Although it was some seven months ago that Thierry Henry’s cheating left hand robbed Ireland of a place in South Africa, thoughts of what might have been will come flooding back to thousands of Irish fans when Les Bleus take to the field against Uruguay on the opening night of World Cup 2010.
Dedicated followers of Trap’s army who would have spent their life savings making the trip will look on enviously at images of fans from the 32 countries soaking up the atmosphere in South Africa, while the rest of us will pass our regular watering holes and sadly lament the fact that the heady days of 2002 and for those of a certain vintage, 1994 and 1990 will not be repeated this time around.
Once you can put those negative thoughts to the back of your mind, you should console yourself with the fact that, despite Ireland’s absence, we are still in for a feast of football for the next four weeks and won’t see anything of the like for another four years.
It’s also probably the only time in a four year period where watching football is accepted by the missus as an excuse to go down to the pub for a few pints (Can’t do the washing up love, Serbia v Ghana is on the box).
There’s nothing like a bit of atmosphere and a few pints to heighten the overall World Cup experience and with that in mind, JOE has picked out some of the best pubs across the country to watch the greatest show on earth.
The Lotts Café Bar, Dublin
The Lotts Café Bar on Lower Liffey Street in the capital traditionally adopt a team for every major football tournament and it’s the turn of the plucky Mexicans in 2010, following a huge response after Lotts adopted the same team four years ago.
For Euro 2008, Croatian fans took over the joint and from what my Croatian-speaking colleague in the office tells me, ‘Nastala je ludo. Svi su poludili. Super!’ (It was a riot. Everything was mental. Super!).
Mexico fans can expect more of the same this time around as Lotts are really nailing their colours to the mast. Quite literally, in fact; they have painted the exterior of the pub in the Mexican colours of green red and white. There will be special offers on Mexican food in the bar’s extensive menu and anyone who produces a Mexican passport or driving license during Mexico’s games will be given one free bottle of Corona each.
Four plasma screens covering all angles are stationed in the main bar; the 200-capacity lounge is equipped with three screens while a more intimate snug which can fit 40 patrons will also have all the action on another plasma screen.
For more information, check out http://www.thelottscafebar.com/
Lavery’s, Belfast
Lavery’s pub on Bradbury Place has been in the city for nearly a century and has acquired a reputation as a great location for music and entertainment as well as a cracking venue for live sport.
Lavery’s will be running a rather novel World Cup sweepstakes during the competition. For £10, customers will be assigned a random team and given a laminated loyalty card to present to bar staff for a free pint every time their team scores during the competition. The proceeds will go to a local cancer charity and all the costs are covered by drinks supplier Diageo.
Furthermore, the bar will be continuing a promotion that was run during the Premier League for selected games during the World Cup, Goal Crazy. Every time a goal is scored during a selected game, the price of a pint is reduced by 20p, but fans hoping that a nine-goal thriller will lead to a very cheap drinking experience will be disappointed to hear that 60p is the maximum reduction in the price of a brew.
Lavery’s is a massive venue and there are screens dotted all over the place depending on what time of atmosphere a customer is after, including in the public bar, two in the back bar, a screen in the roof terrace and in the pool room, while the middle bar will be showing selected games in 3D.
For more information, go to http://www.laverysbelfast.com/.
Smyths, Limerick
Public houses in the Treaty City would traditionally be filled with followers of the oval ball, particularly during the Heineken Cup when they are heaving with the proudest and most loyal band of followers in the country and perhaps the continent, Munster fans.
With Ireland’s tour of the southern hemisphere providing only a brief distraction in the next couple of weeks, however, rugby will take a back seat to events in South Africa in bars across the city.
Football fans looking for the full World Cup experience could do better than take a trip to Smyths Bar on Denmark Street. Smyths has always been a popular venue for live sport and during the world cup, the bar will be showing all the action on five eight-foot projector screens and four plasma screens and they have some tempting promotions on offer to draw in the punters.
Budweiser drinkers will be rewarded with a free pint for every three pints of Budweiser purchased, while every time a goal is scored against the cheating French, customers will be rewarded with a free pint. Unfortunately, this promotion does not apply during penalty shoot outs.
Reardens Bar, Cork
GAA is normally the sport of choice in Reardens in Cork, something that is made clear by the wall featuring a range of hurleys made famous by some of the game’s most famous exponents. The venue is also a popular venue for Munster rugby matches and will be an extremely popular haunt for football fans during the World Cup.
Reardens and its sister pub, Preachers, are doing everything they can to promote crowd interaction during the competition, including the arduous task of entertaining the poor unfortunate women who might be dragged along by their better halves.
With that in mind, there will be a board at the bar where people can guess the minute when the first goal will go in. There are cash, drinks and other prizes on offer and what you win on the day or night may well depend on how nice you treat the bar staff.
Reardens itself has high definition screens sprinkled throughout the venue and a 3D screen in the back bar for selected games. Preachers, a slightly smaller venue just up the road, will provide a projector and big screen for patrons.
For more information go to http://www.reardens.com/.
Grand Central Bar, O’Connell Street, Dublin
Located bang smack in the middle of the most famous street in the country, the famous Grand Central Bar will be decked out in red and yellow for the next month or so, having adopted Spain as their team of choice for the World Cup.
Fans will be able to tune into Xavi, Fabregas, Torres and company on two 42-inch screens in the front and back bars, while there has also been an extra screen installed specifically for the tournament.
Grand Central will have special rates on Spanish beers and Spanish food on their menu and have recruited some Spanish dancers for some spicy post-match entertainment. Regular customers with a loyalty card will be entitled to free drinks while the prices of spirits such as Captain Morgan spiced rum and Jack Daniels whiskey will also be slashed for the duration of the tournament.
For more information, go to http://www.thegrandcentral.ie/.
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