The Brazen Head opened in 1198, making it Ireland’s oldest pub. I assumed the term dated back to the Bronze Age when people first consumed ale. However, the word’s origin comes from the Anglo-Saxons. They established alehouses that became known as public houses and then shortened to pub. The Norman invasion of Ireland began in 1169 and caused considerable damage across the island for the next 350 years. But their lasting legacy was raising a pint in good cheer at the local pub.