Coming Full Circle: Ennistimon Then and Now

Since 'Full' seems to be the theme for the day...

As I mentioned, near the tail-end of my day yesterday, I stopped off in Ennistimon to revisit the spot where I had arguably the best night of my trip here two years ago, culminating in a fantastic evening of craic at Cooley's House pub downtown.

If you haven't already done your homework, go back and re-read "A nod towards Ennistimon". The most astute of you may recall that this is not my first time back in Ennistimon since I came over here. During my first week when I was staying at The Flowing Tide, I accompanied Bill, Tania and some friends to a gig at The Falls Hotel. I made note of a couple changes and left some questions. But it was night and we only passed through the darkened downtown stretch. This time, I got to walk around again, and was able to get some answers to said questions.

Alright. All caught up now? Right. Moving on....



The More Things Change.

I first took some time to wander the town a bit, making my way over to get a photo of the old Post Office. Slight angle and lighting differences aside, I think these two photos, if nothing else, show the difference in photo quality between my old Nikon and my Canon. The Canon's great for its speed and easily fits in a pocket, but I really think the Nikon's image quality is superior, despite being a much lower megapixel:


2005 - Nikon Coolpix 850
2007 - Canon SD600

Crossing the street from the old post office, I wandered down by the falls for some more comparative photography:

2005
2007
Then, it was back to the main street to check out the places I recalled from before. In the past couple of years, Ireland has introduced some incredibly stiff new legislation to crack down on drunk driving. While that seems great in theory, the sad effect is that it has apparently been decimating Ireland's pub industry, particularly in the small rural towns. It can't be understated what a huge part of Ireland's cultural identity the pub holds. It's not just a bar for drinking, but a place of music, conversation and friendship. It is very much the social hub that brings and holds Irish communities together. I was curious to see what effect it had had in Ennistimon since 2005.

This is what apparently used to be Cagney's Pub. It's possible that it still is, but with no name painted on the sign, there was little indication whether it is still in business or not.



Here is the Fisherman's Rest, formerly The Carrig. Walking by, not being fooled by its much more pleasant exterior demeanor, I only quickly looked inside and saw that it's been completely gutted and re-arranged inside as well. The bar has been moved to the other side of the room, and the interior decor... well, at least there IS interior decor now, and that's change enough.


Fortunately, Cooley's House has not gone anywhere, and has changed little. The Budweiser sign is gone from the outside, and the bright, hand-written neon orange sign proclaiming "Saturday - Folk Songs and Ballads" has been replaced with a bright, hand-written neon green sign proclaiming "Wednesday - Traditional Music".


I stepped inside, and had really hoped to find Joan still standing behind the bar.

But instead, a young guy with curly hair and glasses was standing in her place. The place was nearly empty when I walked in, then those who were there left, and after a bit a few more came in their place.



I pulled myself up to the same bar stool (fourth one up from the bottom of the pic above) I'd sat on that fateful night, and struck up a conversation with the man behind the bar, Jerry. (I'm now convinced, if I weren't already, that there is a town ordinance mandating that all people in Ennistimon must have names starting with 'J'.) He was every bit as friendly as Joan and I started asking about the folks in town that I'd met.

View from "my" stool at Cooley's House
Joan does still work there. I just happened to be in on her night off. Jerry assured me that she remembers just about everyone though, and promised to tell her that the guy from Chicago who played the harmonica there on his birthday--which was also Mother's Day--two years ago stopped in and said 'hi', and he assured me that she'd remember. Jimmy is still around it seems, and as I suspected, the new look and feel of the Fisherman's Rest is nothing but lipstick on the pig still known as 'The Hatchet'.


Mural on the back wall of Cooley's House, depicting largely what it was like by the end of night that I spent here in '05. Sadly, on this trip, I had to get back to Galway, so I only stopped in for one quick pint in the mostly-empty pub.