Matters of PUBlic Interest

BY LLOYD GORMAN

FOXY JOHNNY

It’s always good to walk into a pub and be greeted by a familiar and friendly face, and that is exactly what punters will get with Johnny Fox’s in Northbridge, the reincarnated Rosie O’Grady’s. Paul Moloney has been a fixture of the Irish pub trade and multiple venues around Perth – and before that back in his native Dublin – for some time now, but the opening of Johnny Fox’s in early February represents the pinnacle of his career as a publican. He and his business partner want to share his vision of a great local with everyone who walks through the door of the James Street venue. His arrival as a co-owner of Johnny Fox’s with Clint Nolan of Lavish Habits has been a long time in the making. Paul can trace his pedigree back to some of Dublin’s most iconic and famous public houses. “I went into hospitality when I was 15,” Paul told Irish Scene. “From my Junior Cert to Leaving Cert I was always working in pubs at the weekend and I just loved it, the atmosphere, the craic and everything about it. And it runs in the family. My grandmother used to run Mulligans in Poolbeg Street and she lived above the pub for years, and my father was a lounge boy and then a bar man there too. I used to go there a lot and there was a bartender there who knew my grandmother and he always remembered me after the first time I went there. I also had an uncle who worked in Davy Byrnes in Grafton Street, so it runs deep in my family’s history.” Paul’s ambitions of becoming an architect were quickly supplanted by his true calling. “I dropped out of college where I was studying architecture to become a bartender full time”. He went on to study the hospitality at DIT in Cathal Brugha and Mountjoy Square which gave him a good grounding in the theory and practicals of the occupation. “When I was working as a bartender it was considered a trade. I was doing my apprenticeship and I was a part of the union. I had a head bartender who was training me so I went into it full on and enjoyed it.”

Left: A familiar face around the Perth pub scene – Paul Moloney behind the bar at the new Johnny Fox’s. Above: Mulligans in Poolbeg Street, once run by Paul’s grandmother.

Paul cut his teeth as an apprentice at the Lord Mayors and then the Carnegie Court Hotel in Swords, before going to a brand new establishment The Old Borough which he helped open ‘from the ground up’. His first few years in the sector saw things go from boom to bust. “The pub where I was assistant manager had eight full time bartenders but then we lost six of them and they were never replaced, it was just the way things were going, slowing down. It was

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46 Paul outside Johnny Fox’s Irish bar in Northbridge

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2012 and Ireland was in its slump. There was something like a pub a day closing down at the time. Because it was a career move for me, I had to look somewhere else to guarantee I had work and then Australia came up in the Evening Herald while I was sitting in the pub having a pint. So I applied for the job in Perth and came out to manage The Shed.” Paul was with The Shed for three years before he joined Lavish Habits under his then-boss and now partner Clint Nolan. “My first role with Clint was opening Joe’s Juice Joint and then Alabama Song, and then I put him in touch with the old owners of The Shed when it was on its way down and he hooked up with them and ended up taking that on and turned it into Henry Summer.” Paul ran the rebranded Shed for a couple of years. It was during his time there that he was approached by the Ark Group to open The Galway Hooker. “That gave me a great opportunity, something I had wanted to do was get involved with an Irish bar over here and put my hand to what I was most used to at home,” he said. “Going to work for the Ark Group wasn’t something I was expecting to do because I loved working for Lavish Habits and for Clint. I learned a lot from him but I took the chance to go to Scarborough and get the Galway Hooker up and running.” Anyone who has been to the Scarborough watering hole will know how popular the locale is, having gone from being an empty shell to a vibrant, purpose built Irish pub and proved to be a hit with Irish folk, tourists and the wider community alike (the Galway Hooker will celebrate its third birthday later this year – more of that in a later edition). Paul left his job with Clint on good terms and this left the door open for the two men to join forces later in a new venture that both of them had at the back of their minds for some time. “When I was leaving I told Clint that I’d love to work with him again and we shook hands. Then when this place came on the market he called me and said “do you remember you mentioned Rosie O’Gradys a few times and that you would like to have a look at it if it ever came up for sale?” and it did, so we had a look and put an offer in and

Above: Irish Club’s new entrance. Finishing touches still to come

KNOCK KNOCK OPEN WIDE

The first thing that will strike anyone who has dropped into the Irish Club in Subiaco in recent weeks is the revamped entrance to the building. New glass panel doors – complete with etchings of the Club logo and the like – painted a nice clean white have replaced the solid brown wooden doors that have been there for an age. They make quite a difference to the facade of the club’s Townshend Road premises and also opens the venue up in a sense to the wider community and passerbys who no longer need to be curious about what’s on the other side of those forbidding wooden doors. The update is also another sign that the club is on the mend and improving thanks to the tireless efforts of the committee, supporters and members themselves. And a little bird tells Irish Scene that the enhancements won’t stop there.

