Pubs worth a detour

Irish pubs are so great we export them around the world. Whether for their history, atmosphere or fare, SANDRA O'CONNELLraises a glass to a few well worth staying home for

Flowing in Limerick

Limerick’s Locke Bar has just won a major hospitality gong and it’s not hard to see why, with a recipe like a fine whiskey blending tourist-friendly appeal with gastro pub food for the locals.

Check out its award-winning signature fish stew. And, of course, there’s both eatin’ and drinkin’ in the Guinness. Old wood panelling, open fires and a range of craft beers add to the attraction. In summer, you can sit out beside the river. It even has its own resident theatre company, Bottom Dog.

lockebar.com

Athlone moover

With a name like the Fatted Calf, you know it’s all about the eating here. When Feargal O’Donnell took over a traditional local, The Village Inn, in Glasson, near Athlone, he put the village on the foodies map, as well he might, given his lofty position within the Euro-Toques – a European association of chefs committed to locally sourcing great produce.

Anyone crossing the country in any direction would do well to make note of its central location. For all its foodie credentials though, it’s still a pub, points out Feargal, formerly executive chef at nearby Wineport Lodge, which in itself is an imprimatur. “I class it as a pub that serves good food, rather than a restaurant,” he says.

thefattedcalf.ie

Clare gem

O’Lochlainn’s in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, doesn’t do food at all, but is well worth a visit once you’ve found solid sustenance elsewhere.

Peter and Margaret O’Lochlainn’s one-room premises is a little gem, fitted out exactly as a 1930s-style grocers, which is exactly what it was. It’s the kind of template modern pub designers burst a gut trying to recreate, but as with most things in life, you can’t beat the original.

The couple work their farm by day and open the bar only at 8pm each evening, to a mix of locals and tourists. If it’s local insights you’re looking for, such as the best place to spot the dolphin on Fanore beach, these are the guys to talk to. The pub is famous for its selection of whiskey too.

Old political heads

For a pub with an even older history, and huge appeal for tourists as a result, it’s hard to beat The Brazen Head, officially the country’s oldest pub, dating back to 1198. You don’t get that kind of longevity without serving a good pint.

Just a couple of years too late to have served Strongbow himself, in later years notable patrons who did make it include Robert Emmet, Daniel O’Connell and Michael Collins, not to mention literary types such as James Joyce and Dean Swift. You can’t buy that kind of history.

These days it’s well known as a music venue, but if it’s all those ghosts you’re looking to soak up, along with a pint, maybe visit on a quiet midweek afternoon.

brazenhead.com

Forever summer

How can you resist a place with a name like Summercove, particularly as it is home to a pub like The Bulman.

Steeped in tradition and fuelled by log fires, the close-to-Kinsale pub is also perfectly located, right on the waterside and just down the road from Charles Fort, so you can work up a thirst walking to it – and a hunger too.

If the weather’s nice, sit outside on the pier wall enjoying a bowl of its Oysterhaven mussels.

thebulman.ie

Spanish pint

If you’re in that neck of the woods, you’ll find it hard to bypass The Spaniard Inn, in nearby Scilly. The location is terrific, high up and overlooking Kinsale. There’s a lounge and a bar, the latter with sawdust and nautical memorabilia, plus open fires and regular trad sessions.

Both lunch and dinner is served daily and, being Ireland’s gourmet capital, fresh produce is sourced locally to go into such classics as bacon and cabbage, and stew. If it’s nice, sit outside. Even if it’s not, sit outside – they have outdoor heaters.

thespaniard.ie

Elm treat

If you do plan on heading to the People’s Republic, make a sortie out of the city to The Elm Tree in Glounthaune too. A very smart licensed premises indeed, with a huge emphasis on customer service, its beautiful courtyard beer-garden is a terrific place for summer barbecues, with a retractable apex roof to keep the rain at bay.

elmtree.ie

The real deal

For a more a traditional pub, with the handy bonus of accommodation overhead, check out Rebecca Brew’s Crotty’s Bar on Market Square in Kilrush, Co Clare. A family affair, the pub is the real deal with mellow pine counters, bevelled mirrors, ornate tiled floors and, of course, a snug. There’s food both day and night and trad sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in summer, which means you can have a great night out and fall in to bed afterwards.

crottyspubkilrush.com

Food to the fore

If it’s food you’re after as much as libation, Georgina O’Sullivan’s Ballymore Inn has long since put the village of Ballymore Eustace on the map. Having been a Bord Bia expert in a previous life, it’s all about the food here. That said, there’s a lovely bar to sit and sip at, and sheltered terrace out front. And, if you want a bar where you can watch the match in and know the kids can be fed well too, the Back Bar is the place for you.

ballymoreinn.com

Donegal catch

As an island it’s only right that seafood has become a staple in Irish pubs, but some do it better than others. For the freshest of fresh, Tricia Kealy’s Kealy’s Seafood Bar is situated right on the harbour in Greencastle, Co Donegal, and gets its fish from Greencastle Fisherman’s Co-op.

Meat eaters aren’t short changed on that front either, as meat comes from an organic farm just across the border in Limavady. Of course, you can order a drink, but in this pub it’s the seafood chowder with brown bread scones that count as “the usual”.

Super choice

For sheer variety of bar offerings in one space, Langtons Hotel in Kilkenny wins hands down. A bone fide super pub, whether you fancy a quiet drink or a big night out, it has a venue to suit.

