Pádraig Hoare: Meeting honorary Corkonians in London on coronation day

Crowds near Trafalgar Square take shelter from the rain ahead of the coronation ceremony.

The swishing of helicopter blades waking people from their slumber from just after 5am gave an indication that this was no ordinary day in London. 

However, venturing out around Tottenham Court Road on the way to Westminster Abbey to catch a glance of Britain's King Charles III around breakfast time, you’d swear nothing of national importance was about to take place, and that the national security operation was a bit over the top.

This reporter’s queries to folks along the route as to whether they were heading to the coronation just up the road was met with collective shoulder shrugs, an abundance of “nah, mate, definitely not”, and a few incredulous giggles.

If there was a London version of Cork’s “I am yeah, boy!”, this would have been the time to hear it.

Setting out early in the morning to avoid the rush and to take my place among the crowds near the fabled abbey was therefore unnecessary — the security operation, hailed beforehand as one of the biggest the country would ever see, is more lax initially than Munster Final day down the Páirc.

Crowds begin to gather along The Mall in London ahead of the coronation ceremony. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

For a city that is usually legendary for its merchandise sellers, the men and women unenthusiastically trying to flog royal paraphernalia to passing tourists and patriotic British subjects could learn a thing or two from our own passionate “hats, flags, or headbands” GAA folk.

The first bit of police presence is around the West End, with traffic restrictions in place but most people still going about their own business. But then! The unmistakable bell tolling began and smatterings of enthusiasm began around St Martin’s in the Fields church.

Now we are beginning to feel the occasion, as selfie sticks come out — gotta get that perfect shot for the ‘Gram.

Police on duty are busier posing with wide smiles than telling folk off and moving them on. Even the folks kept waiting behind barriers to allow tranches of other people to go ahead first are happy to wait — there are no claims of “ah c’mon lads, if ye had a brain, ye’d be danedruss” any other colourful insults, like crowd control sometimes back home for impatient occasion-goers.

This reporter is on the lookout for a Tricolour — admittedly a needle in a haystack quest beforehand, I thought, but a needle in an entire field when I observe the crowds forming around Pall Mall and the official viewing route for those who couldn’t get near Westminster Abbey itself.

This has finally got the Jones’ Road All-Ireland Final day feel where you can’t get past barriers near Croke Park without flashing a ticket.

Eureka! I spot a People’s Republic of Cork flag among the banners and Union Jack garb. Alas, the People’s Republic hallowed symbol turns out to be a modified Swiss flag.

Honorary Corkonians

Elise and Stepháne are initially bemused when asked if they have come to London from the Centre of the Universe™, but are good sports when I tell them of my quest to find my people among the thousands.

Happy to play along, they ask what they can do to be honorary Corkonians. I tell them to call me a gomey, greet me with “story, kid?” and when they oblige, I bestow the even more important title upon them than the king’s coronation. Cork citizens for a day, they now want to visit someday. Job done.

I made it to the legendary Ritz Hotel, not far from Westminster Abbey, and that’s where my observations end. I’m one of the crowd now, waiting for King Charles to take his crown.

Britain's King Charles III is crowned with St Edward's Crown. Picture:: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

I hear about a different coronation party happening across London and it turns out to be just the tonic for those who don’t care for formal coronation stuffiness and procedure — it's called the Cork-O-Nation, and it’s the place to be for all ex-pats from Ireland, and especially Cork, on coronation day.

Held at the Howl At The Moon bar on Hoxton Street in brilliantly fun Shoreditch, Cork-O-Nation has live music, comedy, musical Bingo and a Cork-themed quiz for the evening.

The bar’s Seamus Travers said the rain had put a dampener on British people’s mood for the party but that inside his establishment, it was about fun and irreverence from first orders, with Irish people and their international friends rearing to go.

Seamus grew up in Luton to Irish parents before moving to West Cork as a teen, attending University College Cork (UCC), and opening Howl At The Moon in 2009 in Shoreditch. Unlike a traditional Irish bar abroad, Howl At The Moon has a Boston-Irish fusion feel that isn’t too in your face.

“We have the coronation stuff on in the outside area for people who want to enjoy the pageantry and that kind of thing but inside, we’re just having the craic. There’s some serious talent here today between the musicians and the comedians — any excuse for a good party here.” 

My work is done for a while — especially with Howl At The Moon calling. You can take the boy out of Cork...