ROUND ONE TO RIC’S

Congratulations to Ric O’Shea’s Irish pub in Fremantle on winning the competition to grace the cover page of this edition of Irish Scene, just pipping the crew and customers of Paddy Malone’s in Joondalup for the honour. No doubt the boys and girls at Paddy’s (who put in a great effort above) will want to try to settle the score the next time we run the competition. Thanks to everyone who made the effort to take part. While Paddy’s will be well known to many people in the northern suburbs and further afield, Ric’s might be a new name for some. The pub – inside the Beaconsfield Hotel – opened its doors shortly before Paddy’s Day last year and like every other pub, bar and restaurant, it quickly fell victim to the pandemic and lockdown. It’s been such a turbulent 12 months for Scott and his gang at Ric’s that they postponed their official opening until this month. No doubt it will be a big night/weekend for the new arrival and its staff and customers.

here we are.” There were other competitors in the race for Rosie’s, but Clint and Paul were the strongest contenders. “I think there were three or four interested parties but whether they met the lease agreements or the terms I’m not sure, but I think we were just the ideal candidate. Brockwell had it for 30 years and we came in and had a chat with him about taking over and what they have here and all the rest. They said they were delighted it was going to remain an Irish pub because I think some of the other parties were thinking of turning it into a brewery. So I don’t know whether Brockwell had an influence but he said it would be sad to see it change from what it was after he put 30 years into it. And it’s in such an iconic building and is an institution for the Irish and it is one of the top three pubs in Perth that people go to when they come here. So we’re very greatful for all the help Brockwell and Scotty gave us in the transition and the legacy they’ve left is outstanding and a credit to them and the Irish community hold them very dear, we hope we

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can continue on with that. I don’t want to change up something that’s already beautifully established, I want to keep the heart pumping but maybe a little bit stronger. We could have gone down all these different avenues with the venue but its already got 30 years of beautiful history and heritage and we want to continue that. We hope to be here 15 years, that’s what we’ve signed for.” The changes that will be made will all restore a little more heritage to the venue. The new name is a partly based on one of Ireland’s most famous pubs – Johnny Foxes – in the Dublin Mountains, the backyard to the Irish capital and Paul’s proud county. But the name is also a tribute to another Dublin legend, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy fame. “Phil Lynott is my favourite musician of all time and he had an album (his seventh) called Johnny the Fox, so its also about that. We’re re-opening opening the Boston – the live entertainment room at the back of the pub – as Lynott’s Lounge after we’ve upgraded the stage, sound system and lights and all that and you might even see a portrait of him.”

JACK’S BAR

As we saw in the last edition of Irish Scene (“30th anniversary a blast”) it was a great night in the Geraldton Mid West Irish Club when the members and friends were able to finally get around to celebrate the third decade of Left: Jack Regan. Above: His namesake bar at the Mid West Irish Club in Geraldton

its establishment late last year. Central to the club getting off the ground in the first place was one Jack Regan. In recognition of the original and ongoing contribution made by the past president, a plaque for Regan’s Bar was unveiled on the night, a well deserved honour for the Irishman. Sadly, the following note was posted on the club’s facebook page on February 4. “Yesterday... at 3.30pm Australia, Ireland and the Midwest Irish Club lost one of the greatest men who ever walked on this earth,” the statement said. “Jack Regan former president of the Midwest Irish Club (25 years) sadly passed away at his family’s side in the afternoon. It is with deepest sorrow I am writing this post as Jack to myself and to many other people seemed like he would live forever. Jack moved to Australia many years ago from Ireland and was a great family man. He was always a great listener, advisor and mentor to people through their life. Jack was a massive west coast eagles fan, hated the Dockers and liked nothing more than having a little Tullamore Dew watching the footy. We will miss him dearly and would like to offer up our condolences and deepest sympathies to his family at this very sad time. May you Rest In Peace mo chara daor.” When the Broken Pokers – who provided the entertainment for the anniversary night but who also play there regularly (including most recently in late February) – got the news of his demise, they played a touching version of that most appropriate song ‘The Parting Glass’ for him during their online show. The funeral mass for Jack was held on February 25 at St

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Lawrence Church Bluff Point, and for the wake the mourners retired to the club house and his bar where many drinks were toasted in his honour. Vale Jack!

