From
The Sunday Times Travel Magazine
O’Connell’s, Skryne Hill, County Meath
If you think the exterior of this pub looks familiar, it’s because Guinness
liked its stunning location (high above the sea on Skryne Hill) so much that
they used the pub in one of their adverts. Lush green hills tumble out
towards Dublin, and the noise of the waves masks the chatter around the bar.
Regulars don’t come to O’Connell’s for the view though, or the interior
design: the only furniture in its two rooms is a line of rickety wooden
benches along the wall, a few stools at the bar and a battered old pool
table. But Mrs O’s (as it’s known in these parts) has one of the warmest
welcomes in the country.
Smiley soaks turn their heads to the door and greet every newcomer, while the
elegant old landlady shuffles around the pub solicitously until she’s sure
that everyone’s happy.
The only evidence that you haven’t been transported back to an older,
friendlier time is the dates on the newspapers (although there’s still a few
yellowing cuttings decorating the place – mostly concerning sports and the
ancient Hill of Tara burial site down the road).
As the evening draws in and the stout and whiskey take hold, the banter among
the locals and the landlady reaches an almighty crescendo (Mrs O shells out
so many free pints to help the atmosphere along that it’s a wonder she keeps
a roof over her head).
Her favourite nights, she says, are when the fiddles and bodhráns (shallow
one-sided drums) take over the corner by the grate fireplace – and everyone
joins in a singsong.
O’Connell’s, Skryne Hill, County Meath (00 353 46 902 5122).
The Bulman, Kinsale, County Cork
Why does a pub need its own pier? Well how else are they going to source their
famous claw-cluttered trays of crustaceans?
And the exquisite seafood isn’t the only reason to moor up at The Bulman:
after an afternoon spent boating around a yacht-filled harbour, where
baby-blue skies blend into bottle-green briny, this solitary little
watering-hole on the edge of the shore is a welcome stop-off point.
Liffey Bridge??
The Liffey is the congealed matter underneath the bridge ever so slighty diluted from the late night revellers from Cassidy's!
I think you mean O'Connell Bridge.
Keith, Los Angelese, USA