Arthur’s spirit alive for stout-fest
Known for its elaborate Hallowe’en and St Patrick’s Day themes, Lonergan’s pub in Fethard has gone all-out to celebrate the Guinness feast day.
The popular bar is just 16 kilometres away from historic Cashel, which can claim strong links to the start of the Guinness brewing business and the famous drinks dynasty.
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Cashel in the 1760s was Arthur Price, an uncle of Arthur Guinness, who left his nephew £100 when he died in 1752. The young businessman invested the money in a brewery in Leixlip, Co Kildare, before going on to found the St James’s Gate operation in 1759.
For the last couple of weeks proprietors Roseanne and John Carroll have been putting up black-and-white paper around their establishment, bunting, paintings of pints of stout, balloons and more in readiness for September 24.
Tomorrow there will be food to mark the occasion, singing by Wiseguys and traditional music while customers are being encouraged to dress according to the Arthur’s Day theme — in black and white.
In recent years, Roseanne and John have become renowned for their themed events in Lonergan’s — going to great effort and expense to decorate their premises for big occasions — so their reputation made them automatic candidates to dress up for Arthur’s Day.
“We’re known for putting on a good party,” Roseanne Carroll said yesterday, “so that’s the reason why Guinness asked us to do it in Fethard. Even though it’s only for a few hours on Thursday, we’ve gone all out and done it anyway.
Patrons can expect a black-and-white themed experience if they drop in. “At Hallowe’en, we’re known as the pub of the spirits, so we said maybe we’ll have Arthur’s spirit in the place,” Roseanne said.
