Offaly nice pints at just €5 a pop in The Blackthorn in Daingean and check out the loos too

TRIPS to the Faithful County are always among the Old Commando’s favourites.

While he loves to engage with the men of Meath and Kildare and argue over football, his grá and admiration for the Offaly footballers and hurlers of the 70s, 80s and 90s is beyond comprehension.

“There’s no such thing as a bad spot in Offaly when it comes to pubs and that’s for sure,” the Old Commando said. “They’ve a unique aul wit about them. Razor sharp and blunt, leave your feelings in the car type of folks,” he gushed about the Offaly citizens.

North East Offaly was our destination recently with a trip to Daingean, famous for the old reformatory that once housed some of Ireland’s most notorious criminals such as Larry Dunne and Martin Cahill.

“The only people worse than the residents were the rotten shower that ran it,” the Old Commando said about the former borstal.

Our designated driver parked outside the community hall and we walked across the street to The Blackthorn pub, one of the few venues that was actually open.

We entered via the door on the left which brought us straight to the counter in the lounge, and a young red haired barman was standing waiting to take our order.

Tennent’s, Orchard Thieves, Coors and Harp are all available on draught but it was the creamy pints of Guinness that we sought. Costing €5 a pint, this is arguably one of the cheapest places in Ireland these days for a pint of the black stuff.

“You could pay €5.50 or €5.60 in Tullamore or Edenderry for a pint of stout these days and they’re only ten minutes away either side of Daingean,” one grey haired martyr told us before he resumed singing some country and western songs at the counter.

The young barman was very friendly and was working in both the lounge and the bar during our stay.

The bar area was busy with a predominately male clientele while the lounge was more mixed and with a slightly younger age profile. A third section of the pub contained a pool table and the Old Commando took a brief walk around this spot as he checked out the Offaly GAA memorabilia.

We were quite content in the lounge where there are three large TVs and a projection screen, and the Daingean GAA bunting was still hanging following their Intermediate championship victory a few short weeks ago.

“I’d say we’re a few weeks late for the party,” the Young Commando joked.

“It was some party though,” one customer replied jokingly.

The timber flooring was swept clean and the hand carved tables are very nice features. They were advertising food although we must have been too late for that as nobody was dining during our stay.

There was a nice open fire just inside the front door, while towards the rear of the lounge in a beautiful stonework surround there is a modern style stove both of which were lit and keeping the place cosy.

Our Young Commando was first to break the seal and when he returned from the loos he had a big smile on his face.

“Ye may go to the toilet and have a look at the setup. Can’t say I’ve ever washed my hands under beer taps,” he laughed.

Curiosity got the better of us and we decided to inspect the toilets one by one only to find three urinals which are made from three converted beer

kegs, a sink which is also converted from a keg and two beer taps which act as water taps to wash your hands. Kudos to whoever came up with the idea.

The Blackthorn claims to be the Midlands’ number one party venue and while we can’t verify that we can say with certainty that we enjoyed our time here and would have no hesitation in calling again.

Rating: Three pints out of Five

One for the road…

Seery’s – Daingean

Just over ten years ago in the summer of 2013 we paid our first ever visit to Seery’s pub and this past week we were back.

The Old Commando checked his notes from that previous visit and he had a chuckle to himself as he had whinged that the price of a pint of stout was €4.10. What we wouldn’t give to be able to pay that amount now!

There was a decent atmosphere in the pub and an all male clientele too, while the barman was very quiet and didn’t have much to say.

There is one TV at the end of the counter and a photograph of the 1994 Offaly hurling team that won the Liam McCarthy cup.

We liked the red leather barstools and seating and the orange floor tiles were swept clean.

The toilets, which we had a gripe with on our previous visit, were very clean and they consisted of one cubicle and a stainless steel urinal. We’ll be back.

Rating: Three pints out of Five