02/09/2026
🍻 THE WOMEN WHO RAN PERRY STREET’S PUBS
In 1924, two women….. Miss Ellen Morrison and Mrs Gribbin were both recorded as publicans on Perry Street.
But their stories appear to reach further back.
Ellen Morrison’s father, Patrick, was listed as a Perry Street spirit dealer in 1884. That same directory records Christie Cavanagh, a grocer and spirit merchant on the street.
Could Christie have been Christopher Cavanagh, husband of Elizabeth and father of Mary Gribbin? It is a strong possibility, but we still need the missing record that proves it.
By 1901, the widowed Elizabeth Cavanagh was head of her household and recorded as a licensed publican on Perry Street. Her son James later appeared as a grocer and spirit merchant, while her widowed daughter Mary Gribben was living with him in 1911.
Then, in 1924, a “Mrs Gribbin, publican, Perry Street” appears in the directory. The evidence strongly suggests this was Mary, but that final link is still being traced.
And Perry Street’s licensed history reaches back even further: 202 years ago, in 1824, William McAvoy was recorded as a publican on the street.
These directories give us fascinating snapshots, but not the full story.
Do the names Cavanagh, Gribbin, Morrison, McAvoy, McGill or McGuckian appear in your family history? Do you remember where these premises stood?
Share your photographs, documents and memories, every little detail could help us uncover another piece of Perry Street’s story.
