Dirty old town

Here are two sentences you won't often hear together in Australia. "I just made a really good decision" and "I went to an Irish themed pub".

I was halfway to going to bed, listening to the live music from the pub next door, when I decided that it was stupid to go to bed when I could go downstairs and go to an Irish pub in Ireland on a Friday night, at least for a short time. Everyone else was asleep, and I should be; but I can sleep anytime, and it will be next Friday before I can do this again.

The pub, is it bad not to have the slightest idea what it is called?, is not exactly Irish enough to be called an Irish-themed pub in Australia, but has an air of authenticity that orange flywire curtains and Guinness posters just can't quite match.

Actually, it is full of Irish people having a normal Friday night. The average age was much older than any Aussie pub I've been to on a Friday, and without wanting to sound patronising, they were not the most attractive crowd I've ever seen. But there was a sense of genuine affection that you wouldn't see in an Australian pub - a warmth, especially towards the older patrons, that was unusual to me. That is pretty sad now that I think of it, we like to to think of Australia as a 'matey' sort of place, but that is only towards the Mates you know, and it can be pretty cold outside of that.

The band was four burly looking guys who on another night might be security, but tonight they are wielding a bemusing array of stringed instruments that may or may not have been made from left over kitchen utensils. Between then, they could just about scrape together a #1 all over, but they could play and sing. It is a musical style that I personally can't help but get into, even if you don't know the song.

And then they played 'Dirty Old Town'. If you have ever been in an Aussie pub 15 minutes before closing time when the band rolls into the opening piano moves of Khe Sanh, then you can put a picture to what happened from there. The crowd moves in unusual ways - people move towards the dance floor, but not to dance; Non-dancers ease closer together; the ratio of arms around shoulders imperceptibly increases; and bar sales come to a halt.

I love that song. And that was before I had pictures to go with it.

Location:Main Street, Cashel