The Edward Langton Bar is all olde world charm, the 67 Bar is leather seats, food and full waiter service. Then there is Harry’s Bar, the Middle Bar and the Garden Bar. The Living Room is has wood panelled walls and plush velvet curtains, plus its own outdoor oriental bamboo seating area. If it’s a quick cappuccino you’re after, the Marble City Bar Tea Room, on High Street, is also part of its stable.

The latest addition is the Set Theatre, a multipurpose venue that can hold 400 people for live acts. Stay here and you could be in a different pub every night of the week without leaving the hotel.

langtons.ie

Home and away

For a much more traditional affair, Dick Mack’s is a Dingle institution. Half cobblers’ shop, half bar, wholly atmospheric experience. It’s like entering a time warp, and one you’ll find very hard to leave, not least because of the crush on a busy night. This Green Street pub – which says haberdashery on the sign outside – is not just a tourist mecca but appeals to locals too, a tough act to pull off.

Winning formula

Back in Dublin, it’s nice to see a suburban local win a top gong, which is what’s just happened to Gleesons of Booterstown, voted bar of the year 2011 by Licensing World, the industry trade magazine. The family-run operation was also voted local of the year too.

The pub, which was set up in 1954, is run by the second generation of the Gleeson family, John and Ciaran, who have changed with the times by adding a new deli business, the Food Corner, where you can take away its cooked bar food. No wonder the locals love it.

gleesons.ie

Rural retreat

Orna Flannery took over a rural pub in Summerhill, Co Meath, ploughed everything into restoring it and reopened as Shanks’ Mare. Then the recession hit.

The fact that she is still surviving five years later, in a premise that is, quite literally in the middle of nowhere (the metropolis of Trim is 10km away), says she must be doing something right.

As well as a good place to go for a quiet pint, it’s a nice for dinner too. Go on a sunny, summer’s evening and you can sit and watch the free air show provided by hot air balloonists.

Even better, if you’re living – or staying – in the area, she will collect and then bring you home afterwards.

shanksmare.ie

Flower power

Looking like it has robbed a garden centre and come up smelling of roses, if there were a Tidy Town or Entente Florale award for a single building, Blairs Inn near Blarney in Co Cork would surely win it.

The effort that goes into the outside gives you some indication of the work going on indoors too, in a family-run premises with a beautiful, riverside location. There are a range of bars and lounges inside, but if the weather’s nice sit out in the garden and watch the trout jump. Monday nights are given over to trad sessions.

blairsinn.ie

Gastro delight

You’ll have to clamber over the awards heaped on Hargadons of Sligo to get in – accolades include Best Gastro Pub, Pub of the Year and Best Traditional Pub – but it’s worth the effort.

Situated on O’Connell Street right in the town, the owners don’t just run a very traditional pub but a great restaurant and a number of wine shops too (including one in Cabinteely in Dublin). As if that isn’t enough to guarantee a decent wine list, get this – it has its very own French vineyard. What’s more, the salads and veg are homegrown by the owners. Talk about commitment.

hargadons.com

On Bray bay

The Harbour Bar in Bray was recently voted best bar not just in Ireland but in the world by Lonely Planet.

For its part, Trip Advisor reckons it’s the number one attraction to see in Bray, though that might say more about Bray than it does the pub. That said, this hugely atmospheric premises is another family-run success story (owned by a third generation of O’Tooles) and well worth walking the prom for.

It has four distinct parts, including the old main bar for trad sessions and the conservatory and back lounge for more modern musical fare.

If you’re looking for a quiet pint however, the snug is your only man.

Among the interesting bric a brac is a deer’s head, presented by actor Peter O’Toole for getting him home safely when he was filming in nearby Ardmore Studios.

harbourbarbray.com

Head of the class

Speaking of which, it would be hard to mention great Irish pubs without reference to The Stag’s Head in Dame Court, Dublin. One of the city’s best preserved Victorian pubs, it’s all carved mahogany, mosaic tiled floors and granite table tops.

And thanks to the ornate tiled glass and lamps fittings, it’s equally cosy by day or night. Indeed, it was the first pub in the capital to boast electric light.

At the same time, its lovely long bar, capped with Connemara marble, is punctuated by partitions that make it both open and intimate at the same time.

The parlour lounge behind the bar was its original smoking room but the best vantage point from which to sit and people watch – though really, student watch – is at one of the comfy banquettes against the wall.

louisfitzgerald.com/ stagshead

Talk of the town

Staying in the capital, The Palace Bar on Fleet Street is for many the quintessential Dublin pub.

When the numbers are right (ie, not too full for its modest proportions) it’s the most congenial pub in town – it’s almost impossible not to end up in conversation with strangers, given the layout of the back room.

Opened in 1848, and reaching its pinnacle as a haunt of Dublin’s literati a century later –

The Palace Bar was a favourite watering hole for Patrick Kavanagh, Brendan Behan and Flann O’ Brien – very little has changed in the interim.

thepalacebar.com

Cosy corner

Finally, Morrisseys of Abbeyleix first opened as a grocery store in 1775 and was rebuilt in its current form a century later. Within its doors today are all the antiques and artefacts that have accumulated ever since.

Dimly lit and hugely atmospheric as a result, it’s a labyrinth of stalls and snugs warmed by stove. T

he only concession to modernity has been the introduction of a TV which, even the bar manager Brendan says he wishes weren’t there – “Don’t mention it!”.

No gastro pub this, however - the pint is still its signature dish – it’s strictly soup and sandwiches on the meal front.

But as a perch from which to read the paper, soak up the atmosphere and imbibe, it’s the kind of place that could give you pub envy.

What’s your favourite holiday pub? Tell us about it at go@irishtimes.com