Tom Frawley (1920-2014) – Publican – Lahinch, County Clare

Tom Frawley (1920-2014) – Publican – Lahinch, County Clare

‘If priests were allowed to marry, they wouldn’t have had half the number of scandals.’ When Tom Frawley makes his point, he does not slam his fist on the bar. He says the words with quiet certainty. He has thought the matter through thoroughly and he knows he is...
Mrs O’s (O’Connell’s Bar) – The Hill of Skryne, Co. Meath

Mrs O’s (O’Connell’s Bar) – The Hill of Skryne, Co. Meath

I visited the legendary Mrs. O at this pub in 2008, and again in 2012, shortly before she passed away. On the latter occasion, I was blessed to unite with Terry Wogan for a quick televised chat about the Boyne. Mrs O's pub was a cinnamon-hued step back in time to a...
A Historical Odyssey through Dublin’s Literary Pubs

A Historical Odyssey through Dublin’s Literary Pubs

The pub and the pen have always gone hand in hand, especially in Dublin. That’s why the city is so celebrated for its playwrights and poets and authors from Jonathan Swift to Oscar Wilde to Flann O'Brien to Sally Rooney. That's why Dublin is a UNESCO City of...
Clancy’s – 12 Leinster St, Athy, Co. Kildare

Clancy’s – 12 Leinster St, Athy, Co. Kildare

Thom’s Directory of 1926 records forty-one ‘wine and spirit dealers’ in Athy. By 2007, that number had fallen to sixteen. To stay afloat, you need to be different and that is where Clancy’s has a trump card. In 1964, Jim Clancy evicted all the dusty old bags of maize...
The Bulman – Kinsale, Co. Cork

The Bulman – Kinsale, Co. Cork

The Bulman is at heart a mariner’s pub. Full-length exterior portraits of Hugh O’Neill and Don Juan d’Aquila, commanders at the battle of Kinsale, stand solemnly beneath flower baskets at either side of the main door. Light tumbles in from the ocean. Heat rises from...