Granard boozer Paul Fay made our day on return visit with amazing pints at just €5

PUB Spy and the team found themselves in Granard recently and as much as we always enjoy our trips to the County Longford town, it wasn’t our original destination choice.

Having arrived in the neighbouring village of Abbeylara, our crew were desperately disappointed not to find a pub open.

In fact, it didn’t look like there were any pubs left trading.

“Jaysus, it’s not like we’re looking for the early house,” the Young Commando joked.

“It must nearly time for the Angelus,” he continued.

While we can’t say for certain what the situation is in Abbeylara, all we can report is what we find and the two buildings that once resembled public houses were both shut and in darkness.

A sign of the times in rural Ireland and further proof of the ever growing detachment the current government have from reality.

“Not to worry,” was the Old Commando’s advice as he directed our designated driver towards Granard, a mere five-minute drive from Abbeylara.

Our commandos know this town inside out, and Paul Fay’s pub has always been one of the standout venues over the years.

We were here in January 2005 and had some wonderful memories but we also called in November 2021 for a very brief and different type of visit.

“We had to show the vaccine passports and stay away from the counter last time,” the Old Commando said, reminiscing.

With the exception of the Covid restriction nonsense, we were hoping this pub hadn’t changed and we’re glad to report it hasn’t.

We were greeted by a lovely young barmaid with blonde hair and we were happy to get seated at the counter this time around.

She spoke to us all while taking our order and the creamy pints of Guinness cost €5, which seems to be the new going rate ‘down the country’.

The front bar was full with an all-male clientele and the barmaid was kept on her toes throughout our visit.

Rockshore lager, Hop House 13, Coors and Birra Moretti are all available on draught and they were advertising pizzas too if you fancy a nibble, although nobody was dining during our visit.

There was a mixture of horse racing and football on the two TVs and in the spacious second section of the pub we noticed a pool table, a jukebox and at least three more TVs.

The timber flooring was spotlessly clean and the red velvet bench seating was in very good condition, as were the swivel barstools.

A photo of the Longford senior football team that captured the 1966 football league hangs proudly inside the front door and we also spotted a framed article of Pub Spy’s previous visit in January 2005.

This boozer was a Black & White award winner back in 2004 when it won the ‘Best Newcomer’ award and the 20th anniversary is just around the counter.

The toilets are located down a large flight of stairs and, in keeping in line with the rest of the pub, our Young Commando reported they were very clean with one ceramic urinal, one cubicle and the electric dryer worked.

Just as we expected in Paul Fay’s pub, we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the brilliant atmosphere with some of the witty characters seated in ‘Bulls***e Corner’.

Granard may not have been the originally intended destination but we’re glad we rolled into town all the same. Similar to Abbeylara, it seems to have suffered the loss of a pub or two on the Main Street but towns can absorb this crisis easier than a rural village.

We will probably leave it a while as no doubt the locals are getting sick of us, but you can be sure Pub Spy and the team will return to Paul Fay’s and Granard in the future. Rating: Four pints out of Five

One for the road…

Clancy’s – Granard

The Old Commando had fond memories of our trip to Clancy’s bar in Granard a few years ago and asked us if we could check it out again, which we duly obliged.

A very glamorous barmaid was on duty and our Young Commando suggested she may have come straight from the catwalk into work, she was so well dressed.

There was a mixed clientele of all ages and some witty banter as expected, with one Cavan native on the receiving end of most of it.

The solid-fuel stove was keeping the bar nice and toasty and the horse racing was keeping one end of the bar entertained. The wine-coloured leather barstools were in good condition and the atmosphere was very enjoyable.

Our Young Commando inspected the toilets and reported it was tight space with one cubicle and a stainless steel urinal but that everything was clean.

Keep up the good work, folks.

Rating: Three pints out of Five