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LOVELY BOOZER, A QUALITY PINT BUT AT A PRICE!

Expensive porter had the Old Commando cryin' in his pint

McHUGH'S, GRATTEN STREET, SLIGO

WHEN we leave the pale and head for the sticks - one thing we are always conscious of is the cheaper pints.

The Old Commando once said that the price never really worries him once the quality is good - yet he is the first to complain if he thinks it's too expensive.

He was delighted recently on a visit to Athenry, to find his pint costing just €3.60.

So you can imagine how he 'jumped' and 'swore blind' when he was asked to fork out €4.40 for a pint of Guinness in Sligo.

"But it's a big town," said another of the Commandos, trying to calm him down.

"I don't give a damn about the size of the town. The size of the pint is the same and the quality is the same and it came from the same brewery. So, if it's €3.60 in Athenry why is it €4.40 in Sligo?," he shouted.

Busy

We told him that we didn't know, that we had no intentions of asking why and we'd all appreciate it if he'd calm down.

We were in McHugh's in Gratten Street in the centre of this very busy town of Sligo.

The Young Commando stuck his nose in to say that he had read a survey one time on grocery prices and that Sligo was one of the most expensive towns in Ireland.

The Old Commnado eventually calmed a bit before declaring, that although the pint was expensive he would concede that the quality of the porter was very good.

"But not any better than Athenry," he added.

When we had that sorted out the designated driver thought that €2.70 for a bottle of water was outrageous.

The Commandos thought there was a mighty atmosphere in McHugh's and the punters, mostly young males, were really enjoying themselves in what appears to be one of the most-popular bars in Sligo town.

It is very much a sports bar, with the big screens are all over the place. It is far from being a new pub, but is one of those bars that seem to improve with age.We liked the lighting and we all agreed that their sound system was of a good quality, that carried the sound very evenly without having to have the speakers vibrating on the wall.

The young barmaid and barman were very friendly and engaged in conversation with the Commandos at different stages, but the Old Commando was like a briar, so we kept him away from the counter area. When he's in that mood he's likely to say anything to anyone.

We thought the little permanent tables along the wall, opposite the counter area, were a nice feature and some of the troops settled there.

The Commandos all noticed how well stocked McHugh's pub was and they said it was the sign of a good publican. They also remarked how every single punter in the bar (all young males) were laughing and smiling as if they had just been told they had won the lotto.

This premises is rather long but we confined our stay to the front section and we didn't try upstairs either.The premises provides music and food and it has a lot going for it. The timber floor was clean and we admired the fireplace and over-mantle.

The stainless steel urinal was spotless and the cubicle was clean with a proper door lock. The wall tiles were gleaming and looked as if they are cleaned regularly.

There was toilet paper, liquid soap, a dryer that worked and a condom dispenser.

We really liked McHugh's and we could see why it is so popular.

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