Boston Irish Pub Welcomes Scottish World Cup Fans But Closes to the English
An Irish pub in Boston that became the beating heart of Scotland's World Cup celebrations reportedly closed its doors on Tuesday ahead of the England game.
"The Dubliner in Boston has closed its doors to England fans today!" sports news account LIMBZ wrote on X on Tuesday. "Clearly like the Scottish more."
The widely circulated X post showed a video of The Dubliner with a sign on its door that read, "Closed today to give staff a break."
The downtown Boston bar recently became the unofficial headquarters of Scotland's "Tartan Army" during their World Cup matches. There is no information that suggests the bar has formally refused entry to English customers.
Newsweek reached out to The Dubliner to confirm the closure and whether it's related to the World Cup match today between England and Ghana.
Why It Matters
Scotland's fans have become one of the defining forces of the 2026 World Cup in the United States.
Some Boston bars reported that Scotland fans drank four times as much beer as they had in stock for a four-day holiday weekend, and several bars were run completely dry, according to News Nation. Scotland fans also led Fenway Park in a singalong and marched through city streets with bagpipes on June 14, effectively creating a traveling spectacle that is now moving from city to city.
Whether Miami, where Scotland plays Brazil on Wednesday, embraces the chaos as fully as Boston remains to be seen, but so far, social media indicates the party is far from over.
What To Know
For more than a week, Boston was effectively taken over by Scottish fans, many of whom made The Dubliner their home base. The pub was packed nightly, with lines stretching down the street even on weekdays, according to the Press Association. Staff had to bring in extra workers and rent additional fridges to keep up with beer demand, and the venue set daily records throughout the tournament.
"In general, it's just been a massive increase on every single day," bar manager Brian McDonnell told the Press Association previously. "It's been amazing – Scotland's like the ideal crowd we could have got."
"Obviously (they are) big boozers, big partiers – but while doing all that, they caused zero problems."
The scale of the Scotland takeover became a defining story of the early World Cup in the U.S. as Scottish fans drank bars dry, forcing some to close early after running out of beer.
Breweries also reported emergency deliveries after sales surged far beyond normal levels, and many videos have shown crowded sing-alongs spilling out of pubs into the streets, turning neighborhoods into complete party zones.
Bagpipes Going Viral
Beyond the pubs, Scotland's traveling supporters left a cultural imprint across Boston that quickly went viral.
Thousands marched through the city to Fenway Park, where around 5,000 fans attended a Red Sox game in full kit, singing and playing bagpipes. Streets echoed with bagpipes and chants from morning through night, and social media showed fans decorating statues with traffic cones, dancing in city squares and forming spontaneous parades.
Local officials and businesses largely embraced the influx. Tens of thousands of fans are estimated to have visited the city during Scotland's matches, with many Bostonians praising their energy and friendliness.
“Once the Scots are gone, it’ll be a day of mourning. You guys are a part of Boston now," Sean Hemenway, a 28-year-old Boston local, told BBC Scotland.
Even the Boston Red Sox formally thanked the Tartan Army after supporters turned a regular-season baseball game into an unforgettable spectacle.
“What happened at Fenway Park on June 14th was something none of us will forget. We knew the Tartan Army was coming. We did not fully understand what that meant until we saw it,” Boston Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said in a letter to the Football Association.
"Hundreds of Scotland supporters gathered at the foot of a statue of Robert Burns in the Back Bay and marched all the way to Lansdowne Street to the sound of bagpipes. Kilts and Scottish flags filled our ballpark with a spirit that has no equivalent in American sport. The Tartan Army treated our home like their own, and we are better for it.”
From Boston to Miami: The Scottish Move On
Now, the Tartan Army has moved south for Scotland's next match, but there might be a slightly different reception.
Thousands of fans have begun arriving in Miami. However, unlike Boston's reportedly warm welcome, Miami police intervened when fans attempted to carry out one of their viral traditions: placing traffic cones on statues.
In one video shared to Instagram, a police officer is heard shouting “Get off of there!” as a Scottish supporter puts a traffic cone over the head of a Juan Ponce de León statue in downtown Miami.
In contrast, this was widely tolerated by officers in Boston.
"Our top priority was ensuring the safety of everyone in attendance,” Officer Michael Vega from the Miami Police Department previously told Newsweek. “While we wanted to avoid anyone getting hurt or risking a fall while placing cones on the statues, we did allow it-and they were able to do so safely.”
Still, Vega said Scottish fans have been “a wonderful crowd” and encouraged fans “to have a great time while staying mindful of their safety."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Sam Wilson.
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 2:52 PM.