Historically, Friels was used as a soup kitchen during the Great Famine in the 1840s. The original famine pot is on display in the old post office for tour groups to visit.

If booking a tour group with us you’ll have the chance to step back to 1849. Join us in the Inn at Swatragh, and listen to tales of the town, and famine ravaging the land.

You’ll be welcomed into the soup kitchen and invited to take a taste of the nettle soup served to those who are hungry. The famine pot which holds the soup, holds the key to the survival of many, for those who were not as fortunate, learn of their fate as the inmates of the local workhouse…

Feel for yourself the effects of An Gorta Mor on the people of Ireland.

You will enjoy a traditional Irish 2-course lunch and have fun with pouring your own Guinness! Pull up a seat at our roaring fire and isten to the words and stories of our local poet Mick McAtamney, who spent 50 years in North America before returning home with his hand-carved stick as his only possession.

Here at Friels, the welcome is as warm as the turf fire that burns in the hearth. Where the Guinness flows and tales are told, you’ll truly get a sense of belonging from every inch of this family-run business.