400,000 ON THEIR WAY TO TOWN!
Drogheda to celebrate like never before
THE greatest celebration of Irish music, dance and culture on earth descends on Drogheda next Sunday for seven days.
With reports of 400,000 to even 600,000 arriving by the Boyneside, organisers are expecting it to be a wonderful advertisement for the entire north east area.
The list of events actually kick off on Friday night when the Dominican Church hosts an Irish night.
Then on Sunday, President Michael D Higgins will officially launch Fleadh Cheoil 2018 at 2.00pm at the Bolton Square gig rig.
The past week has seen giant characters being erected in key locations such as the Old Abbey and at the entrance to the town at Rosehall, amongst others.
St Dominick’s Park will be home to the Festival Dome and some of the world’s best performers will grace the stage there.
But the big message for locals is to get out and embrace the event and be part of the magic.
DROGHEDA’S PUB AND RESTAURANT TRADE WILL BENEFIT GREATLY FROM NEXT WEEK’S FLEADH WHEN UP ON HALF A MILLION PEOPLE WILL HIT THE TOWN. ALISON COMYN FINDS OUT HOW THE PREPARATIONS ARE GETTING ON....
TO show just how seriously the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann is being taken in Noel Nugent’s Market Bar, they’ve even cancelled the weekly Bingo sessions on Wednesdays! ‘I can tell you that didn’t go down well with our regulars, but they’ll just have to understand for one week,’ says Noel’s daughter Colette with a laugh. ‘We are a family run pub and really value our regulars who are more like family too, but we are all looking forward to welcoming as many visitors as we can during this very special event.”
Noel bought the bar 33 years ago, and at 84 years of age now, has handed the reins more or less over to Colette and her team, but she says he can’t quite leave them alone entirely.
‘He’s really looking forward to seeing the Fleadh here for the first time, and is getting so involved,’ adds Colette, who is this year’s president of the local Vintner’s Association.
‘He keeps taking photos of the outside of the pub, which we have festooned with flowers, and is directing everything from his sun lounger!’
Even the regulars are wondering do they have to wear special Fleadh t-shirts!
Colette says the one thing she has really enjoyed is seeing Drogheda come together as a community to become Fleadh Ready.
‘ This has been a huge morale boost for the Wee County which was badly needed, and we all want it to be a festival people will talk about for years, and want to come back again in 2019 and beyond,’ she says.
‘I was in Ennis to learn some things or two, and we will have an open-door policy for musicians, as well as a bar in the Gig Rig, and another bonus of owning a 130-year-old pub is the walls are four feet thick, so you can sing as loud as you like and hopefully the neighbours won’t complain!’
MOTHER HUGHES SET FOR ANOTHER PAINT JOB!
When you step inside Mother Hughes pub on the North Road in Drogheda, you’re stepping into the oldest pub still open in the town....possibly!
The pub is said to date back to 1908, when the original Mother Hughes, one Catherine Hughes, first opened the doors to weary and thirsty travellers.
And some 110 years later, the sixth generation of owners is still pulling pints behind the same bar.
‘By all accounts, Mother Hughes was quite the entrepreneur in her day, owning five pubs in the town, and the first woman to own her own car,’ says Rourke ‘Oggie’ Carr, current owner of the popular bar.
‘ This was her flagship pub, and the one that was kept in the family, until I took it over in 1985.’
The pub is well known in the town for changing its appearance for special occasions, quite often painting the exterior colours and flying flags for football or rugby matches, or St Patrick’s Day.
‘I have two staff members here Martin and Dean Reynolds, and they are constantly up the ladder with a paint brush,’ he says with a laugh.
‘Although the colour it is now, it would need ten coats to cover, so we might have to keep it for a while!’
In the past few weeks, the team at Mother Hughes has been concentrating on getting the pub Fleadh Ready, and can’t wait to welcome all the music fans during the week of the festival.
‘We have cleared space out the back to make room for passing musicians, and will welcome all comers to play, sing or dance, or just enjoy everyone else doing it,’ says Oggie.
‘We will have our own music too, but hope to showcase the best visiting musicians, and spontaneity will be the key to the best evenings, so we hope there might be a bit of rince deas too!’
He says the pride in the town has been amazing, and he has watched how infectious it has been within the community.
‘ The town is going to shine, even if the sun doesn’t, ‘ he says.
‘People have been painting their houses, and putting up hanging baskets, and when the neighbours see it, they have to do it too!’
So look out for the ‘Musicians Welcome’ sign outside Mother Hughes on the North Road and make sure to ask Oggie how he got his nickname!
CLARKE’S IS JUST LIKE A GREAT FILM SET
Many have said that walking into Clarke’s at the top of Peter Street in Drogheda is like walking onto a film set of a Irish pub.
From its its low counters and snugs, to its drawer units from a time when pubs sold groceries, you feel transported back at least a century, if not more.
And that is because not much has changed since it first opened its doors in 1850!
‘I’m only the sixth owner it’s had in almost 170 years,’ explains Brian Browning, who took the reins of the historic hostelry in 1996.
‘I’ve made a few small changes, mainly the addition of Odd Mollie’s next door, but other than that, not much has changed in all those decades.’
Naturally even the name Odd Mollie’s is linked to the pub’s heritage.
In 1900, one Thomas Reid transferred his pub license from Little Denmark Street in Dublin to 19 Peter Street Drogheda and commenced trading as a Grocer and Spirit Merchant. His daughter Nano Reid was born in March 1900 and went on to become Ireland’s foremost Visual Artist. Her sister was Mollie, and by all accounts
was, well, a little odd!
‘During her time in Drogheda, Nano herself felt her talents were unappreciated by her town folk and felt a little bitter, but we hope the plaque we unveiled in her honour made her feel a little better,’ he says with a laugh.
There can be no better setting for traditional Irish music than a pub with snugs, so the womenfolk can drink in public!
‘We have been Fleadh-ready since the day after the announcement was made, and were the first to put up the sign welcoming our visitors,’ explains Brian, who also owns Donaghy’s and Gleeson’s in the town centre, which will also host live music during the festival.
‘ The first thing I did when we were being considered was travel to Sligo and Ennis to get tips on how it’s done, and we will be encouraging all our customers to reuse their plastic glasses for the week, to reduce waste, and dispose of them properly.’
Their large beer garden will be open Thursday to Sunday from 6pm to midnight, and like many of the local pubs, musicians will be welcome to drop in and play.
‘Our bar staff, our door men, everyone will be part of the party, and our job will be to deliver the best customer experience we can.”
DURINGHERTIMEIN DROGHEDA,NANO HERSELFFELT HER TALENTS WERE UNAPPRECIATED BY HERTOWNFOLK ANDFELT A LITTLE BITTER, BUT WE HOPE THE PLAQUE WE UNVEILED IN HER HONOUR MADE HER FEEL A LITTLE BETTER