During its lifetime the Shamrock only had two licensees, but it was open for sixteen years. This would have given it the most stable ownership of any hotel in the Tilpa district. Andrew Murray opened the Shamrock Hotel on his Newfoundland Run (now better known as part of Bellsgrove, but the name still applies to that area) in 1867 but, unfortunately, only held it for four years, as he died in 1870.
The licence was then taken over by his brother Thomas. Thomas Murray held the licence for the Shamrock from 1871 till 1882. His twelve-year reign making him the district’s longest serving publican. The last recorded licence for the hotel at Newfoundland is in 1882 and Thomas Murray died on May 1 of the following year.
Ill health may well have been the reason for him not renewing the licence at the end of the previous year, or the licence could have been renewed part-way through the year and no-one wanted to take it over when Thomas died.
Descendants of Andrew still live in the area, and his grave is still maintained close to, but not inside the family cemetery. Tim and Jane Murray have a farmstay at Idalia, recently closed due to building works.
Their new home features a bar milled from local rivergum, with a river-map resin inlay featuring some of the memorabilia gathered from the old hotel. Just down the river near the camping area the gathering spot for ‘happy hour’ is Tim’s modern version of The Shamrock Inn.