FANNY MCGEE’S CRAIC STRIPPED BARE!

The charming traditional Irish styled facade of Fanny McGee’s Craic at the Jarrah Bar and Cafe in Hillarys was begrudingly whitewashed back to being a blank bland wall in late February. Owner Wes Darcy, originally from Wicklow, went on Facebook and later Channel 9 news to explain why he was forced to remove the decorative red framed windows, planter boxes and even the sign for the name of the snug little bar from view. The directive came from the Department of Transport, which operates Hillarys Boat Harbour. “I feel what we’ve done in Jarrah Bar and Cafe for the community is really nice,” he said. “We’ve taken some culture from down the generations and generations and applied that in how we fit out the business and how we behave as a business. We have done a really nice job of the little bar here, we’ve painted it red, put a sign on it and some planter boxes with reticulation and we actually clean up the car park every morning too, paper, bottles rubbish.” Despite all this and adding to the vibrancy and attractiveness of Hillarys Boat Harbour, not everyone appreciated it in the same way. “During the latest lockdown, the Department of Transport’s latest dictatorship approach was to remove and clean up any of the artistic or creative differences that we’ve made to what was the back of a building that was a bin shed, which you have to look at from the community side of Hillarys. We’ve been told to paint the red white even though they gave us approval to paint the building and to paint the windows, and to remove the reticulated planter boxes. We’ve been instructed too to take down the sign which was painted by local artist by Dean Devilliers who did a Top: The original red and white facade of Fanny McGee’s, which has now been repainted all white (centre). Above: Jarrah Bar owner Wes Darcy being interviewed by Channel 9

lot of our painting inside, including a massive black and white mural of the St. Jame’s Gates entrance to the Guinness brewery in Dublin.” Even a sign with a flower plant on it at the front of Jarrah Bar – created by his brother Garth who is a film set desinger – was to be “ripped out”. The ramficiations for not complying were severe, Wes – who is also a co-owner of the Mullaloo Beach Hotel – was warned. “The threats were they would breach our lease and master lease on the building unless we rip this down,” he added. “We feel this is very unfair to do this to us particularly at this time, even if they had of waited to give us time to get back up on our feet there might have been something to take from this.” The works were an extra expense on the buisness which had been hit again recently during the snap five day lockdown. He said it felt like his business was being targeted because there were “all sorts of signs and all sorts of colour” used in other sections of the marina, and the design guidelines for the precinct were over 20 years old. Wes said he wasn’t sure what the right solution was but found it hard to believe that the government department that licences boats was the right one to understand the needs of businesses. The department’s Director Coastal Facilities Donna West responded to questions from Irish Scene. “The Department of Transport (DoT) manages Hillarys Boat Harbour as it is a state government managed asset for the community, and has established approval and communication processes in place for building modifications to ensure public safety,” she said. “DoT is working with the building owner and its tenant, Jarrah Bar and Café, to resolve this issue.” At time of going to press, Irish Scene understands that Premier Mark McGowan was due to visit the venue and meet with Mr Darcy to discuss the situation. Hopefully, as the next story shows the intervention of the state’s most senior political figure (the McGowan government is currently in caretaker mode) who has prides himself on his “common sense approach” will help move the situation along and give Fanny’s its character and personality back.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

