The Burren Reaches Deal to Stay in Davis Square After Redevelopment Proposal Threatened Displacement

The Burren, an Irish bar and music venue in Somerville that draws many Harvard students, will return to Davis Square after reaching an agreement with the developers behind a project that had put its longtime location at risk.

Boston-based development company Copper Mill first proposed a 26-story development in December 2024 that would demolish several buildings on Elm Street in order to bring roughly 500 apartments and retail space to the neighborhood, threatening longstanding restaurants — including The Burren and Dragon Pizza.

But Copper Mill confirmed in a December filing with MassHousing, a state agency that finances affordable housing developments, that both The Burren and Dragon Pizza would retain space in the new development.

The agreement extends The Burren’s rental contract for its current location until the end of 2026, with a long-term plan to re-open the restaurant within two years of the start of construction on the new development.

“We always have revered The Burren and Dragon pizza as key pillars of the community fabric in Davis Square,” Andrew Flynn, founder and CEO of Copper Mill, said. “We have always wanted to ensure that they have a long term home in Davis Square.”

The project came under scrutiny from residents in development meetings last year, particularly from local musicians, who worried that even temporarily displacing The Burren would harm their livelihoods. Prior to the December filing, there had not been a formal agreement stipulating that The Burren would be re-homed.

“Over the past 12 to 18 months, based on incremental and very direct feedback from members of the community, I think we heard the message and their desires loud and clear,” Flynn said. “I think that really drove an enhanced effort between us and the business owners to really identify and agree upon a path forward.”

The Burren first opened its doors in 1996 as a pub and venue for local artists. Patrick Mulroy, a guitar player in the Americana string band Grain Thief, has been playing weekly at The Burren for the past ten years.

“The Burren is the people, the owners, their devotion to music. It’s the community that has been there,” Mulroy said. “It’s just a place we love. It’s hard to describe.”

“It’s like my second home,” he added. “We all have a deep connection to that place.”

The bar is also a popular destination for Harvard students, who frequently visit with friends for nights out.

“The best part about The Burren is that there’s live music, and sometimes even the band playing is one of our friends and other Harvard students,” Tia S. Sheth ’26 said. “The Burren is a place that has brought together my roommates and a lot of our friends in our grade and in different grades.”

Rajan D. Bhargava ’26 said he usually goes to The Burren with friends once or twice a month.

“At least until the end of our senior year, it’ll be open, which is a major relief. But after that, it is tough,” he said.

“For us, it’s the epitome of good live music,” he added. “We have a really good time just dancing, singing along with a group that assembles.”

Though The Burren will eventually return to the neighborhood, the proposal has continued to face pushback from some musicians, who worry that the beloved bar will lose its character.

“I don’t know whether they can put the genie back in the bottle,” Mulroy said. “If we just think of all the places that are new in this city, I don’t think they give us that same fuzzy feeling that we get from a place that’s been there for 35 years.”

Flynn, the developer, said that providing The Burren with space in the new development would require “material financial concessions,” but added that it’s “not about dollars and cents.”

Thomas McCarthy, the longtime owner of The Burren, did not reply to a request for comment on the agreement, but expressed approval for the project in a letter included in the MassHousing filing.

“We believe that the new development will revitalize the Davis Square neighborhood — and we are pleased that The Burren has secured a long-term home for its future,” McCarthy wrote in the letter.

—Staff writer Adam Han can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @adam_han.