Easter Monday Pub Crawl

Possibly the greatest day ever ... Originally there were 21 bars planned but the original number 1 The Cricket Club was closed and The Alley was decided not to be a bar so it was cut to 19.

The 5 crawlers were:
Ryan "Hardcore" Mc Cauley,
Kieran “Pascal Canavan” O’Donnell,
Marc “Doc” Doherty,
Paul “McDaid” McDevitt and
Laurence “Laurie” Smyth


1) Joe’s Bar
First bar of the day following the unforeseen unopening of the Cricket club, decent prices and atmosphere, caught the Irish Grand National, pleasant banter kicked the day off well
Rating: 6/10

2) Paddy Macs
Now there’s a bar! Cheap, cheap drink had Magners and Carlsberg on Draught good atmosphere a pool table and dartboard what more do you want? Sadly at this point I showed my first signs of the 9 hour binge from the previous night betting Doc we could pot the black before he could down the 6 remaining reds, subsequently costing me and Kieran £5 each, but prolonging Doc’s stay.
Rating: 10/10

3) The Classic
Hmmm. This one had good points and bad points. Ranging from the cheapest drink in the town to poor interior and a conclave in the wall to urinate in, (people in the classic clearly don’t need to defecate, either that or the bar stools double as commodes) Kieran best summed the interior up “Look at that poor man there, he has to sit behind bars.
Rating: 3/10

4) The Stables
I’ve been listening to a phrase ... internment without trial ... and I keep thinking about the people that were murdered without trial. I’m not talking about police; I’m not talking about the army. I’m talking about people that were shot dead on their doorsteps, through windows, in the presence of their children, their parents and their wives. These people in their graves are crying out for retribution and it’s not going to come anymore. And there are people who are not in their graves; they’re in hospitals, they’re in wheelchairs, they’re girls who thought they’re going to grow up and never will, and young women who thought they were going to get married and they never will and they’d rather they were dead and there are people too that they don’t want to be dead; because their brains are destroyed, they’re vegetable and they’re going to be vegetables forever ... AND YOU are morally responsible for that
Doc: “What? I’m not responsible for anything!”
Also the barman was wearing a nice jumper
Rating 6/10

5) MK’s
Ha-ha another brilliant bar you just knew it was going to be eventful when you enter to the sight of Brian Quinn looking up the odds for the final race of the day “Are you any good at picking horses” No sooner had we ordered our drinks than Gerard McCrossan appeared behind us ordering Whiskeys and Brandies no mixer required. Brilliant bar man also, firing up the jukebox and giving us 50 free credits, Kieran wasted no time sticking on Glee’s version of Don’t Stop Believing in total we put on about 15 songs staying for two we left Gerard, with his dad snoozing contently in the corner.
Rating 9/10

6) The Central Bar
Originally met with much indignation from Doc less so from Kieran we needn’t have worried as Mr. Birkett Informed us we wouldn’t get our shirts lifted as it was crawling with straights Doc settled for a shot and a quick exit not much else could be said
Rating 5/10

7) Felixs
Johnny McGillion’s claims of the best Guinness in the town was of little use when the prices are that high, distant were the memories of New Years table top rendition of The Climb, Easter Monday found the bar lacking atmosphere and no quotes of note unless you count Doc’s 7th visit to the toilet of the day
Rating 3/10

8) Greyhound Bar
Do you have Carlsberg on draught? No.
Magners on draught? No.
Budweiser on draught? No.
Malibu? No
Skip? Skip!
Rating 0/10

9) Devlins
Ah Devlins home to the best off-license in the town if you ask me and to now possibly the rowdiest patrons Kieran’s foray into Barroom Arm Wrestles resulted in alot of laughs, one man removing his top and a free drink. My memory started to dissipate around this point
Rating 7/10

10) Dixies (aka American Bar)
Just a short jaunt across the street to Dixies meant Kieran didn’t have sufficient time to finish his Coors Light so he pocketed it momentarily taking it out after 30 seconds and being kindly asked to leave a further 30 seconds brought his triumphant return accompanied by the 4th member of our gang MCDAID! The barman seemed a little anxious as we pulled out our list to show McDaid and pencilled Dixies with a middle of the road tally
Rating 5/10

