Matthew Coviello

IAESTE student/GUINNESS Drinker

Summer 1995 (July 13th - September 22nd)

Belfast, Northern Ireland

(Belfast, near Queens)

Thursday, July 13, 1995

This is quite the local hangout for people in the Halls of Residence at Queens. Locally it is simply known as the Egg. Ask anyone in the area where the Egg is and they will promptly point you in the right direction. The disco is small and the live bands tend to be extremely loud. Loud to the point of deafening. The beer is moderately priced. The pub downstairs is the best part, but it lacks the atmosphere and feeling needed to push it into the four star category. Good opening hours help this pub retain some standing. My first pub visited, but not nearly my last.

(Coleraine)

The music here was pretty good. I had a GUINNESS and a cider. Both were good. I guess, the place lacked some spirit, but the bartenders were good. It was my first night out with 55 people from IAESTE. We were dropped off by the bus and returned to the Ulster University of Coleraine’s Residence Halls by way of taxi. Along the way I was killed, along with everyone else in the car, by Theresa. It was the first weekend we played the kissing game.

(Portrush harbour)

Saturday, July 15, 1995

Earlier in the day we had gone to the Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-a-reed Rope Bridge. All this was along the North Coast. It was a good day with a lot of sight seeing and places to walk.

(Portrush)

Saturday, July 15, 1995

Good GUINNESS and a good dance floor upstairs. A bit too big for its own good though. The inability to get a taxi upon closing really hurts the stature of this place. They played some U2 though, just to save face. I’ll give them credit for that at least. This was the second pub of the night after Rouges. All the IAESTE students were there of course. This place is renowned in Northern Ireland as being a drug den, but I saw nothing when I was there. But then again, compared to where I am from there are virtually no drugs here anyway. It would have had to be pretty bad for me to notice the drugs.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Wednesday, July 19, 1995

Located in front of the most bombed hotel in Europe, one must be very adventurous to enter into this historic location. The interior is quite impressive. It is the only pub that I have seen that has private booths for groups of people. Each booth has a bell that can be rung to order more beer, but the bell in our booth either didn’t work or the bartender didn’t like us. Either way the beer at this place is superb. The clientele tend to be dressed a wee bit nicer here. I think it is very popular with the after work crowd due to its location. I was at this place after a day at the Housing Executive headquarters in Belfast. I was there with 7 other Housing Executive trainees from the program.

(Belfast, near Queens)

Thursday, July 20, 1995

The outside seating at this Lagan River fronting pub gives it the best location for a pub in Belfast that I have seen yet. On a nice evening the pub is filled to standing capacity only inside and outside on the patio. The beer is good. The music inside is generally good, but the people are "posers", so the five star category is not available. The women here tend to be particularly good looking though. We also learned a little ordering tip at this place when Patrick went to the bar to order "7-Up" and the bartender came back to him with 7 pints of Harp instead. So the tip here is to never order a 7-Up in a pub. If you want something like 7-Up ask for Sprite, or else you are going to get very drunk.

(Belfast, near Queens)

Friday, July 21, 1995

(Belfast, City Centre)

Saturday, July 22, 1995

This was the place where my friend, Theresa, finally learned how to order a pint of beer in Belfast. Never say, "I’ll have a pint of GUINNESS", because it is bound to be interpreted as "half a pint of GUINNESS". The GUINNESS and the food were good, but it totally lacked any atmosphere. A nice relaxing place for lunch though. With its location in the City Centre it is ideal for a break on a Saturday afternoon of shopping. We had been walking around all day in City Centre. I believe Jonas, Marta, and Samuel, and Elena were the other people who were with me. Later in the day, after White’s Tavern we feel asleep on the grass in front of City Hall. A good day. Learned a lot about Belfast.

(Belfast’s oldest)

Saturday, July 22, 1995

This place has a good location down a back alley in the City Centre. The locals glared at my friends and I when we arrived at the pub, which was a little intimidating, but they left us alone when we ordered our GUINNESS. Other than the sign at the front, this place did not play up the oldest pub in Belfast theme. It was a low key sort of atmosphere. The newspaper clippings on the wall from the 1700’s were quite impressive.

(Belfast, The Docks)

Saturday, July 22, 1995

Although this place was a little out of the way, it was well worth the taxi fare to the docks. The music here was fantastic. The traditional Irish music played by Seamus (what a great name) really had the crowd glued to their seats. I was even debating whether or not to go to the toilet after four GUINNESS because I did not want to miss the next song they would play. The beer here was fantastic and the bartenders were quick and friendly. The sign on the wall that read "All the beer in this establishment has been passed by the owners" was a definite extra. I hope to return soon. It was here that I first had a special head on the GUINNESS so that I could attempt the floating of a coin on a pint of GUINNESS. I have not been able to accomplish this feat as of yet.

