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READING, Mass. (AP) — In a suburban Massachusetts driveway, an Irish pub magically materialized beneath a basketball hoop just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
Locals gathered around the makeshift bar as lively tunes filled the air and pints of Guinness were poured—inside a compact pub that had been transported there for the evening.
Rather than venturing out to celebrate, the festivities were brought straight to their doorstep.
This charming setup, known as “The Wee Irish Pub,” was provided by Tiny Pubs, a unique venture by brothers Matt and Craig Taylor. They specialize in crafting portable, miniature Irish pubs for various events like holidays, weddings, and backyard gatherings throughout New England.
Adorned with vintage signs, cozy church pews, an electric fireplace, and a bar made from the front panel of an 1864 piano, these tiny taverns capture the essence of a classic Irish pub while being compact enough to park in a driveway.
A neighborhood pub that brings people together
“It’s really just a time to forget about whatever’s going on in the world,” said Mark Cote, who hosted the pub in his Andover driveway last Friday. “That’s what pubs are supposed to be — for people coming together and having fun.”
Around 20 people from five families — whose children grew up together — squeezed into the roughly 20-foot-long (6-meter) space for Cote’s annual holiday party, creating what he said felt like a real neighborhood bar.
The idea began during the COVID-19 lockdown, when the Taylor brothers — retired from careers in corporate finance — found themselves missing their favorite Irish pubs.
The first version went up in Matt Taylor’s driveway in Reading, 12 miles (19km) north of Boston.
“When we were building the pub in this neighborhood, neighbors thought a pub was going to be living here full time,” he said. “We had to kind of settle them down a little bit.”
They worked until about 1 a.m. the night before their first rental. Matt said he worried the windows might crack when they first towed it down the highway, but it went smoothly.
What began as a pandemic project has since grown into a small business with four bars, including two Irish pubs, booked most weekends throughout the year.
Building an authentic Irish pub
The brothers wanted the tiny bars to feel like real Irish pubs — not themed party props.
“We have Irish friends who told us, ‘You better not have leprechauns and stuff in there,’” Craig Taylor said. “So we said, ‘No — it’s going to be authentic.’”
They visited Irish pubs around New England while designing the interior, settling on classic colors like jasper green and Irish cream.
Nearly every detail inside has a story, including the bar built from the front panel of an 1864 piano and church pews salvaged from a local church for seating.
A pair of horseshoes from a farm in Ipswich hang above the door for luck: pointed down when guests enter and up when they leave.
A hymn rack holds a book of Irish surnames where visitors mark their family names, sometimes with a dollar bill on the page, sparking conversations about ancestry.
There are packages of Scampi Fries — a popular pub snack imported from Ireland — and a corkboard with patches from police and fire departments, a tradition common in pubs where first responders gather.
Craig Taylor said one sign they got it right is when guests begin pointing things out inside — the Scampi Fries, a family name, a familiar song — moments when the experience shifts from something novel to something personal.
For weddings, bachelor parties — and even celebrations of life
Guinness has rented the Taylors’ pubs for weeks at a time. They’ve also been used by a state senator during South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. The pubs have even been rented for celebrations of life after funeral services.
Jarred Guthrie of Swampscott said his family has rented the original version for years now as part of a longtime annual St. Patrick’s celebration.
The party draws about 125 people, Guthrie said, with an Irish band playing inside the house while guests move between rooms, the pub and the waterfront yard overlooking the ocean.
Guests crowd inside to take turns playing bartender, telling stories and breaking into songs — sometimes traditional Irish tunes or Gaelic lyrics that Guthrie said you rarely hear outside family gatherings.
“People feel emboldened,” he said. “There’s a lot of singing that happens in that pub. It’s a place where people naturally come together.”
Like Christmas morning
Before each event, the brothers personalize the space with custom posters often designed with a family crest naming the host as the pub’s temporary “proprietor.”
“It’s a special thing for a lot of people to be able to come into an authentic Irish pub,” Matt Taylor said. “Maybe they’re not able to get back to the old country, so it’s meaningful to them.”
The parties go on, despite rain, heat or snow. Each pub is equipped with both heat and air conditioning for all seasons.
The Taylors wait until everything is ready — lights low, music on, taps flowing — before letting guests into a mini pub.
Craig Taylor said when people step inside for the first time, “it’s like Christmas morning.”
He said that moment often feels like stepping into another place, one tied to memories of family, tradition and Ireland itself.
“People say you’re like Santa Claus,” Craig Taylor said. “You’re delivering joy every day.”
And when the night winds down, they aren’t in a hurry to take the pub away.
“We never want to kick anybody out of an Irish pub,” Matt Taylor said.
So instead of picking it up late at night, they return the next morning.
Craig Taylor said when he asks hosts how long the party lasted, the answer is often the same: “Like, three in the morning.”
When he and his brother show up to take the pub away, “there’s sometimes people sleeping on the pew,” he joked.