This article is the second in a series about the Wexford Irish Pub.
It’s a mystery why the City of Savannah does not have an Irish heritage museum. The soon-to-open Wexford Pub in City Market comes close, however, with the way its architecture and interiors work seamlessly to tell the unique story of Irish immigration to Georgia’s first city, which was driven not by potatoes but by prospects and prosperity in the mid-1800s.
The Wexford’s co-owners, Tim and Jennifer Strickland and Chris Swanson, stumbled upon the narrative thread that would anchor their newest endeavor in the archives of Georgia Southern University’s Center for Irish Research and Teaching, led by Howard Keeley. That research provided the soul to every aspect of The Wexford’s design, furnishings and finishes, explained Darren Fagan, managing partner of U.S. operations for the Irish Pub Co., the Dublin-based global design-build firm that brought the Stricklands’ vision for a truly authentic Irish pub in Savannah to life.
“I had a broad vision in my head of the direction that this was going to go, and it was crystal clear to me how it should look,” said Fagan. “Once we got Howard involved – and I love the micro-details, love getting into the weeds – he provided us all the fodder to do that. We took it to an intense level with Wexford.”
Fagan admits that getting into the weeds caused him to take “probably five times longer than we would normally” to develop the of-place details of such a singular space, “but it’s still a great design.”
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“Every single piece in there has to have value,” said Fagan, whose background in mechanical engineering, metal fabrication and building displays for such companies as Estee Lauder for high-end department stores such as Harrods gave him the distinctive skills to do this work.
The millwork from the first-floor bar and the stairs to the landings and the partitions between intimate enclaves called “snugs” reflect Irish craftsmanship across years, as if The Wexford had existed the same 150 span as the building it occupies and had been altered and added onto as a pub would be in Wexford Town or Kilrane.
No two cabinets are the same, said Fagan. “So, the attention to every layer… floor finishes, glass light fixtures, bric-a-brac, which is the memorabilia and knick-knacks around the walls and in the cabinets, the wallpaper to paint…
“The story supports the architectural design and the aesthetics support everything. So, every time you walk through, you see something different, and it makes you think… Because Ireland, and the export of pubs is about the story of Ireland.”
'There's a sciene to pubs'
And it’s also a story about creating an intentional experience never seen before in Savannah.
“There’s a science to pubs in Ireland… and that relates to the way you enter, how many steps it is to the bar, the types of places you sit, where you sit,” said Brian Felder, lead architect and principal of Savannah-based Felder and Associates. “[The Irish Pub Co.] essentially come[s] in and do[es] a schematic layout of where the humans go, where the bar is placed, how big it is. They know the science of how much space you need to serve beer and how many beer taps you should have, and where they should be and how far apart they should be.”
Felder and his team served as the liaison between the owners’ wants and the pub company, working with engineers to translate how to drop a finished interior surface into a historic structure. “It’s extra challenging in terms of codes and preservation guidelines, which are part of the ordinance.”
Felder described how there are “five layers of things going on over your head in 9 inches of space – beer lines, electrical lines, lighting, HVAC … it’s very complex.”
Felder had to figure out how to “shoehorn” modern conveniences and systems by flattening out ducts that are 30 inches wide by 4 inches deep to cool a space where up to 500 patrons across two floors are drinking beer and listening to live music. That intricate systems design and engineering involved cutting through steel beams, running up the middle of columns, hiding boxes behind mahogany wood panels so that they would not detract from the design but would make the spaces comfortable enough to linger a while.
“It’s a little like designing a Gulfstream jet,” said Felder. “Every cubic inch in that space is occupied by something.”
Those somethings include custom stained- and leaded-glass windows and panels with flourishes like a barley plant – winking across the room at a whiskey barrel. Mirrored insets hold a bit of wisdom from famous Irish poets and artists such as Brendan Behan. A wall leading to the second-floor restrooms will be populated by a rotating exhibition of research by Keeley’s students.
“I think that because there are different points of access in the pub – the architecture, the imagery, the music, the food, the broader kind of ambience – somebody is going to connect to one of those things, right?” said Keeley, whose students also are developing neighborhood walking tours to tell an even fuller narrative around Savannah’s unique Irish immigrant experience. “I think that the magic is that we have a kind of anchor story, which is that Wexford story.”
Origin Story:An authentic Irish pub to open in Savannah in June. Here's the story of how it came to be
Country Connections:Economic cooperation possible between local businesses, Emerald Isle
Take a tour through the telling details of The Wexford, Savannah's Irish Pub
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