86) Fallon's, John, ‘The Capstan Bar’ of New Row South and The Coombe, D8
Fine old establishment across from St. Patrick's Cathedral which can be admired through one of the windows and is a veritable Ithaca every festive season in the aftermath of the carols. The said window is above a high wooden partition which causes many patrons to stand on their tippy toes as they peer over to see the splendour of the cathedral from the warmth of the pub. As a result, this particular area has been named ‘Meerkat Corner.’ Grab the snug if you can – great spot for a hot date with a foxy chick. While it has a hatch to the bar and is small and private – it doesn’t have the all-important door rendering it a false snug. This makes it all the more daring to fool around with foxy chick. Directly above Meerkat Corner is a most unusual photograph of a bride and groom affixed to the ceiling. Rumour has it that a certain customer (who was very fond of it) would take so much booze that he would often fall over, and while lying on the flat of his back would look up only to see the photo of his darling wife, suddenly sober, rise to his feet and start immediately homeward bound.
The bar can quickly reach capacity given its small square footage. It makes a claim to be a ‘select bar.’ The Guinness stout is salubrious. At a better time it was a Beamish Bonder, evidence of this is on the Beamish bodhrán perched behind the bar. There’s an emphasis on wood, and floorboards are wonky to say the very least. Stephens, moderately sober and ginger on his pegs, was once walking back to his table carrying two freshly poured pints for Messrs Saunders and Coll. In so doing, the tip of his right toecap came into contact with the lip of a partially raised timber floorboard where, an infinitesimal but sensible fraction of a second later, he unintentionally jettisoned the intoxicant over the surface of the rectangular tabletop. Miraculously, the aftermath saw nobody soiled with the sticky medicament and the barman was forthcoming with mop and cloth and even replaced the lamented pints after some skillful negotiations by Saunders. Hallelujah! - no radio plays, and no TV blares (save for certain seldom special sporting events). A fire offers intrigue.
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