Long before craft beers and designer cocktails, Glaswegians were no stranger to a room temperature beer in a smoke-filled, dimly-lit pub with no windows and zero ventilation.
These old school boozers were part of the culture, where children would wait outside with fish supper while 'yer da'' knocked back a pint with the regulars. Plenty of these pubs saw their fair share of ‘action’ - with many either ran by, or frequented by, Glasgow’s underworld gang members.
We’ve picked through some of the city’s toughest pubs that once decorated the city, many of which will conjure up images of crime and police tape. If you can think of a grittier Glasgow pub, let us know.
Provanmill Inn
Once owned by notorious gangland godfather Arthur Thompson, The Provanmill Inn was demolished in 2015 - after being hit by fire in 2004. The pub was known as the hub for Arthur’s crime empire, where he was known to take charge of organised crime for more than thirty years.
As the headquarters and meeting place for the Thompson clan - The Provanmill was a place to plan killings, robberies, and drug deals. Gangster Thomas McGraw and famed criminal Paul Ferris were known to frequent the pub, along with bank robber Ian McDonald who planned his sprees across Europe in the seats of The Provanmill.
It was run by Arthur’s son - Arthur Junior, until he was shot dead in 1991. The younger son Billy took over briefly until he was seriously assaulted.
Arthur’s home, which was known as the Ponderosa, was two modified council houses on Provanmill Road and sat just a stone's throw away from the pub. In 1988, whilst returning alone from the Provanmill, Arthur was run over by a car in an attempt by a rival gang to take him out.
After requiring massive repairs following the 2004 fire, The Provanmill Inn was put up for sale for less than £100,000. Underworld sources told the Daily Record that the bar was torched on the orders of rivals in a turf war.
The Royal Oak
A building at the centre of Glasgow's gang warfare, The Royal Oak made headlines in 2004 after a former henchman of Thomas McGraw was shot in the pub. John McCartney and Craig Devlin were taken to hospital after a masked gunman fired at the duo.
The incident was part of a turf war which followed the death of Stewart Boyd, who controlled a lucrative drugs business and was killed in a car crash in Malaga. Later that year, firefighters were sent to tackle a blaze at the Nitshill Road pub.
After McGraw died in 2007, gangland sources claimed that McCartney was a target for rivals over money owed to them. A source told the Daily Record: “McCartney now rarely seems to leave the house, he has been a wanted man for a while.”
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The Spring Inn
Situated in Springburn Road near the Balgrayhill high flats, the Spring Inn had a reputation for hooliganism and was known locally as the ‘stab inn’.
It more than earned its fearsome rep in 1996 when two masked gunmen fired at a 35-year-old man.
George Madden was targeted in a revenge plot, for a brutal pub fight in which a man was badly hurt. He was taken to the nearby Stobhill Hospital, where surgeons told him he would need lengthy surgery to remove the bullets - and he decided to check himself out.
As is usually the case when investigating gang crimes, police struggled to find any witnesses who would pass on information, due to fear.
The McGovern family of Springburn, known locally as the McGovernment, used the Spring Inn as their headquarters. During the 90s, the McGoverns had built a massive drugs empire and was said to have laundered vast sums of money.
The Comet
Once described as looking more like a South American Prison than a pub, The Comet earned many nicknames - most famously ‘The Vomit’. Located on Bilsand Drive, many thought the venue was closed and derelict for years when it was, in fact, still open.
Those who frequented the pub stated that despite the look, it was a ‘great wee place’. Differing opinions on Yelp describe The Comet as ‘a special kind of desperate’ - we’ll let you decide which side you’re on.
Intriguingly, the pub even featured in Robson and Jerome’s 1996 music video for their cover of What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, before being demolished in 2009.
The Dalriada
Built by Rio Stakis, the Cypriot restaurateur who operated a multitude of hotels and food and drink venues throughout Scotland, The Dalriada, AKA 'the Dal', had seven bedrooms in order to keep its seven day licence.
One of few places open on a Sunday, the upstairs lounge could hold around 500 people and was thought to be the longest bar in Scotland at one time. After a string of assaults in the 90s, police had their eyes on the venue.
When one drinker was reportedly brutally assaulted, The Dalriada's time was up and police shut the pub down. Before long, all that remained was rubble.
