Marie Meets Colm Foley

130 Years, Four Generations, and Plenty of Spirit at Charlie Foley’s

Words and photo by Marie Carroll O’Sullivan

Friday the 13th might put the fear into some people, but at Charlie Foley’s on New Street, there are 130 very good reasons to celebrate.
On Friday, November 13, Colm Foley will mark the birthday of Killarney’s oldest family-run pub with music from Donal Lucey and Comhra, featuring Sam Fagan and Paudie Enright, along with giveaways from Torc Travel. After 130 years of welcoming people through the door, a good night out seems a fitting way to mark the occasion.
When I called to chat with Colm, the conversation naturally returned to someone whose contribution could never be measured in years behind a counter. His mum Eileen, who passed away in June, was very much part of the planning, and remains very much part of the place.
Colm had been chatting with her about the pub’s centenary celebrations and making provisional plans for the 130th birthday. Naturally, Eileen had a few lists on the go: jobs to do, people to invite, and reminders to stay on top of things.
A family business might have one person’s name over the door, but there is usually a mother somewhere making sure nothing is forgotten.
It all began on November 13, 1896, when Charlie and Ellen Foley returned from Liverpool and purchased the premises from the estate of Lord Kenmare. In 1946, their son Charlie took the reins alongside his wife Noreen Lyne, of the famous Kerry footballing family, continuing the grocery shop and public house while raising their family.
A sad turn came in 1966 with the death of their eldest child, Charles. His sister Eileen returned from nursing in Cork to help with the family business, eventually running it with her husband Colm Foley. Together, they guided Foley’s from its grocery and pub days into a new chapter. Following her husband’s tragic death in South Africa in 2003, Eileen and her family kept the doors open and the welcome going.
Today, her son Colm carries that tradition into its fourth generation, adding his own touches while keeping the same family name above the door. A brief history on paper, perhaps, but some amount of living in between.
During Covid, in past interviews of ‘Behind the Mask Killarney’, I was reminded of Eileen describing customers collecting their messages on a Friday and settling the bill the following week. There were seeded loaves, barmbrack wrapped in brown paper, and Christmas boxes of chocolates and biscuits for customers.
She also spoke about the tradition of closing at six on Christmas Eve.
“It gives everyone a chance to spend Christmas Eve with their families after a long year of late nights,” she told me.
For a woman whose home and business shared an address, she understood the importance of making time for family.
Recently, Irene Hurley shared another lovely reminder of those days. Her letter to Santa, dated November 4, 1973, was written on Charles Foley’s headed paper. A pink coat, a dog, and a new red dress were on the wish list. Her memories included Charlie, Eileen, and the succession of Jack Russells who apparently all answered to Rinty.
Colm and his siblings, Grace, Cormac, and James, grew up with the business around them. We laughed about how raising children in a pub might be viewed differently nowadays, but for them, it was simply home.
“There was no babysitter,” Colm recalled. “So we were kept busy collecting glasses and doing odd jobs.”
Colm studied hospitality and management in Tralee, but there must be few classrooms quite like a busy family pub. You learn to listen, organise, read a room, and deal with whatever personality comes through the door next. Plenty of practical experience before you ever open a textbook.
Eileen understood that world well. She also understood the importance of letting the next generation find its feet.
“My mother was great. She let me put my own stamp on the place but was quick to tell me if I did something wrong too.”
Eleven years ago, that stamp included refurbishing the bar, adding the snug and beer garden. Eileen recognized that the business had to move with the times, while keeping what worked for Foley’s.
Her advice was wonderfully straightforward.
“Do your own thing, you can’t be everyone’s everything.”
As the years passed, Eileen spent less time behind the bar, but never stopped being part of it. A call upstairs to say help was needed clearing glasses could still bring her down to lend a hand.
And then there were the flowers.
Charlie Foley’s recently won Best Floral Display at the 2026 Killarney Looking Good Awards, a particularly meaningful honor given Eileen’s pride in the appearance of the premises. Colm was delighted to accept it on her behalf, although he was quick to distance himself from any horticultural credit.
“It was certainly nothing to do with me!” he joked.
In advance of the big birthday bash, Foley’s launched their own whiskey on the same date last year as the countdown to 130 began, another project Eileen had been involved in planning. At €70 a bottle, it is most certainly going on my Christmas wish list.
Of course, a pub’s story belongs to its neighbors and customers too. When I asked Colm who, besides his mum, he would love to see walk through the door again, he chose Mossy Mulcahy, who owned the shoe shop across the road.
A great character, Mossy was entrusted with a key to Foley’s. He and Colm’s dad had looked out for each other down through the years, exchanging good turns in that quiet, dependable way neighbors do.
Before leaving, I complimented Colm on the lovely relationship he had with his mum, Eileen.
“There were plenty of sparks too!” he assured me.
There were also regular walks in the National Park at eight in the morning, although Colm faced competition for her company from her great friend Mary Healy. He recalled overhearing his mother telling someone how lucky she was to have him. What other man of forty, she wondered, would go grocery shopping with his mother? We laughed. I then suggested that organizing refreshments with your business partner was surely part of the job. I thought it a lovely glimpse of the everyday companionship they shared.
“There’s a small bit of added pressure,” Colm said when I asked about running the pub without her direction.
Her absence is deeply felt. Yet the plans they discussed are coming together, the flowers have earned their certified recognition, and another Foley is preparing to welcome everyone on Friday, November 13 for music, familiar faces, and no shortage of stories at 101 New Street. A chance to celebrate 130 years of the Foley family, and to raise a glass to those who helped bring it this far.
For Colm, it will be the first big birthday at Foley’s without his mum, but having the people who knew and loved her around him will make it a night worth celebrating.

Charlie Foley’s celebrates 130 years on New Street

Charlie Foley’s, Killarney’s oldest family-run pub, is celebrating its 130th anniversary on Friday, November 13 with a special night of music and community festivities at 101 New Street.

First established in 1896 by Charlie and Ellen Foley, the iconic local establishment is now in its fourth generation of family ownership, currently run by Colm Foley.
The anniversary event will feature live music from Donal Lucey and Comhra, featuring Sam Fagan and Paudie Enright, along with special giveaways from Torc Travel. The milestone follows the recent release of the pub’s custom anniversary whiskey, launched last year in the lead-up to the 130-year mark.
The celebration also honors the memory of Colm’s late mother, Eileen Foley, who passed away in June after spending decades at the heart of the business alongside her family.