I believe the IAESTE group at this pub consisted of Elena, Marta, Jonas, Theresa, Laurie, Russ, Ahmed, Whada, Samuel, and myself. The company was good. I learned how to flip coasters at this pub. I remember being impressed with Russell flipping 15 coasters at once. I would soon surpass him in Dublin though, when I was to flip upwards of 20 of them. A proud moment in my life indeed.

(Belfast, Botanic Ave)

Saturday, July 22, 1995

This place possibly had the worst live music that I have ever heard. I was pretty far gone by the time I got to this place, but still found it to be bad. The place was set up to look like a Western saloon, something that never works for me, even in the West. The place was very smoky and the three pound cover charge for the place was outrageous.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Tuesday, July 25, 1995

This pub is around back of the famed Robinson’s. When you are in Fibber’s it is very hard to tell the difference between it and robinson’s. The place is actually very small, but the cider here is good and the place is always crowded. The people who go here tend to be good looking and fairly young. A good place to start the night off at.

(Belfast, Lisburn Road)

Thursday, July 27, 1995

This place served the worst pint of GUINNESS that I have had to date in Ireland. Even after three of them, they were still bad. I cannot think of a worse sin for a pub.

Additional note: See the description of Scruffys below, there is a worse sin than bad GUINNESS, no GUINNESS.

(Belfast, Lisburn Road)

Thursday, July 27, 1995

This disco located next to Bob Crachit’s is sometimes packed with people and sometimes really dead. The night I was there it was packed with people. The dance floor was big enough to accommodate everyone. The band was, well there was a band and they were not that bad. I enjoyed the night at this place although I never did return to this disco. I think the bad beer next door had a lot to do with that.

(Enniskillen)

Saturday, July 29, 1995

This place was pretty quite, but the beer was good. We only stayed a short while, enough for two beers. Maybe if we had stayed it would have improved but it was necessary to go and find new territory to hold our attention. I guess that about sums this place up. Once again the crowd at this pub included Elena, Marta, Samuel, Theresa, Jonas, Ola, and I believe Radka. We had a good time sharing driving licenses.

(Enniskillen)

Saturday, July 29, 1995

This place was a definite improvement over the first pub of the night. The fifty other IAESTE students there made the place seem a bit strange. It kind of lost the Irish pub feeling and gained an international reputation. One of my orders at this place was a half of a pint of GUINNESS. Yes, I was on the verge of wearing pink pants at this stage of the night. I don’t even think that I finished my half of a pint. The dance floor covered with rug to prevent dancing was an added bonus and boosts this place up to three stars, even if I can’t remember the name of the place.

(County Down)

Wednesday, August 2, 1995

This place was pretty quite on a Wednesday night. Laura and Morris from the office took Samuel and I there after work. The setting was nice and the beer was pretty good. They had their own coaster but they weren’t flipable, so they only get one star for that. The place was nice for a quite conversation and the lack of smoke in the place made it fairly good.

Laura and Morris drove us to work every day of the time that we were working in Craigavon. The only week we took the bus and the train was when both of them were on holiday simultaneously. They are very nice people, who I would have died without. I am very grateful for their help and their cars. Laura bought a new car during the 7th week of our stay. That speeded up the trip home from 45 minutes to a little over a half an hour.

(Dublin)

Friday, August 4, 1995

A truly local pub. There was a lot of smoke in this place, but the atmosphere more than made up for this. The customers were mostly locals, except my friends and I. This was a place where people went to have a beer and talk and spend the day. This was not a get yourself shitfaced place. The bartenders were friendly and polite. They pointed us in the right direction to get to the city centre on Friday night, and served us a beer at the table on Saturday afternoon after a long day of walking the city.

(Dublin)

Saturday, August 5, 1995

This pub claims to be the oldest in Dublin. It may well be, but the place just did not work for me. It was mostly filled with tourists and the only atmosphere it had was imported with them. Or maybe it was the fact that Marta spilled a half a pint of GUINNESS on my leg that did it for me. It wasn’t the wet pant leg that bothered me so much; just that it was such a waste of good GUINNESS. I understand that the place livened up a bit after we left, some Scottish people came in. The man was getting married and was buying drinks for some of my friends. Still, once again the lively customer was a foreigner. Stick to the Temple Bar for a better time and faster beer service. Maybe this place would be better at night; at two in the afternoon it was too quite for me.

Again I was here with the typical crowd, me, Theresa, Jonas, Elena, Marta, and Frederick. We were spending the day walking around Dublin. We went to Trinity College in the morning and saw the Book of Kells. We then went to Christ Church. We attempted to see the GUINNESS Brewery but it is closed on Saturday’s so we did not get to see the tour or the shop. And we missed the free pint of GUINNESS that they provide you with after the tour. After that, people started to split up. As Jonas, Frederick, and Theresa walked away I talked with Marta and Elena to explain where those three and me were going to go. When I ran after the three I missed them and spent the rest of the day walking around Dublin by myself. I saw Grafton Street, and St Stephen’s Green.

