Three years ago we were lucky enough to start spending time in a holiday home that we bought in Crookhaven, which is on the Mizen Peninsula in West Cork. In the village itself there are a few lovely pubs where you always get a friendly welcome, so friendly that even our dogs Honey and Maggie can come with us!
Like every seasonal place many of the outlets won’t be open throughout the year with the exception of O’Sullivans who have the proud boast of being open 364 days of the year, every day except for Christmas Day. Even better, this gorgeous pub full of character that looks directly onto the pier serves really excellent bar food on each of these 364 days. This is such a valuable resource for seasonal visitors but an even more valuable resource for locals including those who mightn’t be so handy in the kitchen.
One of our favourite rituals is a pint there after work on a Friday, which is even more special in the winter where you will always get a spot next to the fire to relax and ease your way into the weekend after a busy week.
An ever present customer at O’Sullivans was a very smart gentleman who always seemed to be there when we were there and he nearly always sat in the same spot either nursing a pint of Murphys or sipping on a cup of coffee after his dinner.
He always gave us the warmest of welcomes, a pleasant smile followed by some chit chat.
Where are you guys from?
Are you staying local?
How old are the dogs?
What kind of dogs are they?
And what are your names?
We would reciprocate and over time we got to know the gentleman.
He lived in the village, built his house in the seventies, he was from Cork city but grew up outside the city on a farm. He was electrocuted while on the farm and lucky to survive. They put that down to his fitness as he was a rugby player. He played for Highfield close to where I lived, and he even played professionally which took him to England, France and Spain.
He had run his own business and he married a French woman who was a great singer – he is a great singer himself and he loves going to the music nights twice a week in Goleen, a neighbouring village. We went to those music nights and heard him singing a few times.
His wife had passed away a number of years back from a cruel disease.
He has a dog, which he says is great when you live by yourself as he will run unwelcome strangers should they arrive at the door. The dog had one unwelcome visitor standing on a chair he was so petrified!!
The lovely gentleman told us his stories and we loved hearing them.
Every time we went to O’Sullivans it was a pleasure to meet him, accept his warm greeting and give him a firm handshake and always have a few words.
We noticed that he didn’t remember our names but that’s something that happens to all of us so we didn’t take any notice.
What we did notice was that he didn’t seem to remember anything that we told him the last time we met, and we started to have the same conversation afresh each time we would meet.
During the course of the three years we have been going there, we have had that same back and forth conversation on many occasions, but we were happy to have it. He was warm, friendly and I do believe he knew us but just couldn’t quite put those fragments of information together properly. Over a relaxing pint at the end of a week, who cares? – it was lovely to be in his company.
While he may not have remembered our names and the back and forth story we had frequently shared, he never forgot what night the music was on in Goleen and he made sure someone was around to drive him there.
As the summer season is upon us, O’Sullivans is in full swing and thronged with holiday makers and boat enthusiasts. When the pub is so busy it’s not as easy to notice who is there and who is not, but we did notice that we hadn’t spotted the gentleman there for a number of weeks. I asked the guys behind the bar about him and was told that he had moved into a nursing home.
Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease that my own dad had and clearly our gentleman friend had something similar.
I’m sorry we didn’t get to know him better but I’m glad that we did have the privilege of knowing this warm, friendly gentleman who loved dogs, his pint and the music in Goleen.
My favourite memory of him is he asking the guys behind the bar for extra biscuits to go with his cuppa. He used to slip these to our dogs under the table when no one was looking!
We miss him and we wish him all the best with his new pals in the nursing home – they will be lucky to have him.
Greg
Greg Canty is the Managing Partner of Fuzion, a Brand Communications Agency in Ireland,
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 