Whats the fascination with Irish Bars abroad?

A few mates of mine just came back from touring Europe. They were in Dubrovnik, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, some of the most beautiful and cultural cities you could find. Yet, the first thing they practically did on arrival in every city was find the nearest Irish Bar. This really p1sses me off. Surely when you're away on holiday or travelling you want to see other cultures or if you're just a p1sshead, sample new beers and drinking cultures. Not go to a bleedin' irish bar just like at home, with crap guinness and crusty barmen from Trinners or UCD working their holliers. loike!!
Really drives me nuts that does!!

its just an irish thing really.....

its like americans coming here looking for a steak house or coffee shop.

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Originally Posted by max power

its like americans coming here looking for a steak house or coffee shop.

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On the flight home last Friday there was an American girl and her mother sitting next to me.
From listening to them the girl was currently living in Druncondra and her mum was visiting. Anyway it was a cause of great concern that there was no Burger King close by so they decided to get McDonalds in the airport before heading into town. Lard Arses!

On the Irish Bar thing, I've noticed this before an avoid them generally unless I need to watch a game.

Anyone notice that there are a massive amount of English people that work in Irish bars on the continent! Nothing against the English, but its always funny to go into one and your greated with a "You alrigh' mate"!

Also Irish bars abroad tend to be the dearest in the cities they are in.

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Originally Posted by cullenswood

Also Irish bars abroad tend to be the dearest in the cities they are in.

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truely irish then, aren't they....

its the fact that its a home away from home for some

Of course there's two types of Irish bar. There's your Irish theme bar, posters and signs and top o' the mornin' parephenalia that has as much to do with ireland as Disney has to do with actual rodents and ducks. And then there's the small bar run by the lovely couple from Dungarven who went out on holiday, fell in love with the place and stayed there and opened a bar where they have live music and GAA matches on TV.

Both types can be found in the very helpful Celtic fans site: www.celticbars.com Although primarily a Tims site, it's a goo bet on being able to see Ireland matches if you find yourself suddenly on holiday in the middle of a vital wcq. Like you do. Some are probably great places to get full of drink and cheer on the lads, others are probably dreadful tourist traps and to be avoided like scabies.

of course, all these pale into insignificance when compared to the Red Lion Pub type affair found all over Spain, packed with beered up Ingerland people.

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Originally Posted by max power

truely irish then, aren't they....

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The most authentic Irish Bar I've been in abroad was in Shanghai, all the floor staff were Chinese :D

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Originally Posted by cullenswood

Anyone notice that there are a massive amount of English people that work in Irish bars on the continent! Nothing against the English, but its always funny to go into one and your greated with a "You alrigh' mate"!

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if you come across any English people looking for seasonal work, then they coudl do worse that go to www.irishpubjobs.com, who are apparently a Dublin company specialising in making sure that the right English people find work in the right Irish pubs on the continent. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Conor74

In fairness, I gladly pay that extra bit for Silk Cut ciggies and Bulmers (or Magniers) rather than Gitanes and fecking Ricard...

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Ah, but Ireland has exotic delights all of its own. Red lemondae for example. And then there were Sweet Afton. Worst cigarette on the planet. The better the cancer stick, the less writing on the label. Silk Cut says the brand name, and no more. Sweet Afton were so apalling they had to resort to poetry on the back. I haven't smoked in 12 years, and so, it goes without saying, am by now utterly desperate for a fag. :(

And Sweet Afton with a filtertip were known as ......................Major Afton and thence Major.

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Originally Posted by soccerc

And Sweet Afton with a filtertip were known as ......................Major Afton and thence Major.

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You're showing your age there soccerc ;)

Tell us the one about when you used to be able to get a 1/2 lb of Dolly mixtures for 1d :D

used to smoke john player special when i smoked,
classy black box with gold lettering,fags were ok too but pricey.

