The Dubliner closed for England’s World Cup game. The head chef swears it’s just a coincidence.
Soccer fans hoping to watch England’sWorld Cup matchwhile enjoying apint at The Dubliner on Tuesday afternoon were greeted bya surprise. The doors were locked.
“Closed today to give staff a break,” read ahandwritten note taped to the entrance of the Irish pub in downtown Boston that became a central gathering place for Scotland’s Tartan Army during games.
After weeks of jubilant Scottish fans filling the bar to cheer on their team, charming locals with their signature kilts and impenetrable accents, staff needed a day to recover, its operators explained in an Instagram post.
“They’ve worked incredibly hard over the last two weeks and deserve it,” read The Dubliner’s post. “Thankfully there’s nothing happening in Boston today so we will be back tomorrow. #noscotlandnoparty.”
News of the closure, which coincided with England facing off against Ghana at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, quickly circulated on social media. Many assumed the caption was a playful dig at English fans. England and Ireland have a long-standing rivalry on the pitch — in addition to their age-old conflict.
“The Dubliner giving their staff the day off on England’s match day at Boston Stadium is elite-level trolling,” commented one person on X.
“This is absolutely first class!! Scotland appreciates you more than you know,” another commenter wrote on Instagram. “Genius move.”
A thirdquipped that the pub was giving staff the “day off to make sure they see every minute of the mighty 3 lions,” referring to England’s team.
“Someone who gets the joke,” the pub responded with the raising-hands emoji.
Turns out, the timing of the temporary shuttering really was just a humorous coincidence. Aidan McGee, executive chef and partner at The Dubliner, said there was no grand anti-England conspiracy.
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“The staff’s pretty exhausted,” said McGee, who hails from Donegal in Ireland. “It’s been an absolutely crazy two weeks. We just have to choose a day, and it so happened to be the day England’s playing.”
The pub has spent much of the tournament packed shoulder-to-shoulder withScottish visitors, whose roaring chants and beer-fueled singalongs helped turn downtown Boston into a temporary outpost for the Highlands.
Some local bars and liquor stores ran out of their most popular beers during the Tartan Army invasion.
The Dubliner did not.
“That’s amateur hour,” McGee joked. “An Irish pub running out of beer? Absolutely not.”
Still, business has been relentless. The World Cup crowds have generated sales on par with St. Patrick’s Day — every day, McGee said. The rush has left staff in need of a breather, he said.
Now staff are gearing up for “hopefully, maybe, the Scottish coming back,” McGee said.
Ireland didn’t qualify for the tournament, a reality he said would have made hosting matches in Boston “absolutely magical.” But now, like much of Boston, he said he has a “soft spot” for Scotland.
“They give a whole lift to the city,” McGee said. “It was amazing to have them here.”
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