Cheers echo throughout an unassuming brick and wooden structure on the East Seneca Turnpike. Chances are the Orange plays basketball tonight. A large crowd gathers around the 108-inch HD projector screen TV in the back room of O’Sheas Tavern to watch the game, socialize, and drink beer.

In October of 1985, owner Rocky Rourke opened the bar formerly known as Langtrees in this building, once occupied by the Mad Hatter. In the ‘70s and ‘80s this section of Jamesville had “six bars in the general area and was like a small Armory Square where you could roll out of one bar and into another,” Rourke says.

After a trip to Las Vegas, Rourke decided to change the name of his business to O’Sheas after a small hotel/casino bar by the same name in the Las Vegas Hilton. In 1990, the bar reopened with an Irish theme as O’Sheas Tavern.
Now going on its 24th year in business, the tavern has established itself as a favorite neighborhood hangout that locals flock to for Happy Hour, televised sports events, and social gatherings. In 2007, O’Sheas Tavern was named the Y94 Best of the Burbs winner of the “Best After Work Hangout” for the Jamesville-Dewitt area.
The bar has remodeled three times in the last several years and now boasts expanded floor space. Rourke added more booths and new windows and upgraded the entire wood paneling from knotty pine to oak.
The pub doesn’t try to be something it’s not. Cozy wooden booths and bar stools as well as photos of historic sport teams adorn the walls to create a comfortable look and casual, laid-back atmosphere. Rourke, who loves old black and white pictures, is an avid sports fan and his vintage photographs and athletic memorabilia tend to emphasize his favorite teams – the New York Yankees and the Syracuse University Orange. An old-time (‘50s style) neon Budweiser clock decorates the wall in addition to college-themed license plates from around the country. And antique 100-year anniversary brasses NCR cash register graces the center area behind the bar. Glowing neon beer signs reading Heineken and Killian’s Irish Red, a dart board, and a pool table give the place a traditional bar feel. The warm environment and friendliness of the staff and locals truly makes O’Sheas evocative of an Irish pub. The green counter tops and the small leprechaun statue that adorns the bar are reminiscent of the owner’s Irish roots and encourage patrons to embrace the spirit of an Irish pub by socializing, listening to music, dancing, drinking, and rooting for sports teams.

The town and bar crowd have changed a lot over the past 24 years and Rourke says he has probably seen about five or six shifts in the clientele at his bar through the years. He recalls, “In the old days, I remember I used to sell a pitcher for $5 on Monday nights and customers could get refills for $1.50 that night and throughout the rest of the week.”
Rourke notes that about one-third of the people who come into the bar on regular basis are locals from Jamesville, guards from the correctional facility up the street, or service industry workers and businessmen who come by when they get off of work. When the weather is nice, everyone heads for the outdoor seating at tables with umbrellas to enjoy a drink and socialize on the front patio.
As far as specials go, Happy Hour is every day from 5 pm to 7 pm and Rourke offers 50 cents off of all drinks. There’s also the “11 pm Happy Hour” from 11 pm to midnight on Monday through Thursday nights when all Canadian and domestic beers are only $2.25. All televised SU basketball games likewise come with $2.25 drink specials on vodka and orange juice.

An old-fashioned popcorn machine and a vending machine provide peanuts, chips, and other snacks to munch on. On Friday evenings between 5 and 7 o’clock, Rourke provides free pizza and wings to patrons for dinner.
The bar serves a variety of bottled beer including: Corona, Heineken, Yuengling, Blue Moon, Killian’s Irish Red, Guinness, Sam Adams, Labatt Blue, Labatt Blue Light, Budweiser, and Bud Light. O’Sheas is “mostly a beer bar,” but on the weekend, “35-40% of sales can be attributed to liquor – and Jäger Bomb shots are always popular,” Rourke explains.
The weekends also offer an in-house DJ on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 pm until 2 am which college kids and those in their early 20s to mid 30s really enjoy. The tavern also boasts a StarLink Internet Jukebox with 300,000 songs to choose from – you can even search for music by categories like Rock, Reggae, Soul, Latin Tropical, Oldies, Hip-Hop, and R & B – and there’s always something to dance to. “Pool is also very popular here – and so is the Megatouch game system with Photo Hunt, trivia, poker, and many other card games,” notes Rourke. (Look for the new slimmer model of this machine coming to O’Sheas soon). Video games like Golden Tee Golf and World Class Bowling Deluxe, as well as darts and pool provide hours of entertainment and friendly competition among bar-goers.

Many customers come to the bar to watch sporting events like college basketball, Yankee baseball, and NASCAR races on the large screen TVs and HD projector screen. “During SU basketball season, we’ve got about 75 or 80 people at a time back here on the night of a big game,” Rourke says. In addition to catching up with friends over an SU game or playing a round of 8-ball over a beer, O’Sheas provides a familiar and relaxed atmosphere that makes everyone feel like a regular at their favorite neighborhood bar.

Location:
6528 East Seneca Turnpike
Jamesville, NY
PHONE: 315-492-4458
HOURS: Sunday-Wednesday 3 pm to 12 pm
Thursday-Saturday 12 pm to 2 am