One of the liveliest and most iconic Irish pubs in all of Los Angeles, Molly Malone’s Irish Pub, was forced to temporarily close after a fire scorched the building. The bar, known as a social hub throughout the city, thanks to its extensive collection of Irish memorabilia, always on-tap Guinness, and frequent live musical acts, is looking to recover quickly.
Having been open since 1969, Molly Malone’s has become an institution within the city of angels. Built within a now ninety-five-year-old building, the fire seems to have predominantly damaged the exterior side of the building, leaving the inside of the bar, the taps, and all of the memorabilia largely unfazed. As a result of the exterior damage, the bar will be forced to close its doors for several months while repairs are made. This marks the only time in the history of Molly Malone’s that the pub will close its doors, outside of COVID-related lockdowns a few years back, said owner Damian Hanlon.
Taking to Instagram to speak to fans and patrons of the pub far and wide, Hanlon said, “It was a scary day for our little pub on Fairfax, but we are blessed. Our doors will be shut (for now), but we plan to be back better than ever before you know it!”
The Los Angeles Fire Department received a report at 1:17 p.m. on Thursday afternoon that 575 S. Fairfax Ave. was on fire, the address of the pub, was on fire. Nineteen minutes after receiving the 911 call, at 1:36 pm, the flames were fully extinguished, according to LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey. As Humphrey detailed, “There was heat and smoke inside the structure, but the flames were largely kept to the facade and the exterior of the structure.”
Fortunately, no injuries were reported, though the cause of the fire remains undetermined. Owner Damian Hanlon told the press that the firefighters he spoke with believed the blaze could have been started outside by the bar’s front door, but that was just conjecture.
Molly Malone’s is famous for its dark walls, which are in keeping with Irish tradition. They are covered with various pieces of memorabilia and art relating to its culture, including very rare paintings by Irish portrait painter Neil Boyle. Boyle’s paintings depict notable Irish figures and the bar’s longtime staff members and customers, often side by side, making the message clear: in Boyle’s view, Molly Malone’s itself is significant to Irish culture.
Fortunately, according to Hanlon, no valuable pieces of memorabilia or art were damaged in the fire. “The firefighters did an incredible, great job,” he said. “It’s all very sentimental to us. To have lost anything would have been a shame.”
To call Molly Malone’s an institution within the community and culture is an understatement. The Celtic punk band Flogging Molly got its start playing there in the 1990s and went on to take their namesake from the bar. For Hanlon’s part, he took over the business from his mother, Angela. She was a native of Dublin, and she started the pub after her family moved to Los Angeles in the ‘60s.
Now, Hanlon’s daughter works as a bartender several nights a week, and the pub has never been more successful. In Hanlon’s words, the story of Molly Malone’s pub is far from over. “My mom put her heart and soul into this place,” he said. “I want to see things continue on.”
