NAAS PLACE FOR A PINT

TRADITION has it that St Patrick was a regular visitor to Naas, County Kildare.

Pub Spy and his Commandos were privileged to follow in the footsteps of our Patron Saint.

The purpose of our visit was a little different than that of the good saint: we had decided on a pre-St Patrick's Day shamrock wetting.

If the holy man received even half the warm welcome that we received, then it is no surprise that he returned time and time again to the area, where he also carried out baptisms at Sunday's Well near Millbrook.

Like most towns of its size around the country, Naas got a belt of the recession.

Local publicans will admit openly that business is 'very quiet'. They say that pre-Christmas, usually a boom time, was disastrously quiet because of the bad weather - and that continues into the New Year. And when the Commandos called, some locals were discussing the arrival of Lent - hardly a good time for porter shops.

But the dark cloud often has a silver lining, and on that score local pubs are optimistic about St Patrick's Day and thereafter. A smashing local publican who has spent a lifetime in the business, said things were always quiet in the early part of the year.

The Commandos had an excellent choice of pubs but they picked out their selection on an evening ramble through the main street, that stretches from Murtagh's Corner at one end right down to Grace's Pub and Restaurant at the other.

And they vowed that they would return, as they did not get to visit exciting spots like Hayden's, which has an excellent reputation, and a pub that carries the wonderfullyquaint name of Butt Mullins.

It was the superb quality of the pint that most impressed the Commandos. Fletcher's is a marvellous oldtime pub that dates back to the 1800s.

McCormack's is a great spot for the more mature of Naas and surrounds. Terrific porter, a mostly male and very chatty clientele and a real gent behind the bar.

Then there is Murtagh's Corner Pub, formerly Finan's, a huge establishment that doesn't shirk on quality and good taste.

The final pit-stop was Grace's Pub and Restaurant, another gigantic pub that sells drink and food and specialises in entertainment.

A little complaint in the latter. The fiancée of one of the Commandos who got a rare dispensation to travel with the boys was charged €3.10 for a glass of old Uncle Arthur. She wasn't a happy bunny!

Pub Spy and his loyal servants dubbed the mini pubcrawl in Naas the best they had experienced in a long time. The natives were unbelievably friendly, the porter was top drawer and there was a good mix of pub on the short tour.

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MURTAGH'S CORNER, FAIR GREEN STREET, NAAS.

THIS establishment stands proudly at what is called Fair Green Street. As you face it from the local courthouse area in the centre of Naas town, it looks quite impressive.

The creamy porter served up by a smiling, friendly and quite chatty barman - later to be identified as the owner - warmed the hearts and bodies of the Commandos.

The main bar area was but a fraction of the space available at Murtagh's Corner, a pub that sells itself well.

Large, beautifully-colourful posters reminded that facilities were always available for birthday parties and that management would reduce the price of all drinks to €3 for the first hour of festivities.

The pint of porter was out of this world. It was simply gorgeous, lip-smacking stuff and was close to being perfect. It was superb value too at €3.95. The ladies and gents toilets, that adjoin the bar, were in excellent shape.

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GRACE'S, NORTH MAIN STREET, NAAS

FROM the outside, Grace's looks to be a rather small pub - but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a large establishment that has a name locally for good food and drink.

Good numbers were enjoying the grub and others were relaxing with pints of Guinness after a hard week's work.

A young man and a young woman dispensed the porter, which once more did its bit for the reputation of the Naas pint. The stout was superbly creamy and there were no complaints, despite the fact that the Commandos were now drinking a €4 pint.

Our female companion was not happy. She felt that €3.10 for a half pint of stout was a bit Irish!

But apart from that small moan, there was no other reason to fault a premises that was set to rock for the night as big numbers of young people joined the celebrations.

The pub is well run and has first-class toilet facilities.

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