Matters Of Public Interest

BY LLOYD GORMAN

PINT PULLING POLLIES

Politicians make terrible barmen! Every once in a blue moon they show up at a pub, cause a commotion, pull a pint of Guinness, smile for the cameras and disappear as quickly as they came. But more than any other occupation, politicos are encouraged to step behind the bar counter and help themselves to the taps – usually after a bit of advice on technique from an actual bar person who knows what they are doing. The ability to pour a pint like a natural is akin to having an Irish passport (almost). But even if these amateurs don’t pull it properly, it doesn’t really matter. It makes for a great photo opportunity for photographers and TV camera crews, one that overseas or visiting prime ministers and presidents alike seem happy to indulge in given half a chance. A pint of Guinness does make a good prop. But there is a big difference between pulling a pint of plain and drinking it, especially if you are not acquainted with the distinctive taste and texture of the Irish stout. Mark McGowan pulled his pint of the black stuff relatively well but pouring it down his neck appeared to be a bit of a struggle. After making his speech to a packed Irish Club (see page 8) and taking the first big gulp, the premier’s enthusiasm to imbibe the black stuff appeared to wane as he took increasingly small sips (as a non-Guinness drinker this writer can relate Top: WA Premier Mark McGowan showing off his skills behind the bar at the Irish Club. Above: Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke had a reputation as a fun loving beer swiller who could pull his own pint

to the premier’s predicament). McGowan seems to be happy drinking a beer, which is fair enough, each to their own! But a political hero of his appears to have been more comfortable with the famous Irish porter. Before it became a fashionable photo op for heads of state and the like, Bob Hawke was doing it for the craic, as this old photograph shows. In October 1987 the Labor Party leader and Prime Minister – who grew up in and around West Leederville and Perth – made an official visit to Ireland (PM’s Bob Menzies and Gough Whitlam had previously visited before him). Hawke – who had a reputation as being a good old fashioned Aussie Larrakin – can claim something Above: Some other famous politicians with their own fresh pints of the black stuff, clockwise from top left: Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Ronald Reagan

Above: Don ‘The Don’ Marnell, the Guinness Ambassador for Australia at a recent visit to Paddy Malone’s pub in Joondalup that none of his predecessors or successors – or any other politician that comes to mind – can. As a 25 year old student in 1954, he won an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for sculling a yard of ale in 11 seconds, earning him a reputation as a fun loving beer swilling character for the rest of his life. He died on May 16, 2019, aged 90.

MEET THE GUINNESS GURU

Don Marnell knows everything there is to know about the proper way to pour and drink a pint of Guinness. As the Guinness ambassador for Australia, many would argue he has the best job in the world. He goes from place to place and venue to venue sharing his elephantine knowledge of the iconic Irish stout with bar staff and customers alike. On April 9 ‘The Don’ dropped into The National Hotel in Fremantle to bring the ultimate Guinness experience the locals. Karl Bullers, managing director with the National said he was a big hit with the 70 people who attended the event. “Don ran an impromptu Guinness quiz giving away some great merchandise for correct answers, incorrect answers and just for the hell of it,” laughed Karl. “He got around all the tables and shared many

Left: Don brought his Guinness experience to the National Hotel for a fun filled event which included music from local Irish musicians

FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW

The Perth St. Patrick’s Corporate Lunch was held at Crown Casino on March 12, one of a few similar events held across Australia for the special occasion. The local event was organised by the WA branch of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce WA lunch for St. Patrick’s Day. Outgoing IACC WA president Mark Black – who ended up by handing over to Sally Anne Lewis – thanked several people and groups for helping pull together the sold out event which had more than 600 people in the ball room. Special mention went out to the ARK Group which supplied kegs of Guinness and Kilkenny specially for the occasion and heavy concentration of drinkers of the iconic Irish drinks. Mark recalled earlier events organised by the chamber which had between 30 and 40 people in the backroom of Durty Nelly’s (owned by the ARK Group

