PATTAYA

 Welcome to Shenanigans Irish Pub Pattaya, please take time to browse our pages see our food and drinks menus that are online and updated regularly, our shop where you can buy ‘goodies' and our pub TV guide which is updated everyday, our live sports and our news pages where will keep you informed of events past and present.
In the restaurant we offer a great choice of Irish and Thai food, and at the bar, draft Guinness, Kilkenny and a range of lager beers, Jamesom Irish whiskey and a huge range of spirits, so come on in.
A Bit of History
Once upon a time, in the searing summer heat of 1995, back in the evil capital of Bangkok, a group of expatriate businessmen one evening were bemoaning the fact that there were so few decent bars outside hotels where it was possible to wind down after work comfortably. Not that there was a shortage of bars in the City of Angels, on the contrary, there was a veritable plethora of such establishments! Problem was, to a man (or probably woman!) some of the wares available were generally incompatible with the aim of relaxing after work and socialising with colleagues, business associates, friends and family.

Among the obstacles to the said aim were (and not necessarily in any particular order) 1) lack of air conditioning resulting in an appearance of imbibers similar to drowned rats, 2) various conflicting noises, generally called music, though often defying that description, rendering the polite art of conversation well nigh impossible 3) Objects, often brown in appearance and equipped with lustrous black hair, which generally were rooted on the ground but sometimes became airborne, that had a habit of landing on one's lap, attaching to one's person like a limpet mine, simultaneously cackling "What name you? I lurv you! You buy me dink?"! This last mentioned obstacle, although it had its uses in certain situations, was generally regarded as being incompatible with the concept of a night out with the wife and kids.

The aforementioned Bangkok expatriates were discussing this conundrum and admiring the shapes of the Brown Objects delineated above one evening, and, after approximately 15 Klosters, while they pondered the size of their expense accounts (after all, the poor souls were mainly lawyers, stockbrokers, accountants, estate agents and varying other forms of low life and therefore entitled to monster expense accounts; ohh, and there was a banker too! (Shhh!)), a collective Eureka moment dawned! It went a bit like this, "since we all have idiotic employers who all pay us too much money and are prepared to let us take people out on pretty much unlimited business expenses, what the hell are we doing sweating our balls off here when we could build ourselves a bar to spend the expenses in and pocket them!" Well, over the refrain in the background of "One night in Bangkok", they looked at each other in horror, and suddenly................it dawned, the accountant realised. "Shit! We have to open a pub!! All our problems will be solved, and we can also make a ton of extra money out of our idiot employers by spending our entertainment allowances in the bar! This is brilliant!".
Well actually it was! All their problems would magically disappear! But what to call it? How to theme it? The stockbroker, by this time in a complete alcoholic haze, having fallen off his stool as a result of a Brown Object Attack, fought his way back to his seat and ordered a large Bushmills Single Malt (and a lady dink). And then...........another Eureka moment! Shock Horror, the Bushmills reminded him of the fact that his Great Great Grandfather was born in County Antrim (though he left when he was three!). "It has to be Irish, Be God It just has to be!" It should be pointed out that it was the Great Great Grandfather that left at three, not the stockbroker! It turned out that this was the only connection any of them had to the Emerald Isle though one or two admitted to having got pissed in Dublin, and another admitted to having been born in Northern Ireland, but since he was a Prot, this was generally thought to be not such good publicity. So it was settled, it was going to be an Irish pub.

And so, with a general air of expectancy the assembled, and by now totally sozzled expats, palmed off the remaining limpet mines, fought to their feet and made to go home to their (expectant!) families. They felt really great having totally justified an all expenses night out for the boys, and even better, putting in place a plan to recycle all future expenses! A Great night's work! The were all really chuffed.
And so it happened, nearly one million dollars later, (not subsidised by the employers) and a ton of rip offs, the first Irish bar in Thailand opened as Delaney's on Convent Road in the centre of Bangkok. After a shaky start, business started to pick up, and by now, the bank balances were building up. In mid 1997 as decision was made to open a second Delaney's in Thailand. Pattaya was the chosen venue. Many questioned the sanity of the sozzled expats, and they had, to their credit, done their research, and they had noticed that the same issues which had made build a new bar in Bangkok were real issues in Pattaya too. The problem with the lustrous haired brown limpet mines was especially acute there and needed addressing as there was almost nowhere to go where they could be avoided.
Beginnings with John O'Farrell 1997-1998 
In late November 1997 Delaney's Pattaya was opened to great fanfare in what is now the Marriot. To the amazement of everyone, it hit the spot. The first landlord in Pattaya was the legendary John O'Farrell, who was generally credited with establishing the standards of service and hospitality for which the operation has so justifiably become so well known. John had previously been our landlord in the Bangkok operation.
The Reign of King Kim 1998-2004 
By May of the following year, John had decided it was time to move back to the Emerald Isle to recharge his batteries. It was then that Kim Fletcher was unleashed on the Pattaya pub scene. Pattaya has never been the same since! Kim took to running Delaney's Pattaya like a duck to water, which for those of you who know him, should not be that big a surprise as he was born in a pub! Kim's time with us is associated with it becoming much more of a village local and as a sponsor of the local rugby scene with tons of work being done for charity.  

