Tasty pints and food, but as mile wouldn’ t go as tray
THERE’S PLENTY OF LIMERICK GAA AND RUGBY PRIDE ON THE WALLS IN FLANNERY’S
IT’S just over 11 months since we last had a pint in Limerick and not much has changed.
Liam McCarthy is still living here and there’s every chance if we come back this time next year he’ll still be squatting in the Treaty County as Limerick’s hurling dominance is likely to continue.
However, as the Old Commando rightly pointed out, the Banner boys from Clare will have something to say about that next Sunday in Ennis.
The journey from HQ took just over two hours and we had plenty of laughs along the way as we discussed everything from hurling to rugby to horse racing and JP McManus and his donations to county boards throughout Ireland.
DELIGHTED
Our designated driver parked the electric motor in a multistory car park to recharge and we headed towards the city centre. As we passed Denmark Street the Young Commando spotted Flannery’s pub and suggested we check it out.
We were more than happy to oblige and, feeling peckish, we were delighted to see a menu at the front door. We took our seats across from the counter and dispatched the Young Commando to place the order. A youthful looking barman served him immediately but he didn’t utter a single word and moped about for the duration of our stay. At €5.60 per pint, a smile wouldn’t go astray.
Hop House 13, Birra Moretti, Guinness Zero, Orchard Thieves, Becks and Beamish were some of the options available on draught and the food menu was appetising too.
A second barman, older and more experienced, took our food order and another round of drinks and we quickly settled in as there was a very good atmosphere in front bar. We counted three TVs in this section and there was live football being shown during our stay. The clientele was mixed and mostly young to middle aged, and we overheard plenty of English twangs from the groups watching the football.
The timber and tiled floors were clean and the staff members were regularly cleaning throughout our stay. The red swivel barstools were in good condition and we noticed six separate ‘Liam’ number plates hanging behind the counter representing Limerick’s hurling All-Ireland hurling titles since 1973.
Both rugby and hurling get an equal share on the walls in Flannery’s pub, with a framed Irish and British Lions jersey just inside the front door and a Lions emblem from the 2005 tour of New Zealand. A large Limerick flag is draped across the window and there is also a framed Limerick hurling jersey on the back wall.
Munster man Roy Keane also has a place on the wall of fame with a signed Manchester United jersey and we really admired the framed and signed Real Madrid jersey with signatures from Beckham, Figo, Ronaldo, Raul, Zidane, Owen and Roberto Carlos.
The eagle-eyed Young Commando spotted a framed copy of a previous visit Pub Spy made to this pub 19 years ago in October 2005 and it seemed that cohort of Commandos enjoyed themselves as much as we did.
The second section of the pub had additional seating, a large screen TV and a fireplace, although there was no fire lit during our stay. The toilet consisted of one wheelchair accessible toilet and it was clean.
We enjoyed our few pints (and dinner) in Flannery’s pub. A few more cheery smiles from the staff and we’d surely call again — hopefully we won’t have to wait 19 years.