This Finnegan's, an Irish Pub in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, has seen better days. This is the shuttered outlet at the junction of Bukit Bintang - reputedly the Orchard Road of Singapore, if only for the traffic jams on the stretch of road where the former pub is located. I have heard of Finnegan's many years ago from some hip people boasting about being there. I don't crawl pubs, so that's the extent of my knowledge. My impression then was that it was like the Zouk or St James Powerstation of today - but largely for the 'ang moh' locals (i.e. Chinese, Indians, Malays, etc. who behave like 'ang mohs'). Perhaps a closer relative is Harry's Pub.
But wait. The very next day I took this photo (17th December 2010), The Star reported that Finnegan's has been acquired by a local Malaysia watering hole businessman, Ronald Quay. He has renamed the pub to O'Quay's Irish Pub, and of course, by retaining its original business concept, is keen to restore the Pub to its former glory. This calls to mind Mr Mulani's acquisition of Harry's Pub, another Irish Pub several years ago and eventually turning it into a successful venture. Let's hope that Encik Quay will be just as successful.
