GALENA – In Northwest Illinois, cornfields and timbered hills do most of the scenic talking, but there is a moment – right after you push open a heavy wooden door at a Galena tavern – when Illinois drops away and a glimpse of Ireland comes to full view.

The light is a little softer. The woodwork of the bar and decor is a little darker. Conversations hum beneath the clinks of glasses with tin whistles of Irish music in the background. For a moment, it feels less like Jo Daviess County and more like somewhere across the Atlantic, where pubs are taken-for-granted extensions of daily life.

It’s a sense of transport that makes Frank O’Dowd’s Irish Pub and Grill a unique destination in the region. It is housed within The Irish Cottage Inn and Suites, a place built deliberately to make guests feel as if they have wandered into Ireland without ever leaving northwest Illinois.

Opened in 2003, Frank O’Dowd’s and the adjoining hotel were conceived by Basil Conroy, his cousin Jack, and Debbie Coulter. Conroy and Jack were born and raised in Malahide, Ireland, and when they began scouting locations in the late 1990s, the rolling terrain east of Galena struck a familiar chord. The setting reminded them of the Valley of Glendalough, a scenic region in Ireland known for its lakes, ruins, and quiet grandeur.

As to Mr. O’Dowd? He’s a relative in the Conroy family tree. Hungry and thirsty folks and hotel guests won’t find him there, however – general manager Matthew Campbell-Nollen oversees its staff and makes sure its guests at both pub and room get the most out of their Irish experience.

That starts with the bar and lobby’s oak and mahogany wood: The wood, etched glass, carved panels and murals were crafted overseas and reconstructed piece by piece in Galena.

“Customers love the woodwork,” Campbell-Nollen said. “It’s very much how it is like walking into a pub or a place in Ireland.”

The culinary offerings center on a fusion of traditional Irish favorites and elevated pub fare. The menu includes staple Irish dishes such as Shepherd’s Pie, with charred mashed potatoes and served with Irish soda bread; bangers and mash with beer-braised sausages and caramelized onions; fish and chips with Guinness beer batter; and fried chicken with Guinness stout gravy – which Campbell-Nollen said is a top favorite among customers. Sandwiches and pub grub include a Reuben, “Paddy” melt and a breaded fried chicken sandwich, each served with seasoned Irish chips. Appetizer selections range from mussels in cider broth and sticky ribs with local blackberry bourbon barbecue to a rich poutine with stout gravy and scotch egg.

“If you leave hungry, it’s your own fault,” Campbell-Nollen said. “Our chef did a real good job putting these recipes together to try and make it feel authentic.”

As far as the drinks go, there is a rotating draught beer system and an extensive liquor selection. Nearly 50 whiskeys, scotches, and bourbons are featured, including a broad representation of Irish whiskeys that complement the food and enhance the overall Celtic pub experience. Drafts include locals like Haymow Molly amber lager from Lena Brewing Co., and imports such as the pilsner-style Harp lager from Dublin; the premium bitter Old Speckled Hen from St. Edmund’s, England; and Smithwick’s Irish amber ale, also from Dublin.

Guinness’ dry Irish stout remains a popular seller, and it also can be served in mixes: such as the Black and Tan with English brown ale, Black Velvet with sparkling wine, and a half-and-half of Guinness and Harp. The “Keltic Kocktails” are mixes conceived in-house, with an Irish Mudslide of vodka, Kahlua, Irish cream, heavy cream and chocolate syrup being one of them, and The Waldorf (Elijah Craig rye and sweet vermouth and bitters) as another. A selection of spiked coffees, teas, wines and domestic beers also are sold.

What ultimately sets Frank O’Dowd’s apart, though, is not just how it looks, but how it functions. Live music fills the pub Thursday through Sunday, with rotating performers who include traveling Irish musicians, local acts and regular features like Irish dancers on Saturdays and sea shanty singers on select Sundays. Major holidays feature large events, including – of course – St. Patrick’s Day, where the place becomes packed with music and crowds inside and outside.

The shanties – traditional working songs once sung aboard boats – are a particular favorite. “They do authentic old Irish sea songs that they used to sing on the boats,” Campbell-Nollen said. “It just sets the tone. People get transported, and then they get authentic Irish music, too, on top of it. It’s the cherry on top.”

Andreas Transø, one of the pub’s regular performers, brings another layer to the performances. He blends Irish music with folklore, storytelling, spoon percussion, and Irish and local history woven into his sets. He invites audiences to sing along to familiar choruses, punctuates rhythms with spoons and boot-stomps against the stage.

“It’s a real gem in the crown of the Irish identity for the area,” Transø said. “I’m just trying to keep the tradition and culture alive with the global humanity that’s found in Irish music. It’s a great stage to play on. If you can get the crowd with you, then it’s a captive audience and it makes it fun for everybody.”

When Frank O’Dowd’s opened in 2003, Transø was a student at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville with a deep love for theater, music and history. His ties to the area run even deeper: some of his ancestors were from Galena, including a fifth-great-grandfather buried in the city’s old cemetery. His Irish family arrived in the region in 1847, escaping hard times overseas, while his upbringing near Gays Mills, Wisconsin, kept Irish music alive through his mother’s side of the family.

In 2004, Transø helped launch the pub’s first sea shanty–themed weekend, and today his sets often include songs rooted in the lead-mining history of southwest Wisconsin and Jo Daviess County – where miners, once known as “badgers,” worked the hills above the Mississippi River. His path has carried him to the Irish World Music Academy at the University of Limerick, a year of study in London, and Celtic Studies at UW–Milwaukee, all in service of refining his craft.

He credits Frank O’Dowd’s as both a classroom and a community.

“It’s a very important place for me,” Transø said. “It’s a fun way to talk about local Galena history. I really like getting to meet new people here.”

The place’s Irish sense of welcome carries upstairs and down the hallways of The Irish Cottage Inn and Suites. Guests also encounter the bar’s familiar Irish wood shelving in the front lobby, and the same wood is found lined in an extensive library of old books, while an exhibit details the story of the property and its founders. Many guests book rooms specifically for the Irish atmosphere, drawn by photos, reviews, and a promise of something different, Campbell-Nollen said. Amenities like an indoor pool, hot tub, and shuttle service to downtown Galena are among its popular features, but hospitality remains the core offering.

“Irish hospitality is very well known,” Campbell-Nollen said. “It’s basically being friendly to everyone, like you’re their kin. It’s very much like your friends and family are one, which I think is really cool.”

Winding paths, both out in the open and into a grove of trees, in the back of the property add to the Irish experience. A faerie ring sits quietly on the grounds, and a cross nearby bears a plaque explaining a small ritual: place a stone upon it, and tradition says it brings good luck.

“We offer an authentic Irish experience that nobody else does,” Campbell-Nollen said. “Music-wise, with the Irish dancers every weekend, big St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and we’re all in one building. We’re trying to be a one-stop shop.”

The combined pub and cottage experience is like going to Ireland without buying a plane ticket, he said.

“We’re kind of in the middle of nowhere in Illinois, and you get transported to Ireland.”

Frank O’Dowd’s Irish Pub and Grill, 9853 West U.S. Route 20 in Galena, is open from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday. Food is served at 5 p.m. each day it is open, and at noon on Saturday. Find it on Facebook, go to theirishcottageboutiquehotel.com/pub-grill or call 815-776-0707 for reservations or more information.

The pub is housed within The Irish Cottage Inn and Suites. Find it on Facebook, go to theirishcottageboutiquehotel.com or call the phone number above for booking.