The process is work intensive but the beauty is that he can set up anywhere within a day or two.
“At events, the first few days are spent assembling the bar. This can involve spending 14 or 15 hours on-site at a time. Once operational, each day is like a typical day in abar: open up, set up service and start serving customers. The only exception to a normal bar is I usually spend a couple of hours a day on stage entertaining our guests.”
While this sounds almost idyllic, there is of course the other side of the coin which is sourcing funding, as much of the costs must be paid upfront. Being a start-up means that this can cause considerable worry and stress.
Dolan’s pop up pubs can be erected anywhere and he has found the appetite for the Irish pub to be strong across Europe
“There is a significant outlay for each event, much of which must be paid several months prior to the event. This has led to plenty of sleepless nights trying to figure it all out. Exclusivity agreements, such as the one we engaged in with Tullamore DEW in 2023 are a great help,” he explains.
The dream is to grow the business to the point where there are six bars in constant rotation at festivals and corporate events right across the continent. “I would hope to achieve this by working with and building strong partnerships with the companies I work with as a customer and a seller.”
So what keeps him ticking when times are tough? “Having a customer tell me that they feel like they are sitting in a real Irish pub in Ireland”, he says. “ That makes it all worth it.”