Fromhttp://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=82&iArticleID=19023

Painters working on Islandeady church have discovered an old Sweet Afton cigarette packet secured to a beam high under the roof. The packet contained a note from three painters who worked on the church in preparation for the Marian Year in 1954, asking for prayers to be said for them. Tommy Brett, Jim Devaney and John Joe Brett are believed to have been from the Castlebar area and their message was found by Willie Loftus from the Manulla-Belcarra area. He took it to Father Pat Donnellan who honoured the request and prayers were said for the three men at all the Masses in Islandeady Church last weekend.

Gold Bond aren't sold any more, but are the main reason I've never ever smoked. When I was going to primary school, I used to get up round half seven and head downstairs for brekkie. Most mornings me ma would be there, gold bond hanging out of the corner of her mouth, puffing disgusting smelling smoke right into me face and cornflakes.....not a good impression on a 6 year old I can tell you. It made me sick...
Pleased to say since the old bird has long given up the fags and the house is a smoke free zone....except when the auld fella rolls in lan-gers after his weekly visit to the boozer.. :D

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Originally Posted by joeSoap

Most mornings me ma would be there, gold bond hanging out of the corner of her mouth

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I'm not sure I agree with revealing details of someone's personal life, especially when those concerned aren't available to give their response.
Glad to hear that your mother has managed to quit smoking though.

nice one :d :d :d
Or of course you could be really insulting my mother.....

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Originally Posted by joeSoap

Or of course you could be really insulting my mother.....

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Certainly not. I admire people who can quit.
So many people claim they can't.

No probs with Irish bars abroad. Here in london its mostly chain bars, every one the same as the next. But its good to have a bar you can at least feel a bit of your own culture in, and they're handy to watch Ireland matches in. Id only drink in Irish bars abroad, for a taste of home and do the culture thing after that...

[QUOTE=Conor74]

But then tried the whole cafe thing, sitting in some bar in a foreign country smoking Turkish cigarettes, drinking a pastis and looking in vain for the telly, with about three strangers staring at you.

[QUOTE]

:D

Bang on.

I used to hate Irish bars abroad as well but there's a world of a difference between say those O'Neill's kips in Britland and the Irish Arms in Krakow.

O'Neill's are like McDonalds with worse staff. The Irish Arms in Krakow is a small side street boozer owned by a Clare bloke who'll let you drink all night and play whatever CDs you want. And there's an Irish Arms style pub in every city on the continent.

KOH

Jesus, no way would i go to an Irish Bar abroad. Whats the flippin point?

If youre abroad, experience the foreign culture.

Im off to Germany monday - hope i dont come in contact with any irish people.

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Originally Posted by Peadar

You're showing your age there soccerc ;)

Tell us the one about when you used to be able to get a 1/2 lb of Dolly mixtures for 1d :D

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Not that old Peadar... but I can tell you around the time of decimalisation when an old shilling (twelve old pennies) became 5p (five new pennies).

You could buy 12 penny toffee bars for a shilling but only got ten if you used a 5p coin.

If anyone remembers golfball chewing gum, it was a similar story there. They cost an old ha'penny each so a shilling got you 24 but a 5p coin only got you 20.

Enterprising as I was a t such a young age I bought the goods in the old currency and sold them on to the lads in school in new money making a handy profit until the shopkeeper copped on and barred me.

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Originally Posted by soccerc

If anyone remembers golfball chewing gum.

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Ah the memories, must have near choked to death fifty times.

You had one chewable, shove another one into your gob and start again :D :D

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Originally Posted by parnell ranger

used to smoke john player special when i smoked,
classy black box with gold lettering,fags were ok too but pricey.

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Used to smoke them meself when I was a young lad, just because of the box! Thought they were called John Player Blacks though. Could be wrong.

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Originally Posted by strangeirish

Used to smoke them meself when I was a young lad, just because of the box! Thought they were called John Player Blacks though. Could be wrong.

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I dont smoke at all but i rememeber them because they used to sponser the Lotus formula 1 team.

