Come Here To Me!

Lucan in ye olde times.

I keep getting it wrong.

It’s Taiwan, not Thailand.Josef Fritzl went on holidays to Thailand, and Taiwan is an island that is an economic powerhouse and home to many multinational corporations and banks. A good friend is off there for a year or so soon, and he’s not the only one at the table tonight off on an adventure.

Two are heading Stateside. In true Irish fashion, they’re in the pub the night before flying out. There’s a sort of ‘last supper’ feeling to all this, as by the time those two return from America, my other friend will be settling into life in Thailand. Sorry, Taiwan. He’ll be settling into life in Taiwan. Another friend is determined to go one better than that, and is off to Ghana. I’ve no plans of leaving west Dublin for the forseeable future, so this is a surreal night.

We’ve had a few here but. In fact, Kenny’s has almost been adopted as our ‘meet up place’, a group of close secondary school comrades too stubborn to move on and talk to anyone in college. Why would you? We know and trust each other enough. Lucan village boasts several pubs, but we fell for this one.

The pints, it could be them. A table of seasoned Guinness drinkers, all here are more familiar with city centre classic spots like Mulligan’s for a good pint. These are near unfaultable however, and consistent. A few of the more neutral Guinness drinkers tend to follow us here onto the black stuff, which is always a good sign.

We’ve always sat in the lounge, funny as the bar is quite nice and relaxed too and has the sort of regulars suburban pubs can pick up, always filled with the sound of conversation. This pub is here since the late 1960’s, but the lounge has all the hallmarks of recent renovation. It’s nice. There’s not much going on on the walls in terms of display material, but we’re not in a museum in fairness. The televisions, to the credit of the pub, are mute. There is nothing more intolerable in a pub than a blaring television.

I’ve never endured a long wait for a pint in this pub, owing to the presence of a rather large team of staff, on both sites of the counter. One of the worst aspects of the recession as far as pubs are concerned has been the slashing of bar staff, something you’ll notice straight away in some pubs, in the form of waving five Euro notes on one side of a bar and nobody on the other, because the barman is off to change the keg. Kenny’s runs smoothly because they’ve great people on the floor and on the taps, keeping the wheels turning. Handy on a night like this, when nobody fancies getting up for fear of missing an emotional going away speech, the floor staff are forward and back about the pub.

I don’t like talking about ‘the atmosphere’ in pubs, owing to the fact I think your perception of it is greatly influenced by your own company, but there is a nice sort of air in this pub, one I’d compare to Downey’s of Ballyfermot, my favourite pub and another reviewed here in the past. The regular summer traditional music session on a Monday is worth a look, but for me this has always been a ‘Sunday pub’. You know the kind.

At the time of publishing this, some of the above mentioned friends find themselves in America and Ghana. Taiwan is miles off however. There’s at least another night in Kenny’s ahead of us.

Kenny’s- Vesey Arms
7 Main Street, Lucan
West Dublin