Dennehy’s Corner in Rathmore serves us some up Kerry cheap pints at just €4.70

AN almost seven-hour round trip from HQ to our latest destination had some of the Commandos complaining.

“Will you book a hotel in future?” the Young Commando whinged.

“We’re going to have to make five or ten bathrooms stops on the way back,” he continued.

“Sure there are no hotels in the country available. Ireland is closed for tourism,” the Old Commando replied.

Our designated driver said he would look into securing us a camper van if we’re undertaking any more ventures to Kerry in 2023, but one thing that did have our Commandos excited was the prospect of visiting Rathmore in East Kerry, a small town we’d never set foot in.

Over the past 50 years Pub Spy has been in every corner of the country but somehow, for this particular group of Commandos, we’ve never been to Rathmore.

A small area of less than 1,00 people, Rathmore has produced some very talented GAA players over the years, and although the Young Commando was more familiar with Aidan O’Mahony’s dance moves than his footballing skills, we assured him the five time All-Ireland winner was just as handy with a football.

When we arrived in the small town everything looked very quiet. The streets were almost deserted and we wondered if pubs would be open.

We parked our pub-mobile across from Dennehy’s Corner and as we approached the building we could hear the noise coming from the front bar. “The streets are empty but the pubs are full, that’s the way to have it,” the Young Commando joked.

We were served as soon as we stepped inside the front door by a barman with a beard who was sporting a Kerry GAA top, the standard uniform of bar staff in the Kingdom, and the Old Commando was instantly on cloud nine when he discovered that pints of Guinness cost just €4.70. Since the recent Diageo price hikes this was the cheapest pint we’ve come across, so it was a great start to our Kerry adventure.

“I’ve always said it. You should always have change from a fiver for a pint of Guinness,” the Old Commando said as he wiped the cream from his upper lip.

There are pints of Coors available for €5 or Carling for €4.50 and the barman was kept on his toes throughout our stay.

Both sections of the bar were very busy and there was a brilliant atmosphere as the locals discussed Kerry’s latest Munster triumph.

There are multiple photos of the 2022 Kerry football team celebrating their All-Ireland title success last year as well as the local Rathmore GAA team that won the All Ireland club Intermediate championship in January.

We were caught by surprise to see so many Cork flags draped from the ceiling, but it’s quite a neighbourly gesture.

The red velvet bench seating and barstools were in decent condition and there was a large screen TV at the front window where we sat. We enjoyed the atmosphere but we didn’t engage much with the locals as the language barrier was an issue. We couldn’t understand a word they were saying!

The Young Commando reported that there are gaming machines and a dart board at the rear of the bar and he told us the toilets were in need of attention.

There was a strong smell of smoke, cigarette butts on the floor, there was no toilet seat in the cubicle and the toilet roll holder was broken off the wall.

With the exception of the toilets, we liked this boozer and had a good time with some reasonably cheap porter and a lively (although difficult to understand) clientele.

Rating: Three pints out of Five

One for the road…

The Bridge Bar – Rathmore, Co Kerry

Located on the edge of town, we discovered this wonderful boozer by pure luck and we were so happy we did.

The car park was full, always a good sign, and there were plenty of young female customers sitting in the beer garden at the rear. The vast majority of customers inside the pub were male and there was a blonde barmaid on duty.

The shelves and fridges were fully stocked and we noticed a Danny Healy Rae calendar behind the counter. Framed jerseys belonging to local legends Aidan O’Mahony and Shane Ryan hang in the bar with plenty of Liverpool football club photos too. The pub is exceptionally clean.

There are at least three TVs, a dart board and a gaming machine.

There was a terrific atmosphere as the locals discussed everything Kerry GAA related and the toilets check out just fine. This is certainly one of the more memorable pubs we’ve visited in 2023 so far.

Rating: Four pints out of Five