Irish music bar moves in on The Tron

ONE of the country's biggest Irish pub names is to open a huge live music bar in Edinburgh in time for St Patrick's Day.

O'Neill's, which has two major venues in Glasgow, will take over popular student haunt The Tron in the city centre.

It will become one of Edinburgh's largest nightspots, as well as being a main provider of live music, which it is understood will take place over three floors, seven nights a week.

Owner Mitchell and Butlers, which runs dozens of city pubs, including Greyfriars Bobby Bar and the Crags, wants to rebrand the venue completely and change from its traditional black and yellow to an emerald green colour.

It has already gained planning permission from the council and will open some time in March.

However, the pub's bid to open until 3am was snubbed by the local authority, limiting it to a 1am closure.

Sources within the pub said a greater emphasis would be placed on dining and live music.

It adds to a wealth of Irish-themed bars in that area, with Biddy Mulligans, Dropkick Murphys and Finnegan's Wake all nearby.

City musician Norval Barclay, 41, who plays in venues across Edinburgh, said more opportunities for live entertainment would be welcomed.

He said: "This is great news, the more live music venues in Edinburgh the better. The appeal of seeing and hearing live music in the city is definitely on the up for locals and visitors alike."

O'Neill's is also the latest in a series of multi-floor bars to have opened in the city in recent years.

Two new venues, the Hawke and Hunter and One Picardy Place opened in that style at Greenside in the past few years, and at Rutland Place, one of Glasgow nightclub owner Stefan King's first major ventures in the Capital saw the Ghillie Dhu open in the former Stanley Berkeley.

Tory councillor Alastair Paisley, who sits on the city council's licensing board, said the bar would be a welcome addition to the city centre, so long as it stuck to the main principles of licensing.

He said: "As long as these places are well run, well managed and have good door staff then it can bring business to the city, and we have no problem with that at all.

"Having a greater emphasis on food certainly helps that objective."

No-one from O'Neill's was available for comment, although the organisation did confirm the plans to open in the city.