THE funeral of one of Belfast’s best known publicans will take place in Lisburn today.
Eileen Catney, who ran and lived over The Kitchen Bar along with her late husband James until 2004, died on Friday at the age of 95.
A native of Cavan, she was the mother of nine children, including SDLP MLA Pat Catney.
The Catneys were among just a handful of families who lived inside Belfast city centre's infamous ‘ring of steel’ during the height of The Troubles.
Eileen and James were also the last publicans in the city centre who lived above their business.
Born near Cavan town, Eileen McDonald moved to Lisburn in 1941 to work in the Co Down Arms.
"She always wanted to try and get her own bar, and she did that," said Pat Catney.
"She was a big strong hard country woman, we are just eternally proud of her."
The family owned the old Liverpool Bar close to Belfast's docks before making the move to Victoria Square area in the 1980s.
The original Kitchen Bar dates back to 1859, but the pub was demolished in 2004 to make way for the Victoria Square complex. Now owned by the Downey group, a replacement version of the bar formed part of the development of the shopping centre.
"They had city drinks and country cooking," Mr Catney recalled of his family's era in The Kitchen.
"My mother was what I would call a traditional Ulster Irish cook. Everything she did was all homemade, she would have been a sight in that kitchen from 6 o'clock in the morning."
He revealed the pub was often the first port of call for potential investors brought to Belfast by the old Industrial Development Board.
"IDB was across the road and any potential inward investors would have been lunched in the Kitchen. It was a very busy house," he said.
"People of all classes would have made their way there for that traditional cooking.
"It was just a really well-run public house. They came from north and south Belfast, the Shankill Road and Falls Road. In all my days in it, I never heard religion mentioned. They wanted a neutral environment. As far as I'm concerned, those were the people who held it together throughout The Troubles.
"It was in the proximity to the courts and the hospitals. You could have had anyone in from a high court judge to the old street lamplighters of Belfast. It was a unique little place."