(Dublin, O’Connel Street)

Saturday, August 5, 1995

I really needed a drink at this point after walking around Dublin for four hours by myself. I was on my way back to the hostel to meet everyone and stopped in here. The place served the purpose of providing a toilet and a GUINNESS. It was not crowded on Saturday afternoon at 6, but yet the place was very hot. I saw Jonas, Frederick, and Theresa walk by as I was drinking and we moved on to the pub by the hostel for another GUINNESS and better atmosphere.

(Dublin, Temple Bar area)

Saturday, August 5, 1995

A truly magnificent place. By far the best place I have been to so far (August 7th, 1995). People were simply pouring into this place. The beer drinking continued outside on the street as well. The pint glasses with GUINNESS written on the side were very nice. The two sided bar, with the mirror like effect was very interesting after four pints. This place was a lot of fun. The atmosphere was crowded, and the people were all mellow. No pushing or shoving in this place. The formidable looking queue for beer went rather quickly, as the bartenders kept pouring GUINNESS with zest.

(Dublin)

Saturday, August 5, 1995

This place played the best music that I have heard so far. None of this American sixties stuff. Just good normal music that I like. The beer was very expensive, but then there was no cover charge. I had already had 7 pints of GUINNESS before arriving here so I am hesitant to give it too high of a rating. After that many pints, I am afraid that even the Empire would be good; well maybe not. Marta struck again at this pub only this time it was with a full pint of GUINNESS. She did not spill it on me this time, but managed to land the GUINNESS on the leg of Andre from Holland. She was having quite the day with spilling beers. That was a pint and a half wasted by the time the day was through. At least Andre and I smelled like we had been drinking though. Although I think we had both had enough to smell that way anyway.

This was just a night of drinking for me. I remember stopping at mcDonalds’s on the way back to the hostel with Elena, Marta, and Miguel. I did not get any food, but Marta and Elena had fries. I believe that this night I had five GUINNESS on top of the three that I had earlier in the day. That makes eight pints of GUINNESS for the day. I think that record still stands for me. It was appropriate that I set this record in the capital that produces this great drink of life.

Additional note: It is no longer the record. On Friday, the 8th of September I had 10 pints of GUINNESS during the pub crawl. Wow!!!

(Belfast, City Centre)

Tuesday, August 8, 1995

After going to Carrickfergus Castle earlier in the day all I wanted was a nice cool GUINNESS. Well that was all I got at this place. The toilet had one good feature though, a scale. I discovered that I weigh 11 stone and three. That works out to be 157 pounds for all of you who aren’t up to date on your stones, or 71.2 kg for all you metric people. They were showing the men’s 10,000 meter final from the World Track and Field Championships in Gothenburg which meant there was some pretty interesting things to watch. I am not much into the American style pub over here in Northern Ireland though so it only gets three stars. This day was spent with Marta, Simon (from the Netherlands), and Samuel. We all had the day off due to a meeting that our respective Housing Executive office’s were going to be at. It was nice to have the Tuesday off, very nice.

(Belfast, Queens Area)

Wednesday, August 9, 1995

Downstairs this place looks just like any other pub in Belfast. The music is pretty loud and the beer is plentiful. A walk upstairs rewards you with a real treat. The walls are all lined with books and the music is half of the volume it is downstairs. Yes, it is actually possible to talk and have a conversation on this level. The dark surroundings of a library really make you feel studious as you sit and drink your beer. The bar upstairs is not nearly as crowded. A nice place to hang out.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Saturday, August 12, 1995

A quite place on a Saturday afternoon. It is tucked down a side ally. The entrance to it is pretty interesting because of this. The food for lunch was inexpensive and not all that bad. This place actually had a menu. They were not playing any music and were showing the World Track and Field Championships on television. Bars and pubs that show good sporting events always get at least a decent rating. I don’t think this place ever gets much more lively than what I saw though.

Elena, Marta, Jonas, Theresa, and I went to this place after going to West Belfast for the day. We took a Black Taxi tour of the troubled area for an hour. I took a roll of film this day, with one picture being in front of this very pub. Afterwards Elena and Marta went off on their own to shop and the rest of us just wandered around, hopelessly looking for souvenirs in a Belfast City Centre that is not equipped to handle tourists.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Saturday, August 12, 1995

This was a cool place to hang out in on a Saturday afternoon/evening. The pints of GUINNESS were real cheap, and the beer was good. The downstairs room had a lot of atmosphere. I would like to return to this place to see what it is like upstairs at night. The four separate rooms looked like they would break the place up into manageable sized rooms. This pub was also showing the Women’s 200 meter final from the World Track and Field Championships. I stopped here with Jonas and Theresa for a cheap beer on the way back home. None of us had bought anything in the City Centre.

