But it was something completely new: drinking glasses of Guinness in a completely recreated small Irish bar parked on a friend’s street.
As in 2022, Thursday’s meeting was a reminder of what life was like before and how much it is diminishing.
Two years after the pandemic, the virus is retreating (or it may not be). The White House reopens for public visits. Masks arrive in schools. Boston is holding a St. Patrick’s Day parade again.
Meanwhile, the tiny 17-by-eight Irish bar hasn’t stopped moving since information about its existence was revealed earlier this year. There is something that makes people irresistible: intimacy, the simulation of public space, the sense of transport.
“I don’t know how to put it,” said Craig Taylor, a marketing consultant who built a miniature bar on wheels with his younger brother. Some of their clients have nice homes where they can easily host a party, but they love the idea of sitting in a small caravan. Craig thinks he knows why. “This is something different,” he said. “Looks like it could be a million miles away.”
Two brothers who live in Reading, a town north of Boston, considered a pub for many evenings around Craig’s Brazier during an outbreak. It would be a way for them to combine their skills – Craig, 58, studied his wife’s origins in Ireland and loves woodworking over the age of 49 – and they thought it was a side job that could lead to retirement.
The whole family got together. A third brother, who lives in London, flew here to help build a pub and brought photos of tavernas to Ireland as inspiration. The sister found lace curtains and compiled a custom Spotify playlist. It takes 12 seats, but like any bar, it fits more “if you’re just over your shoulder,” Craig said.
There is an electric fireplace, a tall wooden bar, a small refrigerator, and two beer pins. The walls, with beige-green finishes, are decorated with a carefully selected element, including chile, a traditional Irish bar from the brothers’ grandfather’s barn.
The response to the project, which cost about $ 20,000 to build, surprised me. It rents from $ 800 to $ 1,200 and is booked for most weekends in 2023. The brothers bought a second trailer to move to another miniature cafe. They don’t know anyone else on this side who does the same thing. (The company in ShebeenIreland also rents roller bars.)
“People are ‘tired of sitting at home doing nothing,'” said Matt, who works as a project manager.
St. Patrick’s Day Pub Liz and Josh Mughan were spotted learning about it. Facebook post in January. For the past two years, they have gathered outdoors with their family and close friends in a new pandemic-era backyard. This was their first real party since 2020.
They had bought two barrels of Guinness and Josh had smoked chicken wings in the garden. His parents and brother came straight from the airport. The neighbors and their children went downstairs and into the street. Liz had friends from high school and college, including someone Josh hadn’t seen in over 20 years. The exciting “Rocky road in Dublin” version started playing through the external speakers.
The weather – foggy, cloudy, short rain – was positively Irish. There was a lot of tension, starting with the war in Ukraine and ending with the increase in cases of corovirus infection in Europe, but at least one evening the mood was improving.
Candy McWay, a 46-year-old health education teacher who wears jeans and a light green shirt, said she was stunned thinking about the party all day. “That’s great, he’s going with you,” she said as she talked to her friends about her in front of the miniature bar. Two years ago McVeigh, St. Patrick’s Day remembers cleaning the Shamrock Shack at McDonald’s with a disinfectant wipe.
Justin Cronin, 46, reunited with his old friends with the same pleasure. “Incredible,” he said, pointing to the dozen people wandering down the main road and opening the garage. “Savior.” He suggested peanut butter flavored whiskey.
Cronin suggested that before the pandemic the little pub might have little popularity, but something resonated at the time. “It’s all different now,” she said. “Especially when you never know when the next wave will come.”
“People feel different about being close to each other,” added Timothy Medlock, 60, who lives next door and arrived with his 28-year-old daughter, Alex, and two Golden Retrievers. The private fund he manages is the only tenant who personally returns to work in his office building. He and a group of friends have decided to renew their monthly drinking tradition, but only half of them have returned, he said.
As the sun went down, the conversation inside the bar became more blurry and eventful. Josh, 44, was the bartender and joked that he spent the night in a chair on one of the pillows. “I’m so itchy right now – friends, bars, good music,” he said. “This is very special.”
His wife, Liz, a 44-year-old sales manager, organized the event to celebrate Josh’s birthday. Her Irish-American husband has never been to the land of his ancestors, except for a quick layover at Dublin Airport. We thought about taking Ireland with us, “she said.
Early in the morning, Craig and Matt arrived at the Pub to crash into Ramy’s truck. After a thorough cleaning, he is back at his next destination, some 25 miles away, in a stream of birthday parties, surprise parties and family reunions.
Source: Washington Post
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.