Pub Story #1

Sue and I headed out to downtown Westport last night. It was a Saturday night, and it seemed as if the whole town, all ages, was out to play. We hit a few pubs (Matt Molloy's, Dunnings, Moran's, and McGinn's) but this is just a little excerpt from the first two stops. It was a good evening. : )

Our first stop was Matt Molloy's pub. This pub is owned by the flutist from The Chieftains. By fluke, and because there was a festival in town, Matt himself was at the Pub. He was joined by about 12 other musicians, ranging in ages from 11 - 60. People just showed up with their instruments (bodhran drum, flutes, fiddles, accordians, guitars, banjos, and a few others I couldn't recognize), sat themselves wherever they could squeeze (on barstools, benches, amps), picked up the rhythm of the song, and joined in. Music was everywhere. If you weren't playing, then your feet were stomping, or your hands were tapping, or you had a smile stretching from ear to ear to watch an 11 year old boy shake hands with Matt, or a little girl keep a riff up on a flute. Families were packed into the little room. It was absolutely inspiring. It made me realize how beautiful the gift of sharing music is.

The second pub we went to, after a delicious meal of Indian food, was Dunnings. We were greeted outside by Dave, the owner (and lovely character) of our Augusta Lodge B&B. Dave seemed delighted to see us, and wanted to buy Sue and me a pint of beer to celebrate our arrival in Ireland. He asked me what I wanted, and I said Guinness. He smiled at me with an "Atta girl" wink.

Then he asked Sue what she wanted. She said Kilkenny.

"Kilkenny?" he asked horrified. "You want a what?"
"A Kilkenny." Sue yelled over the sound of the loud music.
"You know what Kilkenny is?" Dave asked.
"Ah, no." Sue said. "Isn't that a good Irish beer?"
Dave moved closer and said, with a flourish "It's like making love in a canoe!"
"Pardon me?" Sue asked and looked at me.
I laughed and shook my head.
Dave took a deep breath and hesitated for just a moment.
He leaned in close to the two of us. "Do you know why it's like a canoe?"
We shook our heads.
"It's fecking close to water."

That got a snort or two from Sue.

Then Dave leaned over to the man behind the bar. "She wants a Kilkenny!" he exclaimed in disbelief. The bartender snapped at Sue "This is Mayo county, not Kilkenny county. Here's a fecking atlas!"

By the time we recovered from laughter, Sue meekly asked "OK, how about a Smithwick's?"

Dave rolled his eyes and walked away. When he returned, he handed Sue her beer. In appreciation of this introduction to good old Irish slagging (teasing), we decided to make a toast. Dave leaned over to the table to grab his beer. He pulled up a pint of Budweiser. With a double take, we both exclaimed "Budweiser?!? That's not beer!"