I agree Irish Pubs on the continent are much better than your average one in Blighty.

Dont really go to them except if im going to watch a match and need to sort tickets directions etc out...

Theyre good for emergencies too, like if your interrailing and turn up in a town without accomadation they can usually point u in the right direction.

Also some of them seem to be very popular with locals, so in a sense going gives you a good chance to meet friendly locals - this was certainly the case with the one in Dubrovnik. Incidently Dubrovnik and Seville are two of the most pro-Irish cities ive ever visited (even compared with Boston). A lot of the people I met in those places had come over to Ireland to learn English in a summer school... Some local in Seville Station started singing a soldiers song when I was waiting to get the train to Valencia...

Great people great places.

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Originally Posted by joeSoap

crap guinness and crusty barmen from Trinners or UCD working their holliers. loike!!
Really drives me nuts that does!!

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Hey! I worked in an Irish pub in Strasbourg last year (lokie)!!!
Of the staff there, 1 was english, 1 yank, 3 Irish and 1 hatian (is that what you call someone from Hati?). All the regulars were ex-pats, the music was really good and our guinness wasnt crap (unless the yank pulled it :o ) It had a few pictures of Ireland on the walls alright and the old fashioned jugs and hurleys on the window, but it was a great bar with great atmosphere and a band on atleast once a week.

I do hate Oirish "Al' righf mate?" bars though, they should all be burned!

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KOH

The Irish Arms in Krakow is a small side street boozer owned by a Clare bloke who'll let you drink all night and play whatever CDs you want. And there's an Irish Arms style pub in every city on the continent.

KOH

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That guy is called Murice Morgan had hes one of the soundest guys around. Myself and a friend had a great few nights out with him and his buddies from Ireland working there when I was there a few years ago. Happy days! :)

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Originally Posted by Conor74

I used to always think that too. Why go away and then look for the comforts of home - it's a bit like the archetypal English couple who complain that they can't get a fried breakfast and the coffeee comes in tiny cups...

But then tried the whole cafe thing, sitting in some bar in a foreign country smoking Turkish cigarettes, drinking a pastis and looking in vain for the telly, with about three strangers staring at you.

And now the Irish bar is the first thing I look for. Proper cigarettes imported from Ireland, drinks like cider, music in the background, proper drinkers in the bar, a chance to catch up on football on the telly, normal barmen who don't stare etc. etc. Of course, where those comforts already exist, like England, there is no excuse for going to an Irish bar. But on the continent...

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You can take the man out of Kerry but you can't take the Kerry out of...............:rolleyes:






:D

for the record i hate irish bars abroad. the worst was rocky o roeillys in prague last year. dearest beer in town.and no singing allowed!some bleeding irish pub alright..

on holiday in cyprus last july,i had 1 pint in an irish bar as they were showing a jimmy johnstone video at the time so i popped in to watch.that was that stayed away from them for the rest of the holiday.

re the tiny coffee complaint the english like to complain about as mentioned earlier in this thread id like to add my anger at the stupid stupid stupid tiny egg-cup-sized-cups of coffee you get in italy. even the mcdonalds in the ****hole town of venice didnt do an "american" coffee.all you could get was this miniscule poxy midget-sized "cup" of coffee. now wheres that bangh smiley?

as for looking for culture etc.. i love travelling but have no interest in museums and other boring ****e like that. yet i would never substitute an inter-rail trip for reading a travel book like "art of travel"

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Originally Posted by Conor74

I don't know if travel is a great way to experience foreign culture. Alain de Botton's bestselling 'Art of Travel' makes the same point - you may actually find out a lot more about a country by staying at home and reading about its history and culture than you will by going and visiting sights recommended by Lonely Planet or Frommer. And if you don't visit those sights...well than you might as well be home.

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So are you really saying that someone would be able to learn more about irish culture by going to their local Oirish pub than visiting Ireland? :confused: :p