International soccer star Stephen Hunt  will soon be the proud new owner of Brady’s Bar in Rosslare Strand.

Both of the Brady’s bars in The Faythe and Rosslare Strand ceased trading earlier this year and after a receiver was appointed to the businesses the properties were put on the market. In recent weeks both properties, which are being sold by private treaty, have reached the sale agreed stage.  Although the purchaser of The Faythe premises has yet to be disclosed it has been revealed that Hunt is buying the Rosslare pub.

Hunt, married to Barntown woman Joanne Doyle, owns a holiday home in Rosslare and is said to already spend much of his free time in the seaside village. Rumours were rife that he had expressed interest in the property and then last week auctioneer Rory Browne confirmed that the soccer star was the “preferred bidder”.

“We are at sale agreed with the preferred bidder and we have afforded that party a period of exclusivity to facilitate contracts to be issued to their solicitors” he said.

The sale price was not disclosed. However, Browne confirmed that he was “satisfied with the rate achieved.”

The auctioneer describes the property as a “Renowned Traditional Style Residential Licensed Premises”.

Hunt has revealed that his plan for the pub is to “re-establish a quality food and beverage business”.

Meanwhile, the status of the sale of the other pub in The Faythe is said to be at the same stage, but the identity of the buyer has not been revealed.

Construction workers moved in last week to begin work on the premises that was damaged in a fire earlier in the year. This sparked rumours that the sale of the property was complete and the new owners were preparing to open up immediately, but auctioneer Rory Browne explained that the keys had not yet been handed over to the new owner but the transaction was in progress.

The works simply had to be completed before the sale could be processed.

“Certain works had to be carried out before the publican’s licence could be renewed…if somewhere hasn’t traded for a while it will be re-inspected by fire safety officers so this work was just to make sure it was a safe place before it could be sold.”