All around the world Ireland is famous for it’s pubs and for many the reason to visit the Emerald Isle. They want to sit around a turf fire and listen to traditional music, have a pint of the black stuff and remember a time gone by.
Sadly these kinds of pubs are slowly disappearing and that was the reason why filmmaker Alex Fegan thought it was time to document them before they become another part of lost Irish heritage.
Travelling all around Ireland Fegan met third generation pub owners and lets them tell their stories, no script and no need for one. The Irish Pub is a joyful and melancholic love letter to publican houses all over Ireland.
What may surprise is that no matter where in Ireland a pub may be, they all have a lot in common. They seem to favour an eclectic collection of bits and bobs as decoration, never letting anything go, documenting time in the shape of a wellington-boot hanging from the ceiling, old portrait photos nailed to the walls and pots, pans, mole traps and other contraptions lining the selves. The owners see their pubs as an extension of their living-room, their paying costumers as part of the family, their jobs as a service to the community.
Fegan has found some interestingly wonderful and quirky characters who talk about their points of view, creating a very Irish and authentic charm to this unique documentary.
And while everything is filmed within the pubs the storytelling is never really about drink. It is about chatting to friends, community life, the importance of having a place to go to and life in general.
The Irish Pub may at times be little bit twee, but as the publicans and local are constantly telling a new story, singing a song or serving a pint, the moment never last long and it never becomes boring.
So if you enjoy a few jars, a little bit of craic and a great story The Irish Pub truly does deliver, a beautiful film that celebrates Irish life at its very best.
jensinewall 