O'Neill's Northampton, which first opened its doors on The Drapery six months ago, is already one of the brand's top performing sites according to Senior Marketing Manager Sarah Taylor.

With food sales surpassing some of its London counterparts, O'Neill's Northampton has proven there's more to the luck of the Irish than first meets the eye.

Key to its success says Sarah, is manager Eamon O'Sullivan, who has been with the business for 12 years, previously managing the successful Solihull site. "Eamon and his team know how to ensure customers get the very best of Irish hospitality; a warm welcome, quality (often Irish-sourced) food, a perfectly-poured Guinness - all accompanied by a fantastic selection of live music and an atmosphere you just can't beat."

Music certainly looks set to be a key feature at O'Neill's Northampton, which now hosts live music showcases on a Thursday and Sunday evening, live Irish acoustic music on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and has extended its opening hours to 2am on both Friday and Saturday nights.

"We have a diverse customer base - from 18 to 65 year olds," explains Eamon, "so it's important that we provide a variety of music. The key is matching the right band with the right time. A DJ is appropriate for late on a Friday or Saturday but we also want to ensure that those coming into the pub after work, whether for a quick drink or for dinner, get to enjoy live music too, for example through our acoustic sets on a Thursday evening."

O'Neill's is also - unsurprisingly perhaps - proving a hit with the active local Irish community, with around 20 per cent of customers hailing originally from the Emerald Isle.

"We're finding that we've become a hub for first-generation Irish people," comments Eamon. "We've also forged some great relationships with local Irish societies and attractions and look forward to celebrating St Patrick's Day 2011 with them."

In the meantime there are plenty of things to celebrate at O'Neill's Northampton. October sees the launch of a new menu, which includes favourites such as our fantastic steaks from Ireland, Irish Stew and Sausages & Colcannon as well as some new additions such as an improved gourmet burger range, a new sharing plate section with dishes such as hand-battered salmon fillets and chicken & red onion skewers and an enhanced lunch menu.  And as if that wasn't enough, this Christmas sees a week-long new Yuletide music festival ('Christmas Craic'r') running from December 17 until Christmas Eve. 

Eamon explains: "We've got lots of things planned for the coming weeks and months, but we're happy to celebrate whatever the occasion - whether it's just the end of a hard day, or a much needed lazy Sunday. Our doors are well and truly open and we hope more and more Northampton residents will come and experience our fantastic Irish hospitality."