In an Irish Pub, the greatest works of art don’t hang on walls, but rather in the air itself.
You'll be surprised at the wonders that can unfold within one single square room. Doubling as a merchant since the 19th century, Curran's Bar in Dingle, Co. Kerry at one time "sold everything," - literally supplied every business in town from the local chemist and clergymen to the farmers and tailors (and everything in between). Generations later, pub-owner James Curran still marvels at the archive of billhead receipts safely stored for posterity's sake. He's proud, and quite fond of the history piled on the shelves in that single square room that remains unchanged from the studs to the Valentia slate floor. And it's no trouble at all when those stacks of shirts, boots and hats need to be temporarily tucked away to make room for a lively impromptu sing-a-long or a bevy of thirsty patrons who want to chat for the night.
“There’s people come into me for a drink. And I get talking to them. And they’ll stay for the night. To just….to be talking.” says Curran in the opening sequence of the official trailer for The Irish Pub film which debuted last year in Ireland and North America.
It’s stories like these that are brought to life in The Irish Pub film, that inspired Custom Ireland’s Managing Director, Crothúr Murphy, to create authentic and intimate pub tours of Ireland featuring many of the pubs from the film. So intimate, in fact, that many of the pubs visited on the tour will be opening exclusively for Crafted Ireland’s groups, outside of their normal business hours.
If you really want to understand the Irish way of life, these pubs, some centuries old, are living tradition. Listen to pub patrons spin colourful yarns and soon understand why Irish sweaters have achieved such fame. Or perhaps some fiddle and pipe players, modern-day wandering minstrels, will stop in and fill the room with traditional Irish folk music, leaving no choice but to dance a jig or sing along. In the swirl of this revelry, you’ll understand that here, in an Irish Pub, the greatest works of art don’t hang on walls, but rather in the air itself.
Crafted Ireland’s Irish Pub Tours are a celebration of the pub and the publicans who run them. The journey takes guests on an off-the-beaten-path exploration of Irish culture and immerses them in authentic character and history – delivering more than a perfect, creamy pint of Guinness and stunning landscapes, but also a world with warmth, wit, heart and soul.