Publican

[Erin2012]

Hello all!

I found my gg grandfather working in Dublin in 1911 for a publican.

Can anyone clear up for me what a publican is? I havent got a clue 

[Victor Harvey]

Hi,
A Publican is an Innkeeper.
Victor

[Erin2012]

Thank you Victor!

[stanmapstone]

Publican is a term for someone who keeps a public house which provides drink but does not provide food or lodgings. An Inn (Inn-keeper) was where persons were provided with food and drink and lodgings. A  victualling house (Licensed Victualler) was one where persons were provided with food and drink but not lodgings,
A Beer House was only licensed to sell beer, a Public House could also sell wines and spirits.
Stan

[newburychap]

By 1911 a publican was simply someone who kept a pub - he would probably have been a member of the local Licensed Victuallers Association (in England he almost certainly would have joined, but I'm not familiar with Irish practice).

The distinction based on sales of food or lodging is specious - all licensed premises had to supply food to a traveller if asked for it - and all had a duty to provide lodgings to a soldier on request. Even beerhouse keepers in the real beer house era (1830-1869) could be hauled up before the magistrates for refusing lodging to a soldier. Many pubs and beerhouses relied on lodgers to supplement their income - like inns some had semi-permanent lodgers, others specialised in the overnight trade.  Some in towns were also licensed lodging houses, others were more restaurants than pubs.

The distinction between inns and alehouses is more subtle - I suspect it started as a class thing - alehouses for the working man, inns for the gentry and middle class. Initially (1550s) inns were exempt from the licensing laws, but not for long, they were soon included and had to have an alehouse license.  My guess is that this reflects a general problem of deciding where to draw the line between the two grades of pub - it was easier to license the lot than spend time adjudicating on borderline cases. 

[stanmapstone]

Liquor licensing legislation in this country is extremely complex and dates back to a least 1690 download the document at http://www.rootschat.com/links/018vm/

Stan