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.
So we went for lunch in the River S in Athlone the other day.
The great thing about this bar is its location. At the site of what used to be (in the 1970s) the old Ritz Cinema, the River S bar and restaurant occupies what may be the best location in Athlone for a drink on a sunny day.
A very long, thin corridor of a place, the River S has massive windows and unmatched views of Athlone castle, Saints Peter and Paul’s Church and the town bridge. Outside and accessable directly by stair from the town bridge, there is a long wooden deck hanging a few scant feet above the waters of the river Shannon with tables for outside dining. On its third ownership since opening (it used to be called “West” originally), the River S has sought to attract clientelle with affordable pub grub and full rock bands at night.
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This is another one of the those old, authentic bars that seem to be on the verge of dying out here in Ireland. This pub has been owned and run by the same family for at least the last 100 years. McNeill’s used to be the first pub that farmers and traders would come across on the way into town. Nowadays, it’s one of the quietest pubs in town. The larger bars across the street beckon the modern clientelle, despite McNeill’s excellent location at the corner of Connaught Street.
I can personally vouch for the quality of their pints. Just look at the beauty there to the left.
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The Franciscan Well is a rarity in Ireland: a real Irish Microbrewery.
There has been a pub on this site for as long as people can remember. It’s also protected, as it’s an historical site with an ancient well on the premises of what used to be a Franciscan abbey (hence the name). Truth be told, the well is not used in the brewing of the beer, Russel, the brewer, explained to me. They had the water analysed and it turned out to be a combination of runoff, well water and a few other sources - too inconsistent for the purposes of brewing. The main Cork city watersupply is just about perfect for a brewer’s purposes, so that’s what The Franciscan Well uses.
The bar itself has done its best to capitalise on its just-off-the-centre-of-the-city location and has a sizeable covered beer garden out the back where frequent BBQs are held during the warmer months of the year. The pub itself is a spacious affair with plain wood and copper elements giving it a very modern, American microbrewery feel.
The Franciscan Well brews four beers year-round: Blarney Blonde, Shandon Stout, a Hefewiesen and Rebel Red.
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Irish pubs close at 11.30pm. They close at 12.30am on Fridays, Saturdays or nights before a bank holiday.
From Thursday through the weekend, strolling around your average Irish town after 2am means you will be greeted by THRONGS of young people in the street, searching for a taxi or a quick food fix from the local chipper (this is a phenomenon I had never noticed before moving here - alchohol in Ireland is, apparently, laced with a substance that makes you really hungry for disgusting food at early hours in the morning . . . mmmm, garlic curry cheese and bacon chips, mmmmm . . . ). So, where are they all coming from?
The night club.
Ah, yes, but how do they get there? On a Thursday? Well, to understand this, you need a bit of background on “going for a drink” here in Ireland.
There’s a thing about going for a pint in Ireland. When you go “for one,” it never means one. Hospitality won’t allow it.
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So this evening I headed out to Flannery’s for the Saturday session. The roads were wet with rain and the streets were full of celebratory Junior Certs in search of The Pub That Does Not Check For ID. I met a friend for a couple before heading across town with the bodhrán in search of music. I was greeted at the doorway with the news that Flannery’s was hosting an end of summer party.
“In September?” I asked. The answer was the same.
Flannery’s is one of those pubs that most people miss. In the old style, the family that owns the pub live right behind it (from the right angle, you can see the kitchen of their home through the door behind the bar). Because Flannery’s strives neither to appeal to the crowds of young drinkers nor to the pensioners who make drinking a part of their daily routine, it has managed to preserve the quiet, cozy ambiance of a pub in a much smaller town from days past.
Open only one or two days of the week, it’s rare to find the door open.
Inside, the place is wedged. I dodge a couple waltzing to the music and locate a seat at the bar next to a friend. The bartender catches my eye and nods toward the Guinness tap - my pint is on the way.
Flannery’s shelves are literally overflowing with knick-knacks from acround the world. Faded drink advertisements from bygone days are scattered throughout. The lighting is a dim gold, casting a forgiving light on the worn surfaces. The huge set of horns from Africa mounted in the shadows to a ceramic mug from Yosemite amongst the clutter behind the bar, testify that Flannery’s has seen a lot of visitors over its lifetime. It’s an older generation (mostly) here in Flannery’s. While in the jax I overheard two men saying,
“There’s no more places like this, sure there’s not.”
“Ah, what will we do when this is gone?”
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It was the year 2002. Wifey and I were in Galway and the rain, she was pouring down. There was nothing for it, wifey said, except a cup of hot chocolate.
It turned out that hot chocolate was not the easiest thing to find in Galway in 2002. We happened upon Busker Brown’s. It’s a modern pub/restaurant just off shop street in Galway. It boasts a spacious interior and an intimate live music venue on the very top floor. For some reason on that wet day back in 2002 that hot chocolate was …
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It was a wet one last night.
At the end of the slick roads we drove last night was Galway and The Roisin Dubh. It being our first time playing this prestigious venue we didn’t really know what to expect. Truth be told , the last time I’d stopped in at the Roisin Dubh was years ago - and my, has the place changed.
The cozy little bar I remember has been changed significantly. Downstairs toward the back and through double doors there is now a huge club-style stage and bar area. We were playing upstairs and shlepped the gear up a couple flights of stairs into the new upstairs bar. It was a cozy little area with a large rooftop beer garden opening up just down the hallway. The garden was a blessing and a curse in that every smoker downstairs stopped by; some lingered attentively, others raised their voices to continue their conversation despite the ongoing performance.
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Last night was the fabulous Brideswell traditional Irish music session. This session is, quite possibly, the best traditional session in the midlands.
I almost didn’t go, but then I reflected that it had been some weeks since I last attended. It was a wet drive out under the overhanging trees to Brideswell. The village of Brideswell in County Roscommon is a very small place off the Tuam road from Athlone. Ronan, the Bean (our driver) and Anne-Marie joked about the two pubs in Brideswell: O’Connell’s and Hamrocks.
“You’re either a Hamrocks or an O’Connell’s man, and there’s no in-between,” the Bean asserted, “It’s a bit like being protestant or Catholic.”
Hamrocks is the larger and newer of the two, attracting a more youthful, hip clientelle. O’Connell’s is, as Bean puts it, “an old man’s pub,” and is hosts the trad session every fortnight.
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There’s always music in Sean’s Bar. It’s real tourist destination and the most popular pub around, so they keep the sessions thick and frequent.
Sometimes after the Murray sisters have finished their morning session, another session starts off later in the afternoon. This week was one such week. But there was a surprise in store. Sean Fitzsimmons, retired owner of Sean’s hobbled in and gave us a song.
Poor old Sean isn’t just up there in years, he’s sadly lost his leg about two years ago and has to get around now with a …
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