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beer related stories with the guests before getting behind the bar and explaining the art of pouring great Guinness and giving out a few free pints to the thirsty patrons.” As well as getting one on one access to the popular brand manager, guests were also treated to Irish ballads from Sean Roche, Ivan O’Connor and other musicians. The pub laid on a series of Irish favourites to bolster its a la carte menu and the vast majority of participants tucked into a hearty lunch as well. “Most guests were hanging around for the rest of the afternoon to enjoy the Irish music and sociable banter,” added Karl. “Look out for Don returning later in the year, where he might just host a dinner for Guinness lovers at The National Hotel.” Around the same time, the Guinness guru also paid an official visit to another well known watering hole for serving perfect pints. Don said the black stuff was flowing freely and the craic was mighty at Paddy Malones Irish Pub in Joondalup. He passed on his considerable knowledge to bar staff and drinkers at the Galway Hooker in Scarborough and also popped up at the Jarrah Bar in Hillarys, home to Fanny McGee’s Craic bar. Marnell gave a master class in how to pull a pint of the black stuff to the bar’s Guinness Club, which meets there weekly. Owner Wes Darcy said porter was a popular tipple for his customers. “We’re delighted to announce that we are now in the top 10 for Guinness sales in WA,” the Wicklow man said.

– as is the Galway Hooker in Scarborough). “That’s not long ago, we’ve come a long way,” he told the sea of faces. Indeed, the event has come a long way in just 12 months. Last year’s corporate lunch was held at the same venue on Friday the 13th of March. Back then the threat of COVID-19 was moving into all our lives with the speed and damaging effects of a cyclone. Earlier that morning, the St. Patrick’s Day parade and festival – due to be held the next day – was called off and as the pressure mounted minute by minute it looked like the looming danger might derail the lunch. Certainly there were cancellations and some nervousness about what was happening but it went ahead and was the only opportunity many in the community got to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day last year.

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SISTER ACT

They might be sister pubs with the same parent company (ARK Group) but Durty Nelly’s and The Galway Hooker are also highly competitive siblings according to a recent Stirling Times article, republished on PerthNow. Venue manager for the Galway Hooker Caoimhe O’Neill was interviewed ahead of St. Patrick’s Day festivities kicked in. “We pride ourselves on serving the best Guinness in Australia so we’ve ordered enough to pour around 5820 perfect pints on the day,” Caoimhe said. “We are basing this on how many pints of Guinness we sold last year, and with the disruption to our celebrations, we are hoping this year that we can blow last year out of the water. “Also, we have that friendly sibling rivalry with Durty Nelly’s, so if they sell 60 kegs of Guinness, we want to be selling 61.” The newspaper said Durty Nelly’s poured more than 4,000 pints of Guinness on March 17 last year. Above: St Patrick’s Day silliness at the Galway Hooker in Scarborough

Top: New Guinness Ireland managing director, Barry O’Sullivan and his beloved kelpie Lola. Above: David Smith, who has moved from Australia to Madrid to begin a new role at Diageo

EX-PAT FROM AUSTRALIA TAKES OVER GUINNESS IRELAND

Change is afoot for the Guinness brand in Ireland and Australia. Diageo - the London based multinational company that owns the iconic Irish brand – is seeing changes in its leadership in both nations. The Guinness manufacturer in Ireland is losing managing director and Dubliner Oliver Loomes who will be replaced by Barry O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan stepped into the role on Monday 19th April and will work with his predecessor until the end of June as part of a transition plan. The new arrival comes to the top job from a very different business outside the drinks trade. He was with the Mars Petcare company for 25 years, the last six of which have been spent as general manager of the company’s operations in Australia and New Zealand. One of the first things he did when he arrived in Australia in 2016 was to adopt a rescue dog, a very distinctive Australian breed of dog. “Her name is Lola and she’s a kelpie,” he told CEO magazine in November 2020. “She’s always been my closest, constant companion, but even more so during COVID-19. Fortunately, we have an office environment that allows her to come to work with me – not in the factory, of course! – so she’s by my side pretty much at all times.” Meanwhile, Diageo Australia is also losing its MD. Around the same time that O’Sullivan started his new career with Guinness, David Smith left Australia (but not the company) to head up its operations in southern Europe where he will be based in Madrid. Smith came to Australia about the same time as O’Sullivan and both men joined their respective companies on graduate programs and have worked their way to the top of the pile.