(Belfast City Centre)

Saturday, August 12, 1995

The walls in this place are pretty impressive with beer memorabilia from years gone by highlighting the attractions. The wall behind and above the bar is the most impressive. The live music here was pretty good. Surprisingly it was not played at an ear shattering level and the singer’s voice sounded like Tracy Chapman, except that the singer was a man. The beer, or should I say the GUINNESS, here was quite good. At this pub the group was Elena, Marta, Jonas, Radka, Theresa, Martin, and me of course.

(Belfast, Botanic Avenue)

Thursday, August 17, 1995

(Newcastle)

Friday, August 18, 1995

Recommended by three people before my trip to the Mournes, this place was a good starting pub in Newcastle. The people were friendly and the music was not very loud. They had at least four pool tables in the back room. It is located off a side street from the main road in Newcastle.

(Newcastle)

Friday, August 18, 1995

This place was very hot. Since I was able to leave the place as the proud owner of a pint glass with "GUINNESS" written on it, I have to say I rather enjoyed it though. Apparently the band that played on Saturday night was pretty bad, but hey, at least they had a band. The fact that you could order cans of beer to take away at this place was very nice. It supplied us with 12 beers to take down to the beach for a relaxing evening on the shore. A night on the beach with Elena, Marta, Miguel, Alberto, Waddah, Alexander, and Nicos. I was very tired from having hiked in the mountains for eight hours earlier in the day. We climbed Sleive Donner, the highest mountain in Northern Ireland on the hike as a big group of about 30 people. See the picture taken at the top with Jonas and I celebrating with a can of GUINNESS. Not exactly the nature drink, but hey, "GUINNESS gives you strength" doesn’t it?

(Newcastle)

Saturday, August 19, 1995

Any place with outdoor seating always gets a good rating. The fact that you could choose which music you wanted to listen to was an added bonus. Although you had to wait over an hour to actually hear it get played. I was surprised that among the music selection was Simon and Garfunkle. I had no GUINNESS at this pub, only cider and two pints of Caffrey’s. The Caffrey’s was quite good. The weather was perfect for sitting on the deck and watching the sunset over the Mourne Mountains. Most of the people on the Mourne trip were there.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Monday, August 21, 1995

I went here on a recommendation from a friend at work. I did like the looks of the building, but the people were a bit shady. We went on a Monday night so the place was pretty quite. It was only a pub, with no disco and very little music. The location in the city centre would make it a very popular place, but just not on Mondays.

This place was a bit shadey. I was there with Theresa, Marta, Laurie, and Maria from Austria. I think Marta and Theresa enjoyed this place more than the rest of us. It was just a quite drink before moving on to the Shoeshine.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Monday, August 21, 1995

Located upstairs from the famed Robinson’s, this place has a very different feel from the pubs on the floor below it. It is a very open and loose feeling place. Laurie from Canada was able to swipe a GUINNESS banner on the way out because it was not very crowded at all. The place tends to be a little cooler than most pubs and not nearly as smoky. The balcony above the high ceiling makes for a great location to place a band. This place is a nice change from the typical Irish pub, but it still serves all the good beer of Ireland, i.e., it serves GUINNESS.

(Hillsborough)

Tuesday, August 22, 1995

I was with Samuel at this pub when Ola, Jani, Tjerk-Jan, and two other people came in. We had a quite beer and then moved over to the castle. Before hand Samuel and I had walked around Hillsborough a little. I could not go too far though because I had two huge blisters on my heels from hiking in the Mourne Mountains on the Saturday before.

(Kinnegad)

Friday, August 25, 1995

The food here was also good, but a bit pricey. We stopped here on the way to Galway. A lot of tourists in this place, doing the same thing as we were, getting some food. The service at the table was good, but a little absent minded. The fact that my food came to the table before my GUINNESS disturbed me a little bit.

This was at the start of the trip I took with Jonas, Marta, and Radka. We were on our way to Galway and needed some food. We took the long way to Galway, through Dublin rather than through Enniskillen. That night when we got to Galway we discovered that our reservation in the hostel had never been written down. We ended up searching for a place to sleep for the next hour and a half. By the time we found a place at 12:30 we did not feel like going to any pubs. The Nissan Micra had made us all a wee bit tired after an eight hour trip to Galway. We were all a bit depressed that we did not get to go out in Galway, because the town is supposed to be a lot of fun at night. Judging from the lack of beds available in this town on a Friday night I imagine that this place is every bit as exciting at night as people claim it to be.

(Galway)

Saturday, August 26, 1995

A place that carries my name has got to be good. Inside this place was the typical irish hangout. A split level set up with two bars so as to avoid walking up and down the stairs was well designed. The bartender could have been a little more friendly, well actually he could have just tried to smile.

