The Northern Whig is a bar housed in a historical building in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. It is in the Cathedral Quarter, just to the north of the Belfast City Centre. At various times during its history it has been a gentleman's club and a newspaper and is currently a bar owned by the Horatio Group.

The Northern Whig Club

In 1795 members including

Theobald Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone ( ga, Bhulbh Teón; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members in Belfast and Dublin of the United Irishmen, a republican socie ...

and

Henry Joy McCracken Henry Joy McCracken (31 August 1767 – 17 July 1798) was an Irish republican, a leading member of the Society of the United Irishmen and a commander of their forces in the field in the Rebellion of 1798. In pursuit of an independent and democra ...

met at

Cavehill Cave Hill or Cavehill is a rocky hill overlooking the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, with a height of . It is marked by basalt cliffs and caves, and its distinguishing feature is 'Napoleon's Nose', a tall cliff which resembles the profile ...

to the north of Belfast, a meeting that was a pivotal step towards the

1798 Rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...

. In 1819 construction began on the current Northern Whig building in Bridge Street, taking its name from the original club. The foundation stone was laid on St. Patrick’s Day, and the building was completed in 1821 as a hotel and gentlemen's club. In 1798 McCracken had been tried and hanged at the Belfast Assembly Rooms, across the road from the building. The Assembly Rooms building was used as a branch of the

Northern Bank Northern Bank Limited T/A Danske Bank is a retail bank in Northern Ireland. Northern Bank is one of the oldest banks in Ireland having been formed in 1809, and forms part of one of the Big Four banks in Ireland. Northern Bank took on the name ...

during the 20th century but is currently vacant.

''The Northern Whig'' newspaper and printers

In 1823 a newspaper, also called the ''

Northern Whig The ''Northern Whig'' (from 1919 the ''Northern Whig and Belfast Post'') was a daily regional newspaper in Ireland which was first published in 1824 in Belfast when it was founded by Francis Dalzell Finlay. It was published twice weekly, Monday ...

'', was founded in Belfast and was owned for a period by

John Arnott Sir John Arnott, 1st Baronet JP (26 July 1814 – 28 March 1898) was a Scottish-Irish entrepreneur and a major figure in the commercial and political spheres of late-19th century Cork. He was also founder of the Arnotts department chain. Backg ...

, founder of the Arnott's department Stores. In 1922 the company moved to the Bridge Street building, where they remained until 1963 when the newspaper ceased production. Along with much of nearby High Street, the building was damaged during the

Belfast Blitz The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. The first was on the night of 78 April 1941, a small attack ...

in 1941. The company then became a commercial printing firm and moved to north Belfast to their present site on the Limestone Road.

The bar

From 1963 until 1997 the building housed offices. In 1997 it was bought by the Mooney family's Botanic Inns and after extensive renovation turned into a bar. The bar featured a number of

Soviet-era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

statues. Originally housed in the Prague Communist Party headquarters, they were commissioned to celebrate the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. In April 2016 the Northern Whig Cathedral Quarter Belfast under went an extensive refurbishment. In May 2017 the Northern Whig Cathedral Quarter Belfast was awarded Pub of the Year (Northern Ireland) by the National Pub & Bar Awards.

Poppy discrimination case

In November 2012, the Northern Whig achieved notoriety when it refused entry to a former policeman who was wearing a remembrance poppy. Although the owners apologised at the time, the customer took the matter to court, supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI). The case was significant for the decision supporting the view of the ECNI that "The poppy, although not directly linked to a specific religious belief or political opinion, would historically have been associated to a greater extent with the Protestant or unionist community in Northern Ireland."

References

External links

The Northern Whig Commercial PrintersThe Northern Whig Bar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Whig, The Pubs in Belfast United Irishmen