Dennis Deery
Many pubs here offer regular traditional music sessions, or “trad” sessions, and we’ve been happy to find several close by. Our closest pub, O’Neill’s Bar, has a session every Thursday night, and we’re doing our best to become known as regulars.
The awesome winds we’ve been experiencing here finally took their toll on the electricity distribution system, and we spent part of the evening tonight without power. Though our power was restored after only a half-hour or so, we were still without streetlights, and a glance down the street showed much of the town was still waiting for power. Nonetheless, we struck out for O’Neill’s, feeling our way down the street in the dark. Downtown Tramore was showing no lights save the candlelight flickering in the window of O’Neill’s. We’ve seen two power outages in our time here, and both times we’ve seen that the pubs continue to manage in the dark! O’Neill’s was limping along on a combination of candlelight and generator power to keep the lights behind the bar on.
O’Neill’s is a small pub on the corner at the head of Tramore’s main downtown street. Walking in the front door, you see the L-shaped bar immediately in front of you, with room for about 10 barstools. The bar and walls are covered with dark cherry paneling. On the bar sit two small pitchers of water, used by the many whiskey drinkers to cut their drink.
A green-vinyl bench lines the front and left-side walls, with 7 low tables and short stools scattered along its length. This seating arrangement, common in many pubs, means you’re always sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with someone, and it almost always means you’ll have conversations with the locals. Tonight was no different, as we met an elderly farmer contemplating a multi-million dollar offer for his farm (“I told them, they have to pay me the money before I sign anyting!”) and Imelda, a 50-year old woman (“Do I look 50 to you?!?!”) out for a night of heavy drinking after feuding with her husband. It’s always an adventure!
The far end of the table area is reserved for the musicians on trad night. Beyond them is a door to the noisier back room of O’Neill’s, and to the outside smoking area, a staple of Irish pubs since smoking in the pubs has been outlawed. Behind the bar is a doorway through into Mol’s Restaurant, the other half of O’Neill’s.
Open to anyone who wants to play, the cast of musicians changes night-to-night, anchored by a few regulars. The master of the evening, holding down the corner of the room, is an enormous guitar player with a curly red beard, a deep gravelly voice and an oft-heard belly laugh. His son, playing the squeeze-box, sits to his right. To his left sit two dark-haired brothers, one playing the bodhran (Irish drum, pronounced bow-rawn) and one occasionally playing guitar. Next to them, another guitar player, then, a new addition tonight, a tin whistle player. Throughout the evening other instruments will be pulled out, including a banjo, and instruments change hands, with most of the players showing incredible skill with several different instruments.
The music starts with some instrumental tunes, the musicians and the crowd tossing out requests and suggestions. The bar crowd gets quiet, most of them being here for the music, and noisy patrons are shushed if needed. The whole evening has the informal feel of a gathering in your living room, which I think is an apt description of the place pubs hold in Irish society - they are the gathering place, the community center, for many small towns. Between songs, there is a lot of chatter, most especially the musicians giving each other a hard time.
After the musicians are warmed up, the floor is opened to singers. The crowd is often varied, with ages from 18 to 80 common. There seems to be an unwritten hierarchy in the order of singing, no doubt worked out over many years among the regulars, but anyone and everyone who wants to offer a song, a story or a joke is welcome. Even newcomers are respectfully invited and even gently prodded to sing, but without any expectations. Yes, we’ve been asked at several gatherings, and no, we haven’t. There is a wide range of talents on display, and everyone is given quiet while singing and rousing applause when done. Youngsters are encouraged and supported in their singing, as one of the goals of nights such as this is preservation of the long Irish tradition of singing and storytelling. Some folks sing a capella, while the band sometimes joins in, and often the entire crowd joins in on the chorus (yes, we are learning).
The songs sung often tell stories, often about the history of Ireland, of emigration, of hardship, travel and adventure. Many of these songs have been sung for hundreds of years. The display of emotion is something to see, the crowd getting riled up with old battle songs, quieting down with songs of long-lost loves. We’ve seen one gentleman with a beautiful, clear voice sing songs a capella on two occasions that ended with older ladies in the crowd with tears in their eyes.
To me, this is truly much of the best of Ireland condensed into one evening - a strong sense of community, of history, the importance of keeping tradition alive, and simple, absolute fun. I’m not even close to being equal to capturing the spirit here. Let me just say that if you come to visit, we’ll be heading for O’Neill’s or another trad session - and that alone will make your trip worthwhile.