The Birth of the Shenanigans 
By the year 2000, after a "difference of opinion" (code for major argument) with the shareholders form Hong Kong, who were bought out, it became necessary to change the name. After many nights of hard drinking and falling on the floor, a consensus was reached that 1) Since so many amazing things had happened in the Bangkok and Pattaya pubs and 2) Since so much hot air had been expended and 3) So many lies had been told 4) So many business deals had been hatched and 5) So many hangovers had been created, that there was only one way that the previous years of mayhem could be described, SHENANIGANS! And so a new concept in Irish hospitality was born. 

With Kim continuing to captain the good ship, liberally administering hangovers and mighty fine food to all who dared to try, the Kim Era went on until in late 2004, when he decided enough was enough. Kim took the opportunity to open Jameson's, where he remains until this day. The large void left by Kim had to be filled. 

Shenanigans with Simon 2005-???? 
In December of 2004, the company's Chairman, who at the time was languishing in a jail cell in Jakarta, took the Shenanigan's concept to new "Highs". He had been informed that there was a gentle giant going by the name of Simon Dutton who was trying move away from a personal situation which was seriously strewn with airborne limpet mines. Simon was looking for salvation. Salvation arrived from a Jakarta jail cell one evening when he received a call from Jakarta from someone who, coincidentally, was also looking for salvation. Within minutes they found that they each had much in common revolving around said limpet mines, Simon had far too many of them to deal with, the Chairman couldn't find any for love nor money! Everything worked out fine, soon, Simon had become the new landlord of Shenanigans, and miraculously, the Chairman was released from his jail cell shortly after the offer was made. Such is the power of the Shenanigans brand!
A walk across the road in 2007 
Simon has made his mark on Shenanigans. The food, the service, the hospitality of the previous years has remained, but we have now grafted on a serious sports bar mentality. This became more apparent after the recent move. In 2007, our lease came up for renegotiation. It became clear that we would not be able to stay. However, after a period of reflection, it became clear to us all, that what had been a great location to start, had really become a bit stale. Much had happened since we opened which meant there was more competition, standards had got better. It was time to put Shenanigans back where it belonged, at the top of the Pattaya Pub tree. A move was in order. Premises were found at the Avenue, just across the road from the old Shenanigans.
Designs were finalised in April 2007, work commenced in May, and we moved in August. The new site retains all of what made the old site so popular, but also adds all the new features which have become part of the Shenanigans fabric, the big creen TV's, Carpenter's Sports Bar, the Terrace and so much more. We are all confident that a visitor in 20 years will still find Shenanigans it the same spot. What will have happened to the customers (or Simon for that matter!) is anyone's guess but knowing Simon as well as we do by now, we think that he will just keep on inventing new forms of Salvation in the Shenanigan.
A word about our Staff
Well without them, there would have been no Shenanigans in Pattaya and there would be no Shenanigans in Pattaya! Some of them have been with us since we opened up iin Bangkok 13 years ago, Chef Sunny and Girl Friday Aom to name but two! They are migrating to Jomthien now too. Tan has taken over the kitchen as Exec Chef over there so we do not expect an outbreak of Potato Famine in Jomtien any time soon! Suffice it to say, we all owe them all a bunch of gratitude for putting up with all the Shenanigans that have been dished out over the years by all you customers, not to mention the absolutely incompetent direction and abuse from both the shareholders and landlords alike! 

Long may they continue to stand for it!!