(Killarney)

Saturday, August 26, 1995

A very crowded pub, but the music was excellent. The band consisted of just two men playing excellent traditional Irish music. The GUINNESS was good. The crowd at the pub was a bit old for me, but it was the typical friendly pub crowd. They served the GUINNESS in special GUINNESS glasses with GUINNESS written on the side. I was going to walk outside of the pub with my glass because I really wanted the glass, but I did not feel like taking the chance. Maybe a few more beers would have helped that, but I had to move on to see some more of Killarney before the night ended. Earlier in the day we had been to Ennis and the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. I was glad to see the area where my grandmother was born, although we did not stop in to see any of my distant relatives due to lack of time.

(Killarney)

Saturday, August 26, 1995

This pub was much better than Scruffys which was located just a few doors down the street. The beer here was good. The place was a little empty for a Saturday night. The people next to us were about 65 years old, which really put a damper on the evening. Granted we were quite tired, but I think this place was lacking in life.

(Killarney)

Saturday, August 26, 1995

OK, by this point in my stay here in Northern Ireland I have been to a lot of pubs, but this one was absolutely the worse. Never in my life have I seen a pub this bad. I think that if all I say about this place is that they would not serve me a beer because they were closing that would be sufficient. But I cannot stop myself there. It was only 11:45 and they were stopping the taps. For my friends, who did not go directly to the toilet upon entering, they managed to find some Murphy’s, but were quick to say that they had no GUINNESS and no Harp. To have no Harp is sometimes excusable, but to have no GUINNESS in Ireland is a sin that even God cannot forgive. The people in this pub were all about 16 or 17 years old. The music was horrible; they played Abba for crying out loud. As you can tell this place was not on my good side. The simple fact that I could not even order a beer, let alone a GUINNESS, makes this the worst pub in Ireland. It is a shame too, because otherwise Killarney was a nice town, but with a pub like this in its midst’s, it is going to have a tough time attracting any worthwhile mention in world popularity.

(Kenmare, Co. Kerry)

Sunday, August 27, 1995

I think that all I have to say about this place is that I bought a T-shirt from the bar to remember this place. It is the only pub of the 39 that I have been to so far in Ireland that I have wanted to by a shirt from. The shirts were good, but the GUINNESS and the atmosphere were even better. A lot of locals were in this place on Sunday afternoon to watch a soccer match. Everyone had a GUINNESS, but no one was drunk. Everyone was just hanging around watching the game. The bartender was very interested in the game, but was still able to serve the beer efficiently. This place is kind of out of the way. Unless you drive the Ring of Kerry, chances are you will never find yourself in Kenmare, but if you do be sure to stop at this pub for a true Irish pub experience. The walls of GUINNESS memorabilia will speak for themselves.

(Cork)

Sunday, August 27, 1995

Now I was at this place on a Sunday night and I can’t even imagine what this place would be like on a Friday or Saturday night. On Sunday night this place is open until 4 in the morning. The beer was very good and the dark side entrance in an alley was a bonus as well. The floor was a good wooden floor and the toilets had good drawings of people in various positions on the toilet to point you in the right direction. The sign that said, "The Other Flag", written on it above a GUINNESS flag was something I would love to have in my room. GUINNESS truly is the other (or maybe even the first) flag of this beer crazy island in the North Atlantic!!! There were more good looking women in this place than in most pubs, which of course is always good. We did not stay here to long unfortunately, as we were desiring to explore the pub scene in the centre of Cork during our one night there.

(Cork)

Sunday, August 27, 1995

The size of this pub was incredibly deceiving. Upon entering it looked as if it was just a small little pub, but then it just kept going and going and going. In the back room, or one of them I should say, there was a live band. The lead singer and guitar players were brothers and worked well together. The trick they did where they played the same guitar simultaneously was fun to see. The one brother played the top three strings while the other brother reached around him from behind and played the bottom two strings. They actually played a song like this. The beer was good and the crowd calm, but boy was it crowded, (not as bad as the York though). Again this was on a Sunday night which is very impressive. Anyone who says Cork has no night life must be out of there mind. Sunday nights in Cork are as good as they get anywhere I have been here so far.

(Cork)

Sunday, August 27, 1995

We visisted this disco after drinking in two five star pubs in Cork so it was going to have to be very good to get a high rating.. It lacked the same atmosphere as the other two and charged a two pound admission on a Sunday night. The music they played when I was there was very good; a lot of REM, which I like a lot. The beer here was incredibly expensive, running around £2.40 (Irish) for a pint. They did serve GUINNESS though and they were open until 4 in the morning so it has to be better than that awful place in Killarney that dared not to serve me a GUINNESS (name unmentionable).

