Where talk is favoured over the TV

John B Keane’s pub in Listowel remains the haunt of poets, storytellers and musicians, writes Dónal Hickey

It’s the photograph of Dan Paddy Andy, the matchmaker immortalised in the writings of John B Keane, that stands out among the images of many luminaries hanging on the walls.

The eyes of the auld rogue with the ‘roundy’ glasses gaze out at you from under his countryman’s peaked cap. A bit like the Mona Lisa, in the Louvre, he seems to be watching you no matter where you position yourself in the famous Listowel public house: as if still sizing up potential matches.