Right: Some of the crew having a laugh at new Irish bar, Ric O’Shea’s

GRAND OPENING – BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

It was a big night and a full house for the official opening of Ric O’Shea’s Irish pub in the Beaconsfield Hotel just a few days ahead of St. Patrick’s Day itself. Resident Irish museo Sean Roche and friends provided the music and craic, while a troupe of Irish dancers brought the house down. Scott and all the bar staff and crew were busy but looked like they were enjoying the occasion and having their photograph on the cover of the last issue. Ric’s did open its doors last year, but just days before the entire state was plunged into lockdown. Just as an interesting aside, Paul North, owner of JB O’Reilly’s in Cambridge Street, West Leederville, told me that Ric O’Shea’s was one of the names he considered calling his emporium when he opened it all those years ago in the early 1990’s. Instead, the Wexford born publican opted instead to pay tribute to a ‘local’ legend, Irish patriot John Boyle O’Reilly, who spent a short stint in the Swan Colony at the pleasure of the Crown before making a brave bid for his own freedom and then helping to engineering another daring escape for his Fenian comrades nearly ten years later.

�� �� �� �� �� HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS? PADDY HAS BEEN SOBER FOR 8 DAYS. NOT IN A ROW OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. JUST IN TOTAL. TWELVE MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD – A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

On March 15 the two peak groups for the Irish pubs of Ireland launched a new campaign to mark the anniversary of the first year since pubs were forced to close because of COVID-19. The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) and Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) joined forces to launch the #NotDisposable campaign. The joint effort aims to remind the public of the many people behind pubs, hospitality, arts and entertainment who have largely been out of work since last March. The campaign was born as a result of a heartfelt TV interview (Virgin Media’s Six O’Clock Show on February 16th) in which drag performer and Panti Bar owner Rory O’Neill – aka Panti – described the impact of his life and sector. “I’m struggling at this stage,” a clearly upset and emotional O’Neill – who is also a gay rights activist – admitted. “It’s been a year now and I’m just banging my head off the wall, cos there is no real end in sight for us… I read this thing I can’t get out of my head, 70% of the population have saved money during the pandemic and I was like, I live in a parallel universe because everybody I know who works in the entertainment industry or the bar or hospitality, we’ve all lost everything. So I spend all my days arguing with the bank over mortgage payments or whatever because everything just ended. It turns out that our industry is utterly disposable. I think the experience of the pandemic has been very different for different sections of the population.” Pubs and others participating in the campaign across the country were encouraged to post their pre-COVID photos to social media throughout Monday 15th March 2021, a date which marks exactly one year since the pubs closed. Pubs were the first sector of the economy to shut their doors at the outset of the pandemic, supporting the Government’s instructions for the good of public health.

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Since then approximately 250 traditional pubs in Dublin have not opened for a single day, while the majority of pubs in the country were only able to trade for a period of two weeks in late September. The LVA and the VFI hoped the campaign will remind the public that there are a lot of people who depend on pubs, hospitality, arts and entertainment and that the future of these sectors does matter to Irish society. Before the pandemic an estimated 50,000 people were directly employed in more than 7000 pubs across Ireland. Meanwhile, at the end of March the Irish government announced a new strategy for rural Ireland which may also help rescue country pubs. The ‘Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025’ has many ambitious to improve the quality of life and services in Ireland’s towns, villages and farming and tourism areas. The strategy will “explore the potential to develop a pilot scheme to support the use of rural pubs as community spaces and hubs for local services”. Minister for Social Protection and Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said the concept was based on the ‘Hub in the Pub’ model from the UK and had been discussed with the VFI – which represents country pubs specifically. “We are teasing out how, maybe, pubs can be used for different purposes during the day,” Minister Humphries – who visited Perth a few years ago for St. Patrick’s Day – said. “It could be working spaces. It could be community spaces. It could be many different things and we can look at having high-speed broadband there. We have yet to explore it.” VFI CEO Padraig Cribben welcome the government plan. “As part of this new rural strategy the VFI is engaging with Minister Humphries and the Department of Rural and Community Development about developing programmes to support rural pubs. Our members play a vital role in rural areas so any opportunity to enhance what they offer to local communities is welcome,” he said. “At a time of great uncertainty for the pub sector and hospitality in general, the support from Minister Humphries and her department underlines the value pubs will continue to play in their local communities once they are permitted to reopen. “The pub is here to stay but it’s crucial new ways of doing business are embraced that reflect demographic trends and local demand.” Above: A tweet from Irish bar The Old Punchbowl supporting the #NotDisposable campaign

