Results: What's In A Name? Sometimes An Interesting Back Story!

While the locations vary greatly, one thing stays consistent — if you walk into an Irish bar it's likely going to be named O'Donoghue's, Murphy's, Kelly's, O'Malley's, or some other Irish surname. And that's not an accident or coincidence. Rather it's due in part to the U.K.'s Licensing Act 1872, which came about while Ireland was under England's rule, in an effort to regulate Irish pubs. Have you ever been to an Irish bar?

Ireland is home to Sean's Bar in Athlone, which was established in 900 A.D., making it one of the oldest bars in the world. But even before Sean's Bar opened, kings in the sixth and seventh centuries operated under Brehon Law, under which they were expected to have a local brewer who always had beer and food available (for free) to their subjects. Naturally, these establishments became popular social spots for people to stop in, chat, and have a drink — like Irish pubs today. Do you enjoy socializing at a local pub or bar?

Licensing pubs started in 1613, and evolved over time. The Licensing Act 1872 outlawed public drunkenness, mandated pub opening and closing times, and, perhaps most notably, made it so "all pubs were required to display the owner's name above the door." The idea behind the legislation was to increase accountability for pub owners — in other words, if a law was broken the police would know exactly who to contact. It also made things much easier for tax collectors seeking their dues. Rules and regulations have since relaxed so that Irish bar owners no longer have to legally put their names on their pubs. Yet the tradition seems to have stuck. To this day, more than a quarter of Ireland's pubs include a first or last name, and over 50% of U.S. Irish pubs have a surname. Did you ever notice this?

And here's a bit of weird trivia you may not know. Prior to modern techniques and facilities, pubs were often used as temporary storage places, or even morgues, for dead bodies. It was even written into law. The Coroners Act of 1846 decreed that a dead body had to be brought to the nearest public house for storage until further arrangements for it had been made. This was because beer cellars were cool and would slow the decomposition process. Amazingly, this legislation wasn't repealed until 1962. Did you know this?