The Fanny McGee’s situation brings to mind a similar crazy debacle that another Irish pub and publican in Perth found themselves in, exactly five years ago this February! What was meant to be a routine inspection of JB O’Reilly’s paperwork to sell tobacco escalated into an example of bureaucratic overzealousness that was only knocked on the head when the then-Premier Colin Barnett stepped in. The debacle began when an official from the Environmental Health Directorate carried out an inspection at the premises, which sold cigars but not cigarettes. He found everything to be in order and was on the way out of the Cambridge Street premises when he noticed the vintage signs on the walls for old tobacco brands. The old fashioned signs had been up on the walls during every other inspection since the opening of the venue 23 years earlier, but on this occasion the official took umbrage with them, deeming them to be a breach of the strict rules stopping the advertising of tobacco products. At first JB’s owner Paul North probably thought this guy was having a lend of him. But before he knew it, the flabbergasted publican was on the sharp end of a Tobacco Controls Act 2006 breach order and told he had 14 days to take down 24 offending signs or face a hefty fine. Paul – who described himself to me as “vehemently anti-smoking myself” – had stopped selling cigarettes well over a year earlier and said JB’s was one of the few pubs in Perth where you couldn’t buy smokes. “They are all antique and original signs from Ireland, England and Australia for cigarette brands that no longer exist,” he explained further. “I've paid thousands of dollars for individual signs, one of a sailor in a Gold Flake ad cost me $3000 alone. You wouldn't do that to advertise cigarettes. They are part of our history, pieces of art and part of our culture and that is what people want when they come somewhere like JB's, they want nostalgia. They are trying to rewrite history, you can’t tell me that they would encourage anyone to smoke today.” Paul dug his heels in for a fight and even spoke about taking it to the High Court of Australia if necessary. In a way it is a pity it didn’t reach the highest court in the land. It would have had all the makings of an Irish version of The Castle. The story first broke on the Rumour File on 6PR in 2016, and was quickly pounced on by the main news outlets and TV stations first in WA and then across Australia. It created a sensation, the kind of publicity money can’t buy. The whole affair died as quickly as it had started when the premier was asked about it at a press conference and called it ridiculous.

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“They are collectors pieces, they show an era gone by,” Mr Barnett told reporters. “It is not promoting smoking or selling cigarettes and if that's the way they want to decorate their pub, good on them. This is where there has been a lack of common sense. I am overruling it. They can keep their decorations. If they have old tin images of smoking and cigarette promotions from a bygone era – if that’s the way they decorate their pub, they are totally entitled to do it. We just need to apply common sense here. That is, the decorations of the hotel are not promoting smoking or marketing or selling cigarettes, so I don’t have any difficulty with that at all.” Shortly after that, the action against JB’s was dropped and Paul and his team were free to concentrate on getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day that year.

SKIPPY STRAYS INTO AN ‘IRISH’ PUB!

It sounds like the opening line of a bad joke but that was the setting for a short video clip posted on Tik Tok in late February that went viral on social media and then in traditional media outlets. Katie Hutton (aka cardqueenkatie) who works at the John Forrest National Park Tavern, posted the brief clip showing Matt the kangaroo hop in through a door and make himself at home in the premises. “I keep telling you mate, you can’t come behind the bar, you don’t work here,” Katie can be heard telling the very familiar and friendly creature in the clip on the social media platform. While it was a just another typical day at the pub, the video caught the imagination of people everywhere and was watched by over 11 million has no intention of giving up her job at the tavern for a career as a social media influencer. “I love working there its the best job I ever had never... I’d much prefer everyone come and meet me for a drink in the pub,” the down-to-earth bar worker said. within 24 hours of going online and spawned a raft of There is an Irish angle to this story. The tavern is mock and copy cat owned by one Tom Fitzgerald, who is originally versions. from Patrickswell, Limerick. He bought the “Basically I just had a slow Monday at work and decided to make a video,” Katie told Gareth Parker on 6PR on February 25. “Because my husband goes on about Tik Tok so business in 1998 and he retired about 18 months ago, but the watering hole is run today by his daughter Megan. Tom is more than familiar with the copious number of kangaroos who occupy the national park. “Not that we want them coming into the pub and going behind the bar exactly but they are all around the place. Its great for tourists if they are sitting there and see them come through, its something they won’t forget,” Tom said. much so yeah, I In his time Tom marked every St. Patrick’s Day Above: The cheeky kangaroo hopping in the John Forrest National Park Tavern made him a video to have a little bit of a with a generous special drinks promotion. Irish Scene hopes to catch up with Tom for a laugh at work.” She proper chat in the near future and find out more shared it with about a dozen people and could not have about his pub, which is only one of two taverns expected it to take off and be watched by so many people in a national park in the whole of Australia (the around the world. Despite the success of the video, she other just happens to be in Yanchep!)

Above: Paul North, owner of JB O’Reilly’s, famous for its vintage signs, including advertisements for cigarettes. Image courtesy POST Newspapers