Book Review
Have Ye
No Homes To Go To?
Andrew O'Gorman, Former Head of the Department of Bar Management in DIT and a past President of the Bartenders Association of Ireland, reviews the recently published 'Have Ye No Homes To Go To? The History of the Irish Pub' by Kevin Martin.
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or better or for worse, the pub has long been a focal point in Irish society. In many ways, the story of the Irish pub is the story of Ireland itself. You will read, with interest, many and varied topics in this publication, including how the pub
came to be regulated from the 17th century, the history of the temperance movement in Ireland and its effect on society and the pub, and the ‘special exemptions’ for certain pubs: spirit grocers, bona fides and early houses. The role of pubs in the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence is also explored, as is the history of music in pubs, the revival of traditional music sessions in the 20th century, the growth of live music, and the ‘lounge bar.’ Looking at the Irish pub's more recent history, the publication addresses the development of the Irish gay bar, the cultural attitude of Irish society towards alcohol, and the social significance of the pub as a ‘third place’ removed from both home and work. Cultural representations of the Irish pub in cinema, television and literature are also explored, and Kevin Martin looks at the role the pub played in the lives of the 'bachelor class' of rural Ireland and in the lives of Irish emigrants in the US, UK and Australia. The commodification and export of the Irish pub is examined and the book looks at the current state of the Irish pub and what the future holds.
The Dublin Literary Pub Crawl guides participants to the hostelries most associated with Irish men of letters, but it is also a walk through Ireland’s history, proving (if proof were needed) how inextricably linked the Irish pub is with Irish life. The Normans were wine lovers and imported the best of wines from their homeland. Occasionally they held wine tasting events when new stock was imported and, over time, began to sell the surplus at the point of storage. Winetavern Street in Dublin was the main centre of distribution and retail.
Women & Pubs The Great Parchment Book of Waterford: Liber Antiquissimus Civitatis Waterfordiae contains records of the city from 1356 to 1649. It includes a passage on the ‘abhomynable trade of horedom’ most associated with female servants in taverns. In 1604 a law was enacted that no woman of any ‘qualitie or degree’ could retail drink within the city. The Dublin Committee of Drunkenness 1798 stated: ‘If whiskey produces brutish rebels among men, among women it destroys all feminine modesty, producing viragos and sluts’. In 1846 a Mrs. Cassidy
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