The bells will be ringing out this weekend as late-night bar The Drunk Tank is opening in the basement of an Irish pub in Norwich. 

Aidan Mahon opened Pogue Mahon's along Prince of Wales Road in December 2021 and it has become one of the city's most popular drinking and live music spots.

There is also an upstairs restaurant and the offering includes bottomless brunch at weekends and Sunday roasts. 

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Pogue Mahon's in Prince of Wales Road, NorwichPogue Mahon's in Prince of Wales Road, Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley)

Due to its location in the heart of Norwich's clubland, Mr Mahon decided to only allow over 25s on Friday and Saturday nights.

In April 2022, he opened a cabaret club in the basement but he has now transformed this space into a late-night bar.

The Drunk Tank will launch on October 11 and it will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6pm until the early hours of the morning. 

Inside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon'sInside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon's (Image: Denise Bradley)

Mr Mahon, who grew up in Cork, said: "I was sitting in the main bar several weeks ago and it was rammed.

"Then I went downstairs to the cabaret club and there were only a few people there. 

Inside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon'sInside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon's (Image: Denise Bradley)

"I realised then that, as beautiful as it was, a cabaret club is too much of a 360 when you come to an Irish pub. 

"Lots of customers had also said they wished the pub was bigger and I have created an extension of that with The Drunk Tank." 

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Inside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon'sInside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon's (Image: Denise Bradley)

It features a teal and dark red colour scheme, with a wooden bar and a small stage for acts to perform. 

It is decorated with Guinness and Jameson memorabilia, black and white photographs and quotes on the walls.

Inside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon'sInside The Drunk Tank in the basement of Pogue Mahon's (Image: Denise Bradley)

The name takes inspiration from the hit song Fairytales of New York.

It tells the story of an Irish immigrant who is thrown into a drunk tank, a prison cell for intoxicated people, to sleep off his Christmas Eve binge. 

One of the entrances to the basement is through a secret bookcase door in the main bar.