history of denvir's
The first records of Denvir's Hotel date back to 1642, however the building itself is thought to be even older.
The building that currently houses Denvir’s was the first inn to be established in Downpatrick and was owned by a John and Ann Macgreevy. John had been a soldier in the army of Charles I and was awarded the land on which the inn was built as payment for his military service. The name ‘Denvir’s’ has been associated with the hotel from the late eighteenth century.
Between the period of 1790 and 1803 Downpatrick was the focal point of the United Irishmen Rebellion. During this time the leaders of this movement including Thomas Russell, Wolfe Tone, Robert Emmet and Henry Joy McCracken, inspired by French revolutionaries, met regularly in Denvirs to discuss their plans for the failed 1798 and 1803 rebellions.
Another notable historic figure to have passed through Denvir’s door was Daniel O’Connell, leader of the Irish emancipation movement of the early 19th Century.
During his repeal campaign he visited Downpatrick and dined at Denvir’s, after which he gave a speech from the window of the upstairs dining room!
As the oldest surviving coaching inn in Ireland Denvir’s was the starting point in 1809 for the first passenger coach service between Downpatrick and Belfast. Fares on the coach, the ‘St Patrick’ were eleven shillings, four pence and a ha’penny (57p) for an inside seat and seven shillings and seven pence (38p) for an outside one.
It is interesting to note that there is a tradition that the area inside Denvir’s yard and in the recess between the front door and the box room window is said to be a debtors’ sanctuary. According to local lore when the cathedral was in ruins the sanctuary was carried down English Street to the front of the hotel!