Chirpy barman gives a lot more-y in Gorey to the Loch Garman Arms

Unfortunately, there was no sign of the sun and the wiper blades on the car never stopped for the full 80 minute duration of our trip.

The rain was falling heavily and many a man would have opted to stay curled up in the comfort of their own home with their loved ones — but not our Commandos.

They’d brave any elements as long as there’s porter to be drunk and a wife to run away from for a couple of hours — no better men.

It was just over four years since we had set foot in Gorey and our Commandos were all eager for a good night out in a town they’ve come to love over the years.

The Young Commando clapped eyes on the Loch Garman Arms pub and suggested we should check it out. With such miserable weather at the time, we were in no humour to walk the streets and decided we would go with his instinct.

The glass doors at the entrance are engraved Gleeson’s Bar and as we walked through them we were greeted by a young blonde female member of staff.

She offered us some menus or to show us to a table if we were looking for food, but there was only one thing on our menu at the time — porter.

We took our seats at the counter where another young member of staff was on duty and the young barman, who was stocking shelves when we arrived, quickly stood up and served us without delay.

We only had eyes for the pints of Guinness but there are plenty of drinks available on draught such as Birra Moretti, Rockshore and Orchard Thieves alongside the regular beers such as Heineken and ales such as Smithwicks.

The barman engaged us in conversation as he prepared our order and he was very chirpy and full of energy. He kept on the move throughout our stay and something that really impressed the Commandos was that at no point did we find him standing around with his head in a phone.

“Nothing gets me more vexed than the standard of hospitality these days. It’s plummeted since Covid. But that’s a good young man there, I will say. He has the manners and personality required for bar work, maith an fear,” he added.

There was a mixed clientele of all ages throughout the bar and staff were kept going, serving food to a mixture of locals and some American tourists. We counted four TVs in the bar and the brown brick counter and timber worktop looks as good as new.

The grey timber floor and floor tiles are in excellent condition, as are the brown leather barstools and chairs.

A framed and signed Wexford football jersey from 2012 hangs beside the counter and the Young Commando quizzed our Old Commando of the importance of 2012 in Wexford GAA footballing terms.

“They were beaten in the league final by Longford and the Leinster championship quarter final by Dublin, so there wasn’t anything too significant,” he concluded before adding that from 2008-12 Wexford had shown strong signs of improvement, including reaching two Leinster finals and an All-Ireland semi final.

The hurling heroes of 1996 are honoured throughout the bar with team photographs and individual players celebrating the Liam McCarthy cup success.

This pub is a former 2001 Dining Pub of the Year award winner and it is evident that the trade is still going strong.

The toilets were very clean with two cubicles and three beer kegs converted to urinals, and hot water was provided too. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and pints and we’d be more than happy to call again some day.

Rating: Four pints out of Five

One for the road…

The Coach House – Gorey, Co. Wexford

THERE was a decent trade going in The Coach House pub at the bottom of Main Street in Gorey when Pub Spy and the team dropped by for a quick pint.

Most of the customers were dining at the time with a blend of young couples, families and elderly clientele. There was one young barmaid and one young waitress on duty and both were friendly to the customers during our stay.

The solid fuel stove wasn’t lit although it would have been nice given the particularly poor weather conditions lately. We counted at least three TVs and a large projection screen, and while we didn’t have any food ourselves we did notice this pub has been recommended for food by the restaurant guru in 2022.

Parts of the barstools were torn but the timber flooring was swept clean while the toilets were clean and contained three urinals and one cubicle.

Rating: Three pints out of Five