About
Teach Hiudai Beag
Teach Hiudai Beag from it’s beginnings in 1961, to the present day has cultivated a rich history of heritage and culture.
As a public house, it has it’s origins in the second half of the 19th Century – when it was initially a sibín. Local people and islanders had, and still have strong ties with this public house and this is evidenced by the pub having a fisherman’s licence due to its proximity to Bunbeg Harbour. This licence catered to the fishermen that would have been stranded by low tides, inhibiting their return to the Islands after landing their catch in Bunbeg, and affording them the comfort of a warm welcome and some well deserved refreshments after a long nights fishing.
The hallmark of uniqueness in heritage and identity is evident in the levels of fluency of the Gaelic language amongst local and visiting patrons. Visitors from the 6 counties have always had a strong affinity with this public house and played an integral role in its cultural heritage.
It is a house that always respected and cultivated artistry, and this fact is reciprocated in the artists’ choosing of the house as a venue to launch books, literature, and music recordings. Many highly acclaimed national and international musicians have graced the floors of Teach Hiudai Beag.
In addition to the music heritage the house is also well known for it’s sporting tradition, as Hiudai Beag Gallagher was a very famous Gaelic Footballer. His widow Kitty continued the legacy after Hiudai’s death in 1974 until her retirement in 1993. Kitty was a very brave and independent woman, she was fair and competent in her managerial role and maintained a very high standard of conduct and behaviour, that continues to be respected today. It seems word on the street amongst her patrons from West Belfast was that she ‘fierce, but good’. Class nor Creed did not interest her, only if one was mannerly or unmannerly. She stood the ground for traditional Irish music and was very encouraging to learners of the Irish language. She is still alive and well at 98 years of age and continues to play the mouth organ and the button key accordion.
Since 1993 her youngest son Hugh has continued in this tradition and he plays the fiddle and piano in the pub.
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