Ireland Pubs
Completely different from a “bar,” the Irish Public House is a place where everyone congregates for every reason. Here you’ll find baptisms, weddings, funerals, concerts and just everyday people sharing a conversation over a cup of tea or a pint of beer. If you haven’t visited a pub you haven’t visited Ireland.
Sean’s Bar, Athlone - Oldest Pub in Ireland
There has been a pub awaiting weary travellers at the crossing of the river Shannon for over a thousand years.
But Sean’s Bar in Athlone isn’t just the oldest pub in Ireland. According to the lads at the Guinness Book of World Records, it’s the oldest pub in Europe. Excavations beneath the current pub have revealed wattle and daub walls, bits of crockery (mugs and the like) and self-minted coins the bar would use for trade with clients dating back to 900 A.D. Most of the artifacts are on display in the National Museum of Ireland, but a section of the walls is on display in the pub inside a glass case. Research is ongoing for the title of oldest pub in the world. So far, nothing older has been found.
There really is something magical about Sean’s.
Date: August 4th, 2007 |
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Milltown Tavern
Ever since the motorway started taking its toll from commuters, the town of Milltownpass has taken a heavy toll in terms of the frequency of trade within its borders.
Standing cheerfully bright yellow despite the drying up of tourists, the Milltown Tavern continues to do business on the main street. When my car gave up the ghost I had more than a few cups of tea here waiting for a towtruck.
The old Lounge/Bar entrance is just a facade nowadays, as both doors open to the same high-ceilinged room. Round …
Date: May 19th, 2007 |
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Rural Ireland dying?
Just over a month ago, I mentioned that many rural Irish communities may be facing extinction. As it turns out, recent news stories are reporting that is exactly what is happening.
Galway East TD Joe Callanan reported last week that a third of rural pubs in east Galway have closed since the new drink driving laws have taken effect.
That’s only over the period of a month. How many more will be closing in the coming weeks?
Date: January 15th, 2007 |
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The Grove
The Grove is another one of those off-the-beaten track pubs that most visitors miss.
With portraits of James Dean and the western frontier on the walls, this is a pub decorated during the era when Ireland held the idea of the states - its idea, its songs and its music - in reverence. In the style of vintage pubs in Ireland, the Grove has both a bar and a Lounge section. You enter the front door and take a right to enter the bar or a left to enter the lounge. This division served in the past to divide the social centres of the pub in Irish life. Nowadays it’s hardly done. In fact, I’d say it’s safe to say there’s not a single modern pub that does it.
Date: January 6th, 2007 |
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Luker’s Pub
Obsessed with antiquity? Seeking out the Ireland of days gone by?
Well, you would be fascinated by this little pub in Shannonbridge, County Offaly; Luker’s Pub.
The old part of this bar is almost untouched from how it was when it opened back in the 1750’s. Seriously. Even the decrepit lightswitches look like a new addition.
Date: December 16th, 2006 |
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The Nanny Quinn’s
One of the major perks of being a musician is the opportunity to travel the country and become acquainted with wonderful places otherwise off the beaten track. One such place is a pub somewhere between Mullingar and Kinnegad called The Nanny Quinn’s.
I was out with Amber Moon on the evening, lending some vocal and bodhran to their tasty fare of trad and song at this most excellent pub in Raharney. Perched on the banks of the Royal Canal, the Nanny Quinn’s clientelle comes from the local area as well as from boats moored below on the canal.
Date: June 18th, 2007 |
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Skelly’s Bar in Ballymahon
Right at the centre of Ballymahon in County Longford is Skelly’s pub. An unassuming little grocery and off-license from the front, the pub is accessed through a side alley, depositing one into the pub’s surprisingly large beer garden.
The sheer number of sessions and concerts that have occurred in this venue boggle the mind. Due primarily to the efforts of locally-based No Ego Promotions, Skelly’s pub has seen the famous and the fantastic appear beneath the timber railroad beam above their massive fireplace.
Date: May 17th, 2007 |
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The Skeff Bar, Galway
Taking up a huge footprint on the west side of Eyre Square in Galway is the Skeff Bar.
Upstairs is the Skeffington Arms, an exclusively-priced hotel with aging rooms. Downstairs, however, is the impressive Skeff Bar. Everywhere there is skirting and molding. Kind golden lighting provides enough light to function without impeding on the natural ambiance. The huge floor area is broken into charming little nooks and crannies.
Fireplaces, cushions and dark wood are the order of the day. A giant chandelier swings just beside the staircase. Upstairs is more of the same with additional bars and rooms filled with Victorian furniture and mosaic inlays.
Date: January 11th, 2007 |
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The Tack Room, Athlone
The Tack Room is located at an interesting social intersection: halfway between the centre of town and the local college. It’s far enough away frrom the college that it’s not mobbed by students, but close enough for those willing to make the trip to get away from the other college bars. It proximity to town works much the same way, attracting clientelle from the other direction that are looking to escape from the hubub at the centre of Athlone.
“Tack” is the equipment used for horses and the equestrian theme of this pub is evident from its decor. Also evident is that it’s the home of the local supporters of Liverpool football club. Match nights here are an orgy of red shirts, singing and carousing.
Date: December 31st, 2006 |
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Bad pint/Good pint - rules for finding the perfect pint in Ireland
This is something that is of grave and serious concern in Ireland: the quality of one’s pint.
Arguments are started, families have been split and lives have been formed around the difference between a pint served in one place and the pint served in another. It can be argued sensibly that there are, of course, some places where you’re guaranteed a bad pint, but there are also places where the opposite is true. To your average Irish punter, it makes complete sense that beer distributors (well, some of them) spend a huge amount of money checking every single venue where their beer is served throughout Ireland to ensure consistency.
Before moving to Ireland, I really thought that this was a myth. If you have ever been with an Irishman (or woman) stateside when they’re ordering a pint of stout you may have seen them refuse a pint because it was not allowed to settle before being served to them.
I myself have seen the dumbfounded shock and horror firsthand on an Irishman’s face when he ordered a Guinness stateside and the bartender placed a non-tulip glass on the drain under the tap, hit the handle to dispense, walked away, returned as it was overflowing and then simply wiped the spill off the outside of the glass with a bar towel before serving it to him.
Here in Ireland This. Is. Simply. Not. Done.
Date: November 19th, 2006 |
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