'Old school Irish pub' to open in former Greggs bakery

A Middle East-based entrepreneur has been granted a licence to open a ‘micro-Irish pub’ in a former Greggs bakery shop in his home village of Sale Moor. Ross Matthews-Smith, 37, was given the go-ahead to open his Fibber Magee’s pub on Northenden Road, by Trafford’s licensing sub-committee last night (Monday March18).

The licence was granted in the face of opposition from residents of flats above the shops and other businesses nearby. Mr Matthews-Smith has also submitted a yet-to-be-determined planning application for the change of use of the building. Residents’ objections prompted Mr Matthews Smith to curtail the application by removing live and recorded music from the application and reducing the hours of opening when alcohol can be sold from 12noon to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays 12noon to midnight.

However, ‘regulated entertainment’ such as traditional Irish music ‘not of an overbearing nature and mainly in the background’ would be a feature until 11pm, said his solicitor Rebecca Lowe. “There is general concern this is going to be a nightclub,” she said. “This is simply not the kind of operation Mr Matthews-Smith is proposing to run. It will be a micropub with occasional live music and without any televised sport.

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“It will be a small predominantly seated venue for people to enjoy a relaxed drink. These are not the sort of premises where people are going to spill out onto the street at night.” She said that Mr Matthews-Smith has run Irish bars in Dubai where he spends six months of the year, but now wants to return to his