Kelly's Cellars

Story

Kellys Cellars is a pub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, situated at 30 Bank Street in the city centre. Built in 1720, it is one of the oldest pubs of Belfast. It sits in what used to be an alley way off Royal Avenue, but a few buildings were knocked down and now Kellys sits in a square beside Castlecourt, a major Belfast shopping centre. It provides pub food and traditional music sessions. It remains resolutely old-fashioned, with vaulted ceiling and elbow-worn bar and is crammed with bric-a-brac.HistoryKelly's Cellars is the oldest licensed premises in Belfast. The original two-storey pub was built in 1720 by Belfast merchant Hugh Kelly who kept it as a bonded warehouse in which rum, gin and whiskey were his mainstays. It was a meeting place for Henry Joy McCracken and the United Irishmen when they were planning the 1798 Rising. The story goes that McCracken hid behind the bar when British soldiers came for him. In September 2004 the pub had a grand re-opening under new management. In 2007 a blue plaque was erected on the site by the Ulster History Circle stating that the Society of United Irishmen met there during the period 1791 to 1798.Possible delistingIn February 2015 it was reported that the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) proposed delisting 17 Belfast buildings, including Kelly's Cellars, subject to review by the Historic Buildings Council and Belfast City Council. The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society declared that "despite their present condition, all buildings currently proposed for delisting contribute to the value of Belfast’s fragile built heritage and are important resources to promote tourism, economic investment and social regeneration". In March 2015 Belfast city councillors vowed to fight the Department of Environment over plans to remove protective listed status from Kelly's Cellars, now one of eight properties which the department has indicated that it plans to delist.