(Cobh)

Monday, August 28, 1995

Drinking outside on the city streets in a plastic chair made this place pretty nice. It had a funny feeling to it, almost like a California restaurant. The weather was good and the view of the boats in the small Cobh harbour was very pretty. The GUINNESS was good. Inside was well done with lots of dark wood and plush seating. I only saw locals inside the pub, even though Cobh was teaming with tourists that day. This was the last pub we visited before starting the 6 hour drive back to Belfast that Monday.

(Dublin, Temple Bar)

Monday, August 28, 1995

A good location right off of Grafton Street near the Temple Bar area. The food here was particularly good. The chips were crispy and the sausages were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The beer was a bit pricey at £2.10 (Irish) a pint, but then again it is pricey everywhere in Dublin. This expensive GUINNESS in Dublin is strange, since it is made there. I guess the farther you ship GUINNESS the less it costs per pint (a little ironic). The atmosphere here was good. It started to get really crowded around 9:45 P.M., but we left at ten to drive back to Belfast to go to work the next day. We had been unable to make it all the way back to Belfast without stopping for food, and a pub in Dublin really hit the spot for us. Ah, the good old Housing Executive was awaiting me.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Tuesday, August 29, 1995

I really shouldn’t be rating this place, but I did buy a beer in here so I have to put it on the list. All I did was order a beer in here and then walk through the alley to the bowling alley (Belfast Superbowl) -- I did return to this place after a few weeks, so the rating is justified. The place was not very crowded but then again it was only 8:45 when I ran in to grab a GUINNESS and a Budweiser for Martin and I. Of course the Budweiser was for Martin, I would not touch that beer in Ireland. I will have to drink enough of it when I go home in 4 weeks. The bar was large, but there were an insufficient number of bartenders to man the bar. I had to wait about 5 minutes before being helped on top of the usual 4 minute wait for the GUINNESS to be poured properly. The place is well broken up with half walls to make it not seem as crowded as it usually is. This was Miguel’s last night, and we were in a hurry to get to Robinson’s in order to catch up with him.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Tuesday, August 29, 1995

This place is also located across from the Europa Hotel, the other is the Crown, so beware. Only the extremely lucky attempt to visit both on the same night. The doors at either end of this pub, the other door is the entrance to Fibber Ma Gee’s, help to keep this place fairly smoke free. I only had a cider here but it was damn good cider at that. There are a lot of seats, although the toilet can be a bit tricky to find, even without 7 pints of beer. Actually the toilets are located in Robinson’s. This place also has live traditional music each week which always scores high on the rating list.

(Falcarragh, Co. Donegal)

Friday, September 1, 1995

The place actually charged a £3 admission. The GUINNESS was a bit bitter, but after a 4 hour bus trip to get to Falcarragh all I wanted was a beer (even Budweiser would have made me happy). We got there at 12:30 and the disco floor was empty. If it wasn’t for the twenty IAESTE students on the dance floor, this place could have passed as a morgue, not as a disco. The DJ at this place kept ruining the music. He would get everyone going with good music and then slow it down to ruin the effect. The fat woman who kept falling down on the dance floor gave us a good laugh though. Walking back to the place we were staying was quite interesting. The trees make for a completely dark walk. If it had not been for "the light" we may never have made it back.

(Falcarragh, Co. Donegal)

Saturday, September 2, 1995

This place was going to get 5 stars, but they committed as slight sin when I was there. Since this was my last night in the Republic, I wanted to drink an "Irish Flag" or a "Tri-Color" as otherwise known. This is a shot with Creme de Mint (green), Bailey’s Irish Cream (white), and Hennesy’s Cognac (orange). When I went to the bar they said that they were too busy to make one. I guess it takes a while to make the layers come out correctly. Well, five minutes after the first rejection I tried again, but was turned down again. After two valiant attempts I gave up and moved to the front room to listen to the live music. The band was good, but hard to hear over the crowd. The pool table in the back was fun, although I lost my game to the guy from Poland, Kamil, in the group. I lost by scratching on the eight ball, something I hate doing. I was speaking to three guys from the North Coast of Northern Ireland and during our conversation the people were asked to take a walk from the pub by the bartender. I think that they were taking some drugs in the toilet, because they were very interested in what I had thought of Kelly’s in Portrush which is notorious for its drug problem. The place was fun though and worth a visit if you happen to be in Falcarragh, which isn’t really anywhere, so you will probably never find yourself there.

