Friday, 2 February 2024

S0286 Igo Inn

Ah, a pub with a pun name. We don't get that many of them in Ireland.

Or do we? The previous pub could count - Lough Inn... Lock In? It is a locational name, but still.

Anyway, the Igo Inn appears to have been called this for a very, very long time. It was one of the note "bona fides", pubs with the ability to sell alcohol after hours to those who were considered en-route to somewhere else. Much the same as the provision that still exists for airport and railway station bars as well as on trains (when they have bar services, something very scant since the pandemic), planes and boats. Sam at Come Here To Me has covered this topic well already.

The first newspaper reference to the name I can find is 1932, in an advert cleverly placed below those for cinemas and dance halls - making a point of how it could serve you late if you'd come all the way from the city, without ever saying as such

Evening Herald, October 17th, 1932


Its quite a big pub these days, a far cry from its apparent size shortly after the bona fide era, although it is actually recognisable as the building from that photo to this day.

This was the busiest pub I'd been in since, well, Christmas; although there were plenty of seats in the front corner of the bar, an area that seemed to be more reserved for those watching the racing rather than those watching rugby or football in the rest of the pub.

It was a tad hard to actually get *to* the bar to order here, due to seats being placed near it and a row of bar stools along the length; but I was able to get my pint regardless. This was semi-swiftly drunk in the aforementioned racing corner, as I was very much bus bound for timing on this trip and had the option of drinking one fast or two slowly; and slowly would cut the potential number of ticks.

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