€€€€ • Bar / Lounge / Vendita Bottiglie • Ballarat
The Munster Arms, one of Ballarat’s oldest pubs, opened in 1862, named after Ireland’s Munster province. Jeremiah Shelley, the first publican from County Clare, immigrated with his family to honor his homeland. Ireland has four provinces: Munster, Leinster, Connaught, and Ulster, with Munster in the south, including Clare, Cork, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford. Jeremiah married Johanna D'Arcy, also from Munster, and they opened the Munster Arms Hotel in Bakery Hill in 1862, a name familiar to Irish migrants in Ballarat. Prior to the hotel, Jeremiah was a Stawell police officer. He died in 1876 at 44. Johanna managed the hotel until 1920, setting the record as Victoria's longest-serving licensee for 59 years. After her death, every hotel door from Ballarat East to the old cemetery closed in tribute. We aim to recreate the Shelleys' warm hospitality and invite you to visit The Munster Arms Hotel for a meal and drink!