AN SIBIN ASKS FOR CHANCE TO BE A GOOD SPORT FOR CUSTOMERS

Perth’s biggest entertainment precinct has a lot to offer revellers but an Irish pub wants to fill a gap in the market. An Sibin recently applied for an Extended Trading Permit (ETP) from the Department of Racing, Gaming to allow it to stay open until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights as well as on Sunday nights for sports games televised from Ireland. More than 500 punters frequent the Northbridge venue each week. “The bulk of these visits being on Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s, unless there is a sporting telecast during the week, proving the popularity of the venue as a controlled and functional facility catering to a unique and specific manner of trade,” the Sibin application states. “Perth boasts plenty of small bars, restaurants and nightclubs however there are limited provisions

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of sporting entertainment options. Other than Northbridge, the Irish Club in Subiaco (that we are aware of now) also provide similar sporting coverages. ” An Sibin has been given ETP’s for particular occasions in the past but argued a more permanent arrangement makes sense. “Lock outs have been imposed in previously approved one off permits with varying times alternating between 1 hour, or 20 minutes after the start of each sport telecast,” its application said. “It is our proposal that lock outs be considered but a standard set time is used to maintain it as common knowledge to all parties removing any ambiguity for enforcement. Further to lock out times, we would seek some leniency and understanding in enforcing this matter for matters other than for the sole consumption of alcohol. A number of our customers enjoy the odd cigarette and as we do not allow smoking inside the venue, they seek to venture outside for the duration of a cigarette. This usually is about a 10-minute break and again usually during sporting fixtures. In the past much difficulty and angst has been caused in not allowing patrons to re-enter after such a scenario. ” Similar situations have arisen where customers popped outside to make or take a phone call or to arrange a pick up to get home but find they can’t get back in. “On the understanding that lock out provisions are premised on the consumption of alcohol, we would ask that should a condition be imposed, it be structured so as to allow examples as mentioned above be catered for as these situations detract from providing a safe and friendly environment. The greater part of the market trade for additional hours is targeted towards the entertainment of music and Above: Northbridge bar An Sibin is looking for a more permanent arrangement whereby they will be able to open late to show sports games televised live from Ireland

homeland sporting culture; by comparison and not unlike a native of Perth watching an AFL game in Ireland.” Their bid for extended trading has the strong backing of customers and the Irish community. Every one of the 118 punters surveyed as part of the application wanted longer opening hours at the weekend. Written support for the proposal also came from sports groups and clubs from across the GAA community, Perth Irish RFC, Irish Families in Perth and the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce.

GUINNESS, WITH A CRUNCH?

You might well have to go to Perth in Scotland to get this drink but we couldn’t let this tweet about Arbor Cafe Creme coffee and chocolate stout go past without mention. “Fancied a Guinness earlier in week so ordered this from Craft Beer Bottle Shop, now on S Methven St in Perth, the other day,” one Scot tweeted. “Tastes like a pint of the black stuff with half a Crunchie mixed in. Very sweet but really like it. Would get it again”.

IRISH CLUB LOOKING A LOT LIKE ITS OLD SELF

As we saw in the last edition of Matters of Public Interest, the Irish Club recently had new doors – complete with inscribed glass panels – installed as part of an upgrade of the premises. Since then the front of the building has also had a fresh lick of paint. As well as looking good, the paint job is reminiscent of how the Club looked in its halcyon days. A photo of the Club from 1988 – taken it seems by one Betty Smith – recently popped up on a new Facebook site displaying old photographs of Subiaco. Apart from the mobile phone mast on top of the building now, it is interesting to note how few changes have been captured in the two images.

Top: The Irish Club as it appears today. Above: The facade back in 1988

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