Lucky Pint Pub and Kitchen offers a taste of Ireland in Pulaski County
Story and photos by Bob Flynn
For years, Pulaski County residents have had several ethnic food options among their plethora of choices when opting to dine out.
There are numerous Mexican restaurants, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and even Peruvian fare can be found in the Lake Cumberland area.
Until recently, however, one ethnic food has been conspicuously absent from that list over the years: Irish food.
That drought came to an end when Somerset native and 2013 Southwestern graduate Amanda
McAuliffe, whose family has deep Irish roots, decided it was time for the area to have its first Irish pub.
" I ' m Irish. My mom is and O ' Connell, my dad is a McAuliffe and my fiancé Matt Delaney was born in Ireland, so it ' s all around me," said McAuliffe. " We didn ' t have any Irish Pubs around here, the closest one is in Richmond. So I felt like it was something we needed in Somerset and I ' ve had my eye on this building and wanted it for a long time and now it ' s here."
Fittingly, it was on St. Patrick ' s Day in March that her vision came to fruition with the opening of Mandy Mac ' s Lucky
Pint Pub and Kitchen at 100 Stone Crest Drive in Somerset, just behind Reno ' s on South U. S. 27.
The words " Irish pub " conjure up images of a bar with loud music and groups sitting around drinking beer and knocking down shots of liquor.
And while Lucky Pint has one indoor and two outdoor bars and live music on weekends, its much more than that, with a completely separate family dining room for quiet family dinners and evenings with friends complete with authentic Irish food and all the area ' s American food favorites, with room for everyone at a seating capacity
20 • SEKY- Southeast Kentucky Life JULY 2025