Stoop Your HeadSteeped in history and tradition the May family have grown Stoops into an iconic award winning restaurant
The May family have lived on the harbour road since the early 1900s. Jane May, pictured here sitting outside number 20 Harbour Road, began the long line of publicans when she inherited Joe May’s pub from her relations the Edwards.
Jane along with her husband Joseph ran Joe Mays Pub up until 1940 when their son Joe May and his wife Collette took over.
Collette May was a visionary and a great business woman so when Roach McMahan and his wife Tess put the old Duffy’s pub up for sale in 1959, just a few doors up from their own pub Joe May’s Collette and her husband Joe decided to buy it.
Collette saw a great opportunity as Skerries was where all the wealthy families from around Ireland spent their summer holidays. So in the summer of ‘59 she opened Ireland’s first ever Gastro Pub which included on its menu, chicken that had been roasted on a spit and was served with a couple slices of white bread.
For over 20 years Collette and Joe ran Stoops, opening from the first of June to the end of August.
It was in the early 70s that their son David and his wife Theresa took over Stoops and Joe May’s Pub from his parents and began a new era of May publicans.
David and his family lived in an apartment over Stoops in the early 70’s. He also saw another opportunity to expand the family business. Not long after taking over he made the bold decision to open Stoops all year round and to dramatically expand the menu including some of our signature dishes that we still serve today, including our world famous Chowder.
Stoop Your Head is still run by the May family and a new generation are now taking over. We are very proud that with the help of our amazing staff who have been with us for so many years, we are continuing to expand with the newly renovated outdoor dining area. We look forward to another 100 years….
