Jun 25, 2026 - Food and Drink

Mission Hill institution Flann O'Brien's is making a comeback

Mike Deehan

Exterior of Flann O'Brien's Irish pub on Tremont Street in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood before St. Patrick's Day. — Flann O'Brien's as it was for St. Patrick's Day 2013. Photo: Ted Fitzgerald/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Flann O'Brien's, a Mission Hill Irish pub shut down during the pandemic, could be resurrected later this year.

Why it matters: The Brigham Circle bar at 1619 Tremont St. was a neighborhood institution for nearly three decades.

College students, hospital workers and everyone else bustling through the busy neighborhood knew it well before it closed in December 2020.
Its unexpected return would fill a space that's already seen one business close since the bar came to an end.

State of play: The Boston Licensing Board held a virtual hearing Wednesday on the proposed transfer of an all-alcoholic beverages license from the Yellow Door Taqueria, which occupied the space and closed in January.

The comeback is led by Scott Prince, Ray Butler and Michael Vaughan, all familiar faces during the original Flann O'Brien's run.

Butler and Vaughan operate The Banshee in Dorchester and Brick & Beam Tavern in Quincy. Prince, a former Mission Hill resident, has bartended at The Banshee for eight years.

Between the lines: Prince framed the revival explicitly around restoring the communal atmosphere of the original Flann's, telling the Globe he welcomes healthy competition from the broader Mission Hill dining scene.

What's next: The partners are targeting a reopening by end of 2026.

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Mission Hill institution Flann O'Brien's is making a comeback

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