Travelling from top to toe was sobering

JP O’Malley talks to Irish artist David Blackmore who managed to walk from Malin to Mizen without passing a pub

NO institution in Irish society gives its citizens an equal measure of joy and anguish, as does the cozy surroundings of the public house.

One needs only to look at how enthusiastically Irish people have taken to the corporate codswallop of Arthur’s Day to prove this point. This fictitious national holiday, dreamed up by marketing executives at the multinational beverage company Diageo in 2009, masquerades a global marketing campaign as national pride: celebrating the ritual of drinking Guinness with religious-like fervour.