Not me. You were happy enough to tell me what me and my "ilk" think though. Your perception of the Irish pub is very very different to the grim reality of the situation but this thread should be to rejoice in the hilarity of Union Jack hating Paddy.
****, I don't know. I can just say the names of ones I would have drank in regularly-ish. Very few of them would have been "Irish" pubs. Some would have been Irish owned. others would have a large Irish clientele. Especially in the summers to watch the GAA in the era before you could get it in the house.
I only lived in London for 2 years and that was 20 years ago so I won't even attempt to answer that question. I can give you my top 10 for North Hertfordshire or North Cambridgeshire if you're interested.
North Cambs: Letter B (Whittlesey) The Boat (Whittlesey) Georges (March) Hubs Place (Whittlesey) The George (Whittlesey) New Crown (Whittlesey) Three Horseshoes (Turves) Bricklayers Arms (Whittlesey) (heard it's just closed down) Black Bull (Whittlesey) Carpenters Arms (Coates) (the actual, for real, worst pub in England, goes to show how few I go in)
Irish Pubs inflate their prices and are full of English people trying to watch the Premier League. I prefer little local dives where the pints are cheaper and you meet normal people.
It's been a while now but the pubs I frequented are probably all gone now: The Stags Head,Camden (gone) Dublin Castle,Parkway (footie shirt sponsors) Filthy McNasties,Islington Blackstock Arms,Finsbury Park(great for lock-ins) and some decent pubs on Upper St and in Hampstead and even at one time Archway Tavern for a game of pool
The Archway Tavern is still there, but it's now called "Dusk til Dawn". They still have bands in the back bar, but I think the nightclub upstairs is gone. All the pubs around Blackstock Road are still rough as ****. Wouldn't know about Camden, I avoid it now. It's like DisneyWorld for junkies.
I would have had the odd pint in most of those at one time or another. I drank quite a bit across the street from the Blackstock in the Finsbury Park Tavern (now the 12 Pins) and was in the Archway every week as a kid. When you say a game of pool in there do you mean the snooker room up the stairs? That became a nightclub called Cheekos and you needed shoes to get in..... Ffs . Classy establishment. The burger van outside hired out shoes for those poor misfortunes sans shoes.
"Dusk til Dawn"haha ffs that pub used to cash cheques for the Irish building workers who had no bank accounts,charge them for it and poor sods would hand it back over the bar,the publicans in league with the gangers or were the same person.Are all the Irish people who ran/owned pubs in North London gone?
There was a Western Union Credit window in the front bar til quite recently. Big money used to change hands round the pool tables, but I haven't been in for years. Doubt it still does. All the Irish owned pubs in Wood Green and Palmers Green are gone. The Fishmonger/***ins is now the cop shop (really), The Nightingale is flats, The Cock/Manhattans failed as a Polish Sports Bar and is now a supermarket. No money in pubs in London anymore, the smoking ban was the final nail.
The Fishmongers, ***ins, O'Rafferty's was where the Small Faces plaed their first gig I think. Across the street was the Kings which usd to be a big Irish pub as well. i can't remember the name of the club upstairs but is that not now a strip club? The admiral Nelson used to be and the one across the street from that had more Irish names than you could think of. The sainsbury's on Holloway road used to be a massive Irish club way back when. The Inn on the green is still Irish owned and I think the Fox is as well. Not sure on that though.
All those pubs are ****, i used to live opposite the Eaglet on 7 sisters rd it is where old Irish people go to die... Strangely enough my favourite is Big Reds a goth pub with pool tables, it`s fun playing weirdos with tattoos and face jewellery at pool plus the birds dress dirty.. please log in to view this image The depressing Eaglet please log in to view this image
