Pubs - Opus Two

It suddenly occurred to me that I haven't really talked about pubs in a while, other than to mention them in passing. So, I want to rectify that. A day has not gone by that we haven't been in at least one!  I've already covered those we visited in Temple Bar (Dublin) and in Belfast where we sat in a snug with a Canadian couple at the famous Crown Bar.  I didn't know, by the way, that snugs were added to pubs in Victorian times so women could drink discreetly in public.

So, after Belfast, we were in Ballintoy for 2 nights - handy because there are two pubs there.  We had drinks in both the Rope Bridge Pub and the Fullerton Arms but ate in the latter both evenings.  Nothing much to report on them but the photos of them are below.
In Derry, we ate at a restaurant so nothing exciting about that except for the fact that the meals and drinks at the Quay West restaurant were 50% off which meant we had dinner with drinks for 12 pounds each.  Quite the deal!

Then, it was on to Doolin and Dingle where finding pubs was as easy as shooting fish in a barrel but where finding spontaneous and good Irish music proved to be a challenge.  Three years ago when I was here, it was normal to walk into a pub and see Irish musicians (many who didn't know each other) gathering together to "jam" in various pubs from early in the evening.  Now, the music doesn't seem to start until 9:30 or 10 and they are all pre-booked acts.  While we heard there were some musical sessions (jams), we never found any.  That was a shame as we'd really looked forward to experiencing them.  In Doolin at McGann's, we did hear an Irish piper, Blackie O'Connell, who is supposed to be one of the best in the country (and he was good!)  You can find recordings of him on You Tube.  My video didn't turn out so well and I'm not sure how to post it anyway but I've a photo of him here.  He was playing the next night across the street at McDiarmid's (a pub we'd had a drink in earlier) but we were too tired to go back.

McDiarmid's in Doolin

Inside McDiarmid's

Blackie playing at McGann's

Then, there was Dingle where there is a pub on every corner and quite a few in between!  The first night we ended up at Murphy's - before and after we had dinner.  The two musicians there were playing Irish standards:  Wild Rover, Whiskey in the Jar, Dirty Old Town, for example.  I guess they must have been good enough, or the wine I'd had inspired me, because I did get up and do a short rendition of an Irish jig - okay, it was in a corner and out of sight of most people.  Besides, others were trying to dance as well and they weren't doing anything remotely Irish!

Murphy's Pub in Dingle

 

The guys playing at Murphy's

 

Friday evening, we thought the music would be a lot better and would start earlier.  We tried one place on Main Street where the music was to start at 7:30 - well, that part was true but it was going to be Bluegrass until 10 p.m.  Now, I have nothing against blue grass music but really?  We are in Ireland and I sure thought the emphasis would be on that.  So, we sort of gave up, went to the pub in the Dingle Bay Hotel for dinner (very good) and waited for the music there which was going to start around 9.  It was two guys, both playing guitars.  They mainly sang Irish folk songs but also other stuff like Streets of London which doesn't seem to have much to do with this country.  We tried Murphy's again but no luck there but at the Marina Inn Pub, there was a lovely Irish gal singing accompanied by a flute.  It still wasn't what I was looking for but it was as good as it got.  Better even was that a Swiss couple we'd talked to on Inishoiir were there and also had checked into our B&B.  We sat with them and had a great time. 

The pub where the blue grass music was going to be

The guys playing at the Doolin Bay Hotel pub

So, there it is; we are finished with the pubs of Ireland.  On to London!