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The Irish PubHow does one define the Irish pub? It's an enigma to most tourists yet a second home to many of us and we all have our favourites for a myriad of reasons. It could be (and often is) our local as in the one at the end of our street which is the closest to our heart. It could be the nearest that sells the best pint of Guinness or one steeped in tradition (that is still there) How do you narrow it down to the 10 best ? especially when there used to be a pub counter at the back of practically every shop, in every town and village throughout Ireland back in the days when it was said that 'a yard of a counter was as good as a farm of land'. You will still find places like that, Burkes on the main street in Gort, still sells farm stuff like seed potatoes and worm doses out the front and a pint and a whiskey chaser in the back....
Over the last couple of years though with the introduction of the smoking ban, stricter drink driving laws and the increased price of drink compared to the supermarkets, most pubs (those that are still open) only open in the evenings or at weekends. Most of the traditional ones have survived by not having mortgages or rent to pay having been in the same families for generations who have each taken their turn in the bar. With the result that there is a whole new appreciation of these local watering holes and we each have our own and every Irish man or woman has their own favourite. The Irish pub you will most likely find me in is Joe Mays in Skerries, my father drank there, his father before him (only joking)Slainte !
Joe May's is just one of the Top 10 Irish Pubs with snugs and firesides listed in my new eBook 'Where to Eat, Sleep & Play in Ireland - 2013' Price $4.99 which you can buy here at the link below.
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