I visited Nancy Spains for the craic and a pint of Murphy's... trying out Manchester newest Irish pub

We visited Nancy Spains on the 9th of April though it had already been open on the 17th of March to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Situated on the corner of Stevenson Square, the front is currently enveloped in scaffolding but don’t let that put you off because as soon as you head on inside you are welcomed by a warm and cosy environment with decor that reflects their uniqueness.

The owner, Peter O'Halloran told us a little bit about the chosen name and his vision for the pub.

He said: “Nancy Spain's comes from, she was actually a lady, from Kerry, where we're from. And she immigrated to the UK back in the 1800s and she was a factory worker and she became one of the first Irish landladies in London. So that's where the name comes from. Nancy Spain's is going to bring some Irish authenticity. Following the success of our London venues, we saw an opening in London for authentic Irish pubs. There's a lot of Irish pubs out there, but nothing that's a piece of Ireland.”

However, one drink that you won’t be drinking here is Guinness, instead Nancy Spains prefers to serve Murphy’s as the stout of choice. You can also try authentic Irish Tayto crisps to nibble on alongside your pint.

Nancy Spains already has three pubs all in London but this is the first one in Manchester.

On Manchester, Patrick said: “So we spent a lot of time up in Manchester over the last couple of years while I've been living in London and just fell in love with the city, fell in love with the Northern Quarter especially. I felt it was, you know, it has character too, it's vibrant and it just really, our brand really suited here. We also had a lot of Mancunians out in our Shoreditch venue and we still do get a lot of Mancunians in there. They're always asking me, are we going to open up in Manchester? So we heard the calling and we answered.”

Head down to 21 Hilton Street where you’ll find Nancy Spains to get a real taste of some Irish authenticity.