Seven priests walk into a bar... and get kicked out by staff who think they’re on a stag do!
IT sounds like the opening to a corny joke. But seven Roman Catholic priests did really walk into a bar.
The trouble is, a barman thought the young trainees were on a stag do and, fearing hijinks, accused them of being in fancy dress.
The seminarians did not at first believe he was serious, protesting that they were genuine priests celebrating the ordination of one of the group. But they were still refused service.
Luckily, the story had a happy ending rather than a punchline. For as they trooped out, a manager decided to check their story and realised there had been a mix-up. He invited them back into the City Arms in the centre of Cardiff, to applause from regulars, and even bought them a round of drinks by way of apology.
Yesterday the trainees said they had been ‘entertained’ by both Saturday night’s misunderstanding and the positive reaction of other drinkers. One, Reverend Robert James, said they regularly visit the Brains brewery pub – where, coincidentally, one range of ales is called The Rev. James – and were ‘ a little shocked’ to be turned away.
‘We had gone out dressed in the full cassock,’ he said. ‘We were told there were no stag dos and no fancy dress allowed. I think it was the cut of our cassocks which proved who we were in the end – they weren’t made of nylon!’
Pub assistant manager Matt Morgan said: ‘I got the idea that they might be real priests so I thought I’d better sort it out. They showed me a picture of them in church with their clerical collars on. I gave them a drink and they stayed all night.’ The Rev James was even pictured drinking a pint of his namesake’s ale.
Father Michael Doyle, who studied with the seminarians until his own recent ordination, said he could understand the mix-up.
‘Last week I’d joined the group for a drink after another ordination,’ he said. ‘We went to a different bar and a woman approached me and asked if we were on a stag weekend!’