(Falcarragh, Co. Donegal)

Saturday, September 2, 1995

OK, everything about this place was perfect. Well, except for the fact that it had to close eventually. I went here after visiting the Shamrock which was already good, so this place must have been near perfect. The first thing I did was order an Irish Flag. Low and behold, they were only more than willing to make the drink for me and Marta, and boy was it worth the effort of getting it. The Creme de Mint is the last thing you taste and leaves a nice refreshing flavour in your mouth. A definite good change from the usual pint of GUINNESS. I then proceeded to have two more pints of GUINNESS at this place. The man playing the live music was great, and he could be heard. The music was easily audible, but not too loud like at places such as the Egg in Belfast. When the singer took a break, he invited Alex from Slovakia to play a song. Alex was quite good, but he refused the request of the crowd to play another song. Marta and I had a good time just watching all the people in this place. There was an old man sitting in the corner and a good mix of men and women all about our age. This place had a great atmosphere. When we left the pub, they even let us carry out beer to take home so that we could continue our drinking fiesta. The bus driver was at this pub, and ordered a half a pint of vodka to take with him. I think that a half a pint of vodka is a bit much, but then again he was Irish. I would like to see Elena or Marta order a half a pint of vodka though, that would be quite the site. Definitely the best pub that I have been to so far in the sense that it was local and relaxed but yet fun.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Thursday, September 7, 1995

I think this place is more of an afternoon place for people shopping and working in the City Centre. At night on a Thursday it was very quiet. The Caffrey’s here was good and the ceiling was well done. The beer was a little expensive. They were showing an American television show so this is a definite bonus for them. Maybe a trip to this place during the day would be more worthwhile. At night though I would avoid it for sure.

(Belfast)

Friday, September 8, 1995

The group was me, Jonas, Andre, Alberto, Martin, Alex, and Nicos. I had 10 pints of GUINNESS at 7 different pubs. There were three new pubs this night. The Regency Hotel refused us entry because we were all too drunk. We had a shouting competition with another group of guys at the Fly, pub #5 that night. Jonas’s last night; he started it off by drinking two beers (a GUINNESS and a Bass) at the same time at the Egg. We started at 8 and went to a pub every 1/2 hour until we ended at Dempsy’s Terrace where Martin, Andre, and Jonas met women they knew. Isn’t it always the same old line! The pubs in order were; The Egg, The Wellington Park Hotel, The Student’s Union at Queens, The York Hotel, The Fly, Lavery’s, and Dempsy’s Terrace. Pints 7, 8, 9, and 10 for me were at Dempsy’s. What a night!!! I had quite the hangover the following afternoon. I didn’t wake up until 4 in the afternoon. Wow!!!

(Belfast, University Area)

Friday, September 8, 1995

This was the first new pub I went to on the pub crawl. The average age at this place was 60 or so. We were on the pub crawl and were loud. We did not fit in here at all. Located close to Riddle Hall, but not worth the walk. The inside is done in a modern style, but the atmosphere doesn’t exist. They pour the GUINNESS here poorly, ensuring that this place will not receive a good rating. Could there be anything worse than bad GUINNESS at this stage of my stay?

(Belfast, Queen’s University)

Friday, September 8, 1995

OK, the GUINNESS here is cheap and good. What more can you look for? This place is jumping when the university is in session. For July and August it is quite quiet. The dance floor is large with a decent stage for the live bands. I thin a pint of GUINNESS here is only £2.10. People have paid that much for a 1/2 pint in some places this summer. A good place to start off an evening at any time of the year due to the inexpensive beer. A pub located close to Riddle Hall that is worth visiting.

(Belfast, Shaftsbury Square)

Friday, September 8, 1995

By the time I got to this place I was pretty drunk, with 6 pints of GUINNESS in me. I remember having a very tough time finding the toilet, but eventually I managed to find it in time with the help of some sober friends, thanks Cigdem. The place is large, with a good bar. On a Friday night the two pound covercharge was well worth it because this place was loaded with good looking women. I am hesitant as always to give this place too good of a rating though because I was drunk when I got to this pub, and very drunk by the time that I left. I had fun here though. I talked to a girl from Cork who taught me how to correctly pronounce An Cronnag in Gaelic, or Irish, but I cannot for the life of me remember what that pronunciation was. Like I said, I was very drunk by this point. My friends helped me walk home. I spoke Spanish on the way home with Jitka. I guess I really was drunk if was I speaking Spanish with a girl from The Chezch Republic.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Monday, September 11, 1995

The food at this place was quite good. I stopped in here with Theresa and Marta after a long morning of the first full day of the Housing Executive Conference in Belfast. I had a GUINNESS and a bowl of Irish Stew. The place had about ten locals in it and that was all. The bartender was friendly though. At night I have heard music pouring out of this place, but was unable to find the doorway that night. During the day it was pretty quiet. It was nice to relax here for a while before wandering around the City Centre in search of souvenirs. By the way; I have decided that it is impossible to buy souvenirs in Belfast so I think that I will be going home without gifts for my family. I hope they do not mind.

