JOKERS WAS UNIQUE BAR IN SHORT LIVED ERA
THE FIRST FLOOR PREMISES AT THE MARKET SQUARE WAS A BIG HIT WITH DJ SMILEY
It may have been a first floor pub located at the Square, but for its time, there was none other that could match the vibrancy and intensity of Jokers Bar. The pub came into existence in October 1989, shone brightly for nearly three years and lasted another five before it could stake a claim for its place in Dundalk’s hall of fame for iconic pubs.
Jokers rose from the ashes of Stateside Bar a themed 1st floor bar located in the Queens Hotel at the Market Square. Sisters Olive Branton and Marie, her husband Patsy McArdle and life long friend Teresa White were on the look out for a location to open up during 1989. All had experience in the bar trade with Marie and Patsy having run the Coach House in Drogheda and Patsy had also been bar manager in the Rosnaree Hotel when it was owned by Vincent and Sean McDonnell, where many of the inspirational events that made Jokers such a success had already been tried and tested.
The four hadn’t just taken over the first floor bar, but the entire building. Along with Jokers they also ran the New Queens bar and basement restaurant. But when they acquired the premises some major renovation work had to take place. Structurally, walls were moved, red brickwork exposed, the bar areas were relocated and the entire building redecorated. But when it was completed, the place was the talk of the town and nowhere more so than Jokers. Such was the hype that there were queues in Earl Street in the early days specially to get in to Jokers to check out the cocktail menu.
But it was the innovative ideas of Patsy coupled with the acquisition to the team of one ‘Guy Smiley’ an up and coming DJ from the peninsula that really made the place tick. Guy, better known now as artist Michael Duffy, was the house DJ in Jokers and along with playing all the current chart hits, specialized in the best in oldies and a huge collection of party games to make sure there was never a dull moment in the place.
When it came to innovative ideas for the weekend’s entertainment, the duo sparked off each other and this was what gave the pub such a vibrant reputation. It may seem like old hat now, but Guy Smiley was one of the first DJs in town to use the radio mike, this meant he was able to get in amongst his audience, have some fun with them, get the best out of them and still have time for his music and games.
However from his days in the Rosnaree Hotel, Patsy was game to try all sorts of themed nights whether it was a Beach Party, Horror Fancy Dress Parties, Hawaiian and Mexican Nights, St. Trinian’s School Night, Jokers was transformed to suit the occasion and no ideas big or small were ignored if it was going to make the night a success. They even hosted a Tramps Day Out where Patsy hired a cattle lorry to transport the dressed down regulars on a fancy dress magical mystery tour of the county.
One of their biggest was of course the Beach Party night were everyone is was invited to come along in their best summer gear and swimsuits where they found the first floor venue transformed into a Mediterranean beach complete with a staggering 2 tons of white sand which had been painstakingly lifted in through an upstairs window using a crane specially for the night. But unlike their competitors who ran with the Beach Party for the entire weekend, Jokers had it all removed along with the palm trees, sun loungers, parasols and coconuts before opening their doors the following night!
Another of their classic nights had to be their Halloween party which was aptly called ‘A Nightmare On Earl Street’ and had Jokers festooned with cobwebs, tombstones, spiders webs, ghouls and eerie music to suit the occasion. Such was their dedication to detail, they even had Guy Smiley dressed as Dracula and brought into a packed crypt on the shoulders of his pallbearer in his very own coffin!
This proved to be somewhat of a nightmare for Guy as the coffin had been borrowed from a local undertaker and had been regularly used to transport bodies from their place of demise to the funeral home. He admitted afterwards that the thoughts of others being in there, coupled with the unique aroma, had really put him off the stunt.
Not only this but after being man handled by some members of the crowd, he was expected to jump out of the coffin when the Michael Jackson hit Thriller was played, unfortunately when Noel Finegan pressed the button, Guy had to contend with Billie Jean instead!
Guy wasn’t the sole campaigner where music was concerned and the weekend line up included The Urge who had a residency every Monday night and one of the biggest duos from Drogheda at the time Ricky & Phil had the place jumping each and every Thursday night. But it wasn’t just the crazy antics and top class music that had the younger generation packing the venue for the nearly three years Olive, Marie, Patsy and Teresa were at the helm, the New Queens bar on the ground floor held its own where crowds were concerned. With a more mature audience regularly filling the bar in the evenings, it was used as a start and finish off point for the basement restaurant which provided an exceptional a la carte menu both during the week and at weekends. As well as the passing trade during the day, the New Queens was also a regular stop off for those involved in activities in the adjacent courthouse and it is said that manys a deal were struck in the New Queens during recess when negotiations were ongoing during high courts proceedings across the road.
One of the best of the most memorable bar people in the New Queens had to have been Ray McCann who went on to join an Post and Marie Kirby who was a big hit with the regulars there, the restaurant had legends like June Kelleher and Kate Fearon who were responsible for keeping it one of the finest restaurants of its time.
Jokers’ star shone brightly for the two and a half years it was under the quartet’s command. It boasted one of the most exceptional celebrations during Italia 90 where it put many of its adversaries to shame with the effort made to transform the pub into a mecca to support the boys in green. They also found time to enter a football team in the Winter League and performed admirably.
However, after nearly three years of non stop magic, the quartet of Olive, Marie. Patsy and Teresa felt their time there had run its course and went in search of pastures new. They were made an offer by Gerry Copas that they couldn’t refuse and handed over the keys in 1992. Gerry continued the success with Jokers for nearly another five years, before it closed its doors in 1997 and all that is now left are the wonderful memories of a classic pub that went to make up the fabric of a thriving pub scene in Dundalk.
On speaking to one of the owners Olive Branton and to Mr. Smiley, they both agreed that all they were left with were great memories of a fantastic era.