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A whale of a time in a little gem of Guileen
Some
teenagers while away Sundays by lying in bed to banish thoughts of school
on a Monday. When you get a lot older, you can banish thoughts of work on
Monday by going for long walks by the sea, followed by pints in a
pub.
It was by doing the latter a few weeks ago, that I stumbled across
the Guileen Arms, outside Whitegate in Co. Cork.
it's a hidden away
little spot that doesn't attract hordes of people out on a pub
crawl.
The clientele is mainly made up off Anglers, locals, people like
myself who are out for a bracing sea stroll and tourists.
The rugged
nature of the sea line has echoes in the nature and atmosphere of the pub.
The walls are adorned with a nautical and fishing theme, including lots of
photographs of satisfied anglers holding on to there various
catches.
when I returned to the pub earlier this week, I came across
Pearl Aspinwall-- who runs the Guileen Arms with her husband Derek. She
was on her way out of the pub to treat one of her three goats who was
unwell.
The three 'Billy goats guff's are kept in a field adjacent to
the Guileen Arms and are named Sammy Kidd, Paddy and ????
Derek who was
hard at work assembling different types of tackle for the angling season
in May, explained that the goats were better than any lawnmower for
keeping the grass down.
"We took over this pub 13 years ago," said
Derek" Before coming here we ran a B&B in Blackpool, England. We were
attracted to this area because of the peace and quiet."
Derek looks
forward to the deep see anglers from May onwards. "We run lots of
competitions in the Guileen Arms during the fishing season. I also sell
tackle to them."
So successful has this line of work been that some of
Derek and Pearls customer tease that the "fishing shop used to be a
pub".
The Guileen Arms is a plain and simple affair, into two rooms, the
later has a pool table. I was impressed by some of the fish sizes caught.
One photograph showed a Jim Clohessy with a 24lb cod, another had Stephen
O'Neill with a 40LB conger eel and Sean and Jim with a 42LB blue
shark.
Apparently the anglers give the fish away for nothing after a
few pints in the pub.
I can just envisage the stampede in May after
that little titbit of information.
Pearl, who comes from Banbridge in
the beautiful north, is a lovely lady and is full of chat.
She
introduced me to her dog 'Ted' who apparently is quiet a character in the
pub.
Helping out Derek and Pearl is Betty Irwin from Near by
Finure.
A Few of the other long-term regulars are Tom, Jennifer and
John McCormack and Brenden and Mairead Murphy. As Derek worked on his
fishing tackle and Pearl poured a pint, I felt good that I had come across
this little haven in East Cork.
and as the flames of a real coal fire
warmed my bones on a cold Winter's night, I knew I would return to the
area for a walk by the sea, fortified by the knowledge that pints of
creamy stout were awaiting me in the Guileen Arms.
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© 2001-2007John
McCormack
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