The Tannery at 30: Paul and Máire Flynn announce the final year of an Irish restaurant institution, and the beginning of a new story
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| Paul and Máire |
As The Tannery enters its 30th year in business, chef Paul Flynn and his wife and business partner Máire Flynn have announced that 2026 will be the restaurant’s final year of service. On January 1st 2027, after three decades at the heart of Dungarvan and the Irish food scene, the doors of The Tannery Restaurant will close – a decision made by the Flynns on their own terms, and with enormous pride in what they have built.
The announcement is not an ending, but a considered reshaping of what The Tannery means. Paul and Máire will continue to run The Tannery Townhouse and the Cookery School on a seasonal basis, welcoming guests from spring through to autumn, and serving dinner to The Tannery Townhouse residents. The spirit of The Tannery – hospitality, generosity, humour, and deeply flavour-driven cooking – is not over, but evolving.
If you had told the Flynns in 1997 that their small restaurant in Paul’s hometown would still be thriving 30 years later, they would have been thrilled. In the intervening decades, The Tannery has become one of the most respected and beloved restaurants in Ireland, a place that has helped shape modern Irish cooking while anchoring Dungarvan as a serious food destination. It has outlasted trends, weathered recessions, survived storms literal and metaphorical, and grown up alongside a loyal community of staff and customers who now span generations.
The restaurant’s story is inseparable from the town around it. Dungarvan has flourished as a food hub in part because of The Tannery’s influence, and the Waterford Festival of Food – now a nationally important event – grew from the same ambition to showcase the region’s potential. Through the festival and beyond, the restaurant has welcomed an extraordinary roll call of guest chefs and collaborators, from Fergus Henderson and Angela Hartnett to Jason Atherton, Stephen Harris, Mickael Viljanen, Richard Corrigan, Robin Gill, Mark Hix, Ross Lewis, and many more. Alumni from The Tannery kitchen now cook all over the world, including Mickael Viljanen, who has gone on to redefine the top tier of Irish dining.
For Paul and Máire, the greatest pride lies not in awards or accolades, though there have been many, but in longevity – of staff, of friendships, of connections, and of relationships with guests who first came as children and now return with children of their own. The Tannery has never been just a restaurant. It has been a gathering place, a training ground, a stage for visiting chefs, and a cornerstone of a community that embraced it from day one.
There will be no single farewell party. Instead, in typical Flynn fashion, the final year will be one long celebration. For the next eleven months, Paul and Máire invite regulars, old friends, and first-time visitors to be part of the last service season of The Tannery Restaurant – a rolling toast to three decades of cooking and the craic.
“If someone had handed us a crystal ball in 1997 and said, ‘You’ll still be at this in 30 years,’ we’d have bitten their hand off,” says Paul. “We’ve had the run of our lives. We’re closing because we can, not because we have to, and that’s a great position to be in. Hospitality has thrown everything at us over the years and we’ve always managed to dodge most of it. Navigating storms is our superpower. But 30 years feels like a good, round number, and we’d like to scale back on our own terms before I’m wheeled out of the kitchen. This last year is about enjoying these last months properly, cooking for the lovely people who’ve kept us going, having the kind of fun we were probably too busy to have the first time around.”
“We feel incredibly proud of what The Tannery has become and of the people who built it with us,” says Máire. “Our staff are the beating heart of this place, with so many with us for years. We’ve watched families grow up through this restaurant. We’ve made lifelong friends across the dining room. Being part of the Dungarvan community and of the wider Irish food family has been a privilege. Welcoming wonderful chefs over the years into our kitchen, and seeing our talented alumni go on to extraordinary things, reminds us just how connected and generous this industry can be. Our decision comes from a place of gratitude and confidence. We’re excited about what comes next, and we’re looking forward to celebrating the year ahead with everyone who has been part of our story.”
The final restaurant service in The Tannery will take place on January 1st 2027, with bookings for the closing period to be announced later this year. From spring 2027 onwards, The Tannery Townhouse will continue to welcome guests, and the Cookery School will operate seasonally.
Join Paul and Máire as they celebrate the last year of The Tannery – not as a goodbye, but as a victory lap for one of the great success stories of Irish hospitality.
press release