(Belfast, Lisburn Road)

Monday, September 11, 1995

I was here on a Monday afternoon after my short lived stay at the International Congress on Housing and Planning. It was raining and I had walked from the City Centre in the Rain on my way to Stewarts to get some photos. I needed a beer. I had a Caffrey’s at this place, since they seemed to really think Caffrey’s was the king of beers. At least that is the impression I got from all of the Caffrey’s adverts hanging on the walls. This place was not as quite as I had expected for four o’clock on a Monday afternoon. I guess not many Irish work very late hours. The beer was good, but there is something to be said about visiting a pub by yourself, don’t do it. It can be pretty boring I have to say. When you are used to going to the pubs with ten other people, being there with no body you know and listening to other people’s conversations can be really strange. I kind of felt like I was being stared at, but I don’t think that was really the case. Just my imagination. I think this place would be much better with more people, after all, the location is good, the beer is good, and the atmosphere, even for someone alone, was pretty good. A place I would definitely like to visit again.

(Belfast, Cave Hill)

Monday, September 11, 1995

Now, I realise that this is not really a pub, in the sense that not everyone can go to it every night, but I am putting it on the list nevertheless. The GUINNESS here was good, from the tap of course. The night of Irish entertainment meant a lot of drinking by the IFHP Congress delegates and dancing. There was some traditional Irish music downstairs which was good, except that the room they played in was too small. On a clear night the view over the city of Belfast is superb and can be beat nowhere else in the city. You can see the city lights below, Cave Hill above, the stars and the loch all in one sweeping view. The Castle is definitely worth visiting at night if it is open for some event if you ever get the chance. It is a one of a kink location and atmosphere in Belfast that should not be missed if at all possible.

(Belfast, University Area)

Tuesday, September 12, 1995

OK, I admit, at this point I was just going to pubs to go to pubs and try new ones. I wen in here with Marta before meeting everyone in The Fly. This is the same pub that had refused us entry during our pub crawl. It was pretty quite inside, with little to no activity taking place. The GUINNESS was OK and the doorman was nice enough to open the door for us upon entering and leaving. Other than that there is not much to say about this place other than that it is right next to The Fly and that ever crowded place called The York Hotel.

(Belfast, City Centre)

Sunday, September 17, 1995

Located right next to the MGM Cinema, this place is good to go to while you are waiting for your movie to start. They have a wide selection of mixed drinks. It is much more like an American bar than an Irish pub in that respect. It is by far the widest selection that I have seen so far. The posters of Michael Jordan on the wall score a lot of points with me. I guess my only problem with this pub is that I was sick when I went here and wasn’t really in a good mood. I have to say though, that I am not much into the American style pub over here. I believe I have already mentioned that fact during my rating of The Washington. When you are waiting for your film to start, or for the commercials prior to your movie to end, this is a prefect place to wait.

(London, Covent Garden)

(Thursday, September 21, 1995)

This unfortunately was the last pub that I visited during my stay in Europe during the summer of 1995. Located right in the heart of the Covent Garden area of London, the location is great; just a three minute walk from the tube stop for Covent Garden making it easy to get to from anywhere in the city. I went to this pub alone, but there is a reason for this. I thought that I was going to my 60th pub of the summer, but after further review have discovered that it was really only the 59th, talk about depression. Anyway, this is one of the most famous pubs in all of London and the UK. This pub was established on the same location in 1759, making it older than the United States of America, which is where I am from. For me there was something special about making my last pub in the UK and Ireland be older than the country that I was from. To me this pub was living tradition, something I had searched for all summer. alone, this place was not much fun. I have to say that even though this place gets four stars due to age, location and crowd, it had NO GUINNESS. Can you believe it, my last pub of the summer, and it had no GUINNESS, my God. Anyway, I had a Beamish but I drank it quickly. I think I was the only person in this three level pub that was alone with a backpack on his shoulders. It took me a while to get my beer, the good looking bar tender seemed to forget about my beer. She kept looking at the beer to see if she could top it off, but she never actually did it. Someone else behind the bar did it. I would have left, but I wanted the beer that I had already paid for. You think I would have known by now never to pay for the beer until it was sitting ready to drink in front of me. Some people never learn.

If IAESTE had spent the summer in London, I am sure that this would have been a much frequented pub. It made Cutter’s Wharf pale in comparison for the number of good looking women. Except for the high price of the beer it was a definite good place to visit. If not for the advice of my friend Serdar from Turkey who suggested visiting the Covent Garden I would never have found this place. Thanks Serdar. The entire Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus area is worth visiting at night. It is Dublin on a Friday for Saturday night time fifteen. There are people everywhere and the streets just twist and turn with pubs and clubs all over the place. Wow!!!

"It gives you strength"

"It’s good for you"

I would like to credit Matthew Coviello for this Awesome Pubguide! It certainly helps me to remember all the fun that we had that summer!

If you feel thirsty you should go straight to the BREWERY!

You can also view nice PHOTOS from our summer in Belfast!