Back to the future - new owner of landmark Laois pub in for the 'long haul'
New owner has traditional plans for the Portlaoise
One of Portlaoise’s best-known pubs is under new ownership, with the man behind the counter saying he wants to restore its traditional identity.
Michael Scully, who also runs the town’s Square Bar, confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that he has sealed the deal to buy the former Egan’s pub from the O’Loughlin family.
Mr Scully said he intends to initially open the downstairs section of the large premises as a pub with a gastropub food offering in the style of the former Egan’s family run pub that operated successfully on the Main St site for many years.
He has yet to decide on whether or not to open the upstairs as a nightclub and said it is unlikely to have decided on that part of the premises by the time he opens the pub in the early autumn of 2026.
He told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that the premises are in relatively good condition, but some work will be required before he can welcome his first customers. However, he anticipates further development in the future.
Confirming the had purchased the property from Declan and Ivor O’Loughlin, he acknowledged that some of the recent operators had not lasted very long. He insisted that his purchase of the building is evidence that he was committed to the pub for ‘the long haul’.
He declined to state how much was paid for the property, but he praised the O’Louglins for making it a very workable deal for all parties, who all wanted it to continue as a pub. He said he was aware that had the sale not been completed quickly, the property would have rapidly fallen into decay.
In another sign that he hopes to revert to a traditional-style operation, Mr Scully anticipates renaming the pub Egan’s.
Michael is a member of the Scully family, which has been in the pub trade for over 70 years. The family opened the famous Skies O'er pub in Ballyroan in 1948. He purchased The Square Bar from the Fitzpatrick family in 2018. After extensive renovations, the Market Square pub is now one of Portlaoise’s most popular pubs. MORE BELOW PHOTO.
Ivor O’Loughlin, whose family previously ran O'Loughlins Hotel on Main St, confirmed to the Leinster Express in early 2026 that the pub had gone sale-agreed.
The premises, which also include a shop, were put on the market by the O'Loughlin family in May 2025, soon after the operators of Nanny Kelly's ceased trading. The Chris Kelly Group were the most recent tenant.
The O'Loughlin family have been involved in the pub/hospitality trade in Portlaoise since 1995, when Ivor's father, Declan, purchased what became known as O'Loughlin's Hotel on Main Street. They would go on to purchase Egan's Pub nearby.
After many years of trading Egan's closed in 2014. It would reopen for a short time as The Blue Door before it became the Manhattan Mixer in 2016 which was run jointly by Kieran Lillis, a former Laois GAA player, and Brian Dunne.
Mr Lillis returned to the Portlaoise premises in 2018 when he went into business with Alan Clancy from the NolaClan pub group to open the business as Lilly's. Former Dublin footballer Bernard Brogan also had an involvement.
Lilly's Bar & Kitchen officially announced its closure in February 2024 due to what was described as an "untenable, challenging economic landscape, marked by escalating costs".