by Paddy Walsh
If you’re going to name your book ‘One for the Road’ then it’s highly likely it will travel well.
And so at a book signing in Letterkenny Shopping Centre for his latest venture into the publishing (pub for short) world, Kieran Kelly’s first customer on Saturday as he sat at the table at the Bookmark outlet surrounded by copies of the recently released publication, was Hugo Blake who disclosed that the book he was purchasing was destined for somewhere a bit beyond the Port Bridge. As in the Land of Sushi and Sunrise.
“Aye, I’m going to give it my son Jack who is heading out to Japan.” And when it gets there ‘One for the Road’, a looking glass history of 200 years of pubs and hotels in Letterkenny, will be presented to another native of the town, John Hone.
“John used to be in Hong Kong but he’s moved to Japan and I’m hoping he’ll enjoy this,” Hugo tells Kieran.
Ask him about his own favourite pub in the town, either past or present, and, naturally, Hugo steers towards Blake’s Bar but enquires: “Am I allowed to mention the Railway Tavern too? I was brought up by Jack Doherty you see.”
Next to snap up a copy of the book is well known publican, Denis McClafferty, who took over the running of McClafferty’s pub on Upper Main Street following the retirement of his father, Pat.
But subsequently the bar was sold in 2007 and after operating under a few guises, the building is now disused.
Kieran shows Denis a photograph of a much younger Denis working behind the bar back in the day or night. “A few hairs and years have gone by since that,” he quips.
He ran the pub for twenty-six years and would have known Kieran both as a loyal customer and an employee. “Known him as a staff member along with his three brothers, Brian, Paddy and Michael. All of them worked in McClafferty’s at some stage.”
Any particular highlights stand out from his time operating the bar. “’Well, I suppose being a soccer man, Euro ‘88 was a wild bit of craic.
And Letterkenny Rovers also brought a bit of business and craic to the place. And then we used to have Karaoke on a Sunday night and that was our landmark night.”
Bookmark Manager, David Gamble, arrives with a container of coffee for the author.
“That’s my third one today,” Kieran counts the beans.
Meanwhile, Greg Murtagh is another purchaser of the book. A native of Dublin, he has been living in Donegal for the past fifteen or so years.
“I love the local pub scene. I particularly love music in pubs and so I be in The Cottage and in Blakes and anywhere else that has music.”
Eithne Cox has travelled from as far away as Beechwood – a neighbour of the Kelly clan – to get her signed copy of ‘One for the Road’.
“They’re just over the wall from me so if I hadn’t got him here, I would have got it from him over the wall!.”
Her favourite pub in Letterkenny? “I love Blake’s. Blake’s and McGinley’s are the go to places for me when we go out which isn’t often.”
She’s keenly anticipating reading Kieran’s latest book. “He puts a lot of effort into writing them and I see there’s a lot of pictures in this one too. Yeah, I’m looking forward so sitting down and going through it.”
“Cheers…” Allen McCrea announces his arrival accompanied by his good wife, Sandra, who adds her name to the list of buyers. And immediately a domestic breaks out as they debate the merits and attractions of a couple of the local pubs.
“The Cottage, ah definitely,” Allen insists. No agreement from Sandra. ‘It has to be Blake’s,” she maintains. And generally when they do go out, Blake’s wins out. According to Allen…!
Falcarragh man, Joe Carr arrives at the signing table to inform Kieran that it’s his 69th birthday (that’s Joe, not Kieran).
“My mother, Mary Ferry, worked in Boyle’s Pub in the Market Square as a cleaner,” Joe reveals. And he glances at the old photographs in search of familiar faces and comes across those of the late proprietor, James Boyle, and another one of the latter’s parents, Denis and Catherine.
Joe then enquiries about Nellie McGovern’s Bar and the undertaking business run by Hughie McGovern. “And he was a fiddle player?,” Joe asks and answers.
“He was indeed and a very fine fiddle player,” responds Kieran who indicates that what once was McGovern’s pub is now Sonny McSwine’s.
The inquisitive Joe asks how so many pubs became associated with the undertaking trade. “It goes back to a law that was passed in the 1850’s or 1840’s.
The cellar of a pub was cold and so the law required the remains of the dead to be taken to a pub and then the publicans thought it would make sense if they set up a funeral business to run in tandem with the pub they owned,” Kieran relates.
Meanwhile, the sales of the book continue along with the signings until it’s time to fold up for the afternoon.
Another coffee, Kieran? One for the Road…?
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)