The Burren is named for a part of Clare County, Ireland that literally means “the rocky place,” but in Davis Square it’s known as a fertile spot for romance
. In a homecoming of sorts, the beloved pub will host a meet-up of all those who found their soulmates there, along with their families, on Dec. 27th.
Regulars know about the amorous powers of the Burren, which reached wider acclaim after local influencer Krissy Bets (“narcolepsy betsy” on Instagram and TikTok) polled her followers on which Boston-area bar they met their current partners at. The Burren won in a landslide.
Since then, the bar has been posting stories from its “Love Pub” collected from couples over email and Instagram. The “Love Pub” initiative has garnered several responses, including this one featured on its Instagram page:
“The cover band was playing 90s. I was there with a few girlfriends and had asked the band to play ‘semi-charmed life’ by Third Eye Blind, but they said they couldn’t because there were too many words. This guy came up to talk to me… He had also asked the band to play ‘semi charmed life’ and got the same response. We played it at our wedding.”
The power of the Burren to create new love stories is perhaps fitting, given its founding. Its owners, husband-and-wife Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello, opened the pub in January of 1996, not long after they married. They had worked as Irish musicians, which demanded they travel. They established the pub to share their love of Irish music while staying in one place, allowing them to settle down and start a family. The pub was partly financed through McCarthy’s selling of a family farm in county Galway that he inherited.
McCarthy fondly recalled the Boston Globe article announcing the pub’s opening. “And the headline was, ‘Ireland’s heartbeat taps into Davis Square.’ So, I suppose it was some kind of a love story as well.”
McCarthy thinks there are reasons why The Burren seems particularly apt for sparking romance. “People connect here, obviously, because of the music, but also the fact that we don’t have TVs,” he said. Patrons “have to talk to each other. So, I think maybe that’s the secret. There’s no distraction, there’s just music.”
The couples go on to share the music with their kids, said Tom Bianchi, who has been in charge of booking musical acts in the Burren’s back room for about a decade, including for regular matinee music shows for toddlers.
“A common theme amongst the parents I talk to at those shows is that they met in their 20s at the club,” Bianchi said over text. “And now, married with toddlers, they go back for the children’s music. For real. I get that story every time I work one of those shows.”
McCarthy says the couples who meet at the Burren forge relationships that are anything but rocky. “Of all the stories I’ve heard over the years about people who met here, I’m yet to hear one say it didn’t work out…” he said. “They all still seem to be together.”
The Burren will welcome all couples that have met there from 12-4 PM on Saturday, Dec. 27th.
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