After our magnificent dinner at Half Door (1), Mom got a hankering to go to a pub and hear some real Irish music. She’d heard O’Flaherty’s was a good spot (2), so off we went. It wasn’t far, but the little side streets and Gaelic signage proved a challenge.
Fortunately, the proprietors emblazoned their name across the door in English, so we knew we were in the right place.
Once inside, looking around, it was easy to see this was the real deal.
It filled up as the evening when on.
We scored a choice table by the “stage”, actually just an open spot in front of the piano (never played) where the three then four musicians would sit and play. While the girls gathered Guinnesses, I paid a visit to the back only to encounter perhaps the most impressive feature of the place. Taking the basic design used in Shannon Airport (3), the Irish engineers moved from the marble/porcelain of the stone age to the gleaming stainless steel of the industrial age.
The result was almost as impressive as the pissoir I’d encountered in Vienna (4), maybe moreso as it hugged a corner. Like all good designs of such facilities, it cared naught for my aim and did not restrict my style, while welcoming others who might participate. One of my few regrets of the evening is that I did not consume enough Guinness to attack this structure repeatedly.
My wife, mom, and sisters did not understand my enthusiasm, but did enjoy the evening’s entertainment. At the bar, my sister Ish chatted up a guy with a guitar case who had not been to the bar in 30 years, but was recognized and asked to join the band. The four of them lept into a rollicking set of Irish tunes none of us recognized, although everyone else in the bar did.
The stamina of us Yanks did not match that of the locals. Mom had her soon to be 90 years as an excuse while Kathy was waiting for Danny Boy or some Van Morrison tunes. I was just tired, taking longer to recover from that transatlantic trip than I’d expected. My sisters went with the flow, and we were home by 11, still immensely satisfied with our evening. We’ve got 11 more days in the Emerald Isle, and the big stuff (Mom’s 90th) is yet to come. Let’s hope we can make it before the pipes, the pipes, are callin’.
References
- The Half Door Restaurant. An Leath Doras. https://halfdoor.ie/
- O’Flaherty’s Bar, Dingle. http://www.oflahertysdingle.com/
- Ike B. fualán iontach eile. WordPress 7/11/22. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2022/07/11/fualan-iontach-eile/
- Ike B. ein prächtiges Pissoir. WordPress 12/3/20. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2020/12/03/ein-prachtiges-pissoir/
* magnificent Irish engineering
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