11) Bowling Green Bar
Highly anticipated and didn’t let us down it marked the entrance and brief cameo of Laurie Smyth. With his odd blue Jacket and securely fastened pockets a dry riding session predictably followed. After Doc’s eventful 20th toilet break in which he was offered more than a warm towel we were on our way to Murphy’s
Rating 7/10

12) Murphy’s On the Green
On the way to Murphy’s Kieran was accosted by a shadowy figure who took umbrage to the groups “Bowling Green Bar fuelled” shouts of “Up the Ra!” When told to desist Kieran turned to the man informing him “I have a big Willy and if you don’t piss off I’ll take it out and beat you with it” Buoyed by this we entered the recently deconstructed Murphy’s and Kieran and Doc enforced a skip. McDaid goaded Laurie into a half pint whilst Kieran handed him The Sun’s much loved page 3 Laurie found this “fetching” and showed some older regulars ... they weren’t impressed. Nor was the barman who told Kieran to remove Laurie. He then almost got raped crossing the street.
Rating 3/10

13) Diceys
Unlucky 13! This was where the wheels almost all came off. Doc who was unsure whether to continue or go home from back at Murphy’s eventually decided (after having a final pint) he had done his shift justice, got some chicken balls and bade us a fond farewell, Laurie went to enquire about Katys prices and Kieran contracted sickness, after a long drawn out conversation McDaid and myself ventured to the pool bar, Kieran vowing to continue if Andrew McIntyre arrived before 11, he didn’t, so Kieran also bowed out.
Diceys was Diceys, a good bar
Rating 8/10

14) Pool Bar
I remember nothing off this bar except I ordered a jack and coke, McDaid spent the time talking with his next door neighbour, The bar was apparently full of old people which is why McDaid wanted to give it a -1/10 ... the jury remains out
Rating: N/A

15) Quigleys
I awoke from my amnesiac stupor to find an old gent showing me a picture of himself in just his boxer shorts, that’s right, he used to be a boxer we stayed for a commendable SECOND pint, well within our timescale we decided to converse with the gent though I don’t remember much of the conversation I’m sure it was intriguing
Rating 6/10

16) Christys
Again the old memory fails me, but again we didn’t finish with a pint oh no we threw in a shot of baby Guinness as well also my shot in the central kudos at this point to McDaid for doing the night shift I doubt I would have made on my own in the state I was in by this point
Rating 6/10

17) Zanzibar
The Zanzibar eh part of the Katy Dalys complex that shapes Strabane’s young minds, we popped in for another quick shot and met Ruthers who I managed to somehow inform that this was bar 17 this was follwed by a customary full circle around the seats and made our way to the Pub Crawls spiritual home Sweeno’s
Rating 4/10

18) Sweeno McGinty's
“That’s me and Sweeno’s finished!” may have been Kieran’s quote that titled the pub crawl way back on New Year’s Eve but we never even got started with Sweeno’s this time around as the door was closed at 12 o clock as we tried to gain entry quite a letdown but yer man did help me get a taxi home so have a point for that
Rating 1/10

19) The Farmers Home
Upgraded to end destination, exhausted by our adventures we basked in the glow of that final pint. And that was that well not for McDaid he headed back to Diceys for a lock in and I somehow ended up back in Katys but what a day lol
Rating 7/10

Thanks to the one stoppers we met: the man sitting behind the bars in The Classic, The man in the toilet in The Classic, The Jumper wearing barman in The Stables, The gays in The Stables, Brian Quinn, The barman in MKs, Gerard McCrossan, Gerard's dad, those arm wrestle guys in Devlins, Dixies shifty barman, Coke guy in Bowling Green Bar, Jonny McGillion, Luke McDaid, McDaids neighbour, Boxing Guy, Rutherford, Jasy, Wozzy and a rather perturbed Mousy.

See You On Strabane Fair Day!!

Personally, I always reach for the biscuit

Well what else could i name this blog apart from that quote from probably the best overheard conversation ever, not so much a conversation that I overheard, more those seven words drifting on the breeze as I departed Good Friday service. What may have seemed to most people a rather dull conversation, perhap about how people enjoy their evening tea, took on a greater meaning to me ... I LOLD ... the man said it in a tone imitable of the great Gay Byrne, and when repeated by myself or others over the months and years since never fails to raise a smile. In summary it was a weird thing to hear and a weirder name for a blog but this way it is immortalized forever, and from this quirkiest of starts I shall blog possibly to no-one or possibly to someone but it shall be a unique experience for us all.