Chiefly in Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Zimbabwe, a shebeen (Irish: sibín) is an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages are sold without a licence. In Namibia, such an establishment is known as a Cuca Shop. In America, the word shebeen saw general use by Irish immigrants who worked in the anthracite patches of Pennsylvania. One of the leaders of the Molly Maguires was a shebeen-keeper, hanged in Scranton. In South Africa and Zimbabwe, Shebeens are most often located in black townships as an alternative to pubs and bars, where during apartheid and the Rhodesian era, black Africans could not enter a pub or bar reserved for white Africans. South African Shebeens serve commercial beers as well as Umqombothi, a traditional African beer made from millet. The word is of Irish origin, spelt síbín in Irish Gaelic, though its etymology is obscure. Drinking establishmentsIrish words and phrase

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