The Boot Inn in Pickardstown, County Dublin, stands as a modest yet intriguing piece of Irish architectural history. Built sometime after 1700, this two-storey, four-bay structure represents the type of roadside inn that once dotted the Irish countryside, serving travellers and locals alike during the 18th and 19th centuries. The building’s post-1700 dating comes from local historical research conducted by Marcus Nolan of the Finglas Environmental Heritage Project in 1989, who examined the inn’s construction methods and architectural features.

While many similar establishments have vanished or been dramatically altered over the centuries, The Boot Inn retains its original four-bay layout; a design that was both practical and economical for its time. The two-storey configuration would have typically housed the publican’s family upstairs whilst the ground floor served as the public house, with perhaps a small shop or additional accommodation for travellers. The name itself, The Boot Inn, likely refers to either the boot-making trade that may have been practised nearby or to the boots of weary travellers who stopped here for refreshment.

Today, this building serves as a tangible link to Ireland’s coaching inn tradition, when such establishments were vital stops along the routes connecting Dublin to the surrounding counties. Though no longer functioning as an inn, the structure remains an important example of vernacular Irish architecture from the early Georgian period, its unpretentious design reflecting the practical needs of rural commerce and hospitality in 18th-century Ireland.