Irish Pubs Around the World
Another Irish contribution to world culture is the famed Irish pub. From Cape Town to Copenhagen, from Singapore to Seattle, Irish immigrants have introduced enthusiastic patrons to this Irish concept. Irish pubs are about having a good time, and that doesn't just include drinking (although a pint is generally involved). The traditional pub provides hearty food, possibly music or dancing, and always lots of good conversation.
There are literally thousands of Irish pubs around the world. You can generally identify an authentic one by the Guinness on tap, the friendly atmosphere, and the Irish-themed name. To make their identification clear, many international pubs have named themselves after that most Irish of symbols, the Shamrock:
The Purple Shamrock, Boston, USA
The Rockin' Shamrock, Cape Town, South Africa
The Basque Shamrock, Bilbao, Spain
Shamrock Bar, Saint Petersburg, Russia
The Shamrock and Thistle, Toronto, Canada
Another popular theme is to name the pub after an Irish city. Many choose the most famous Irish city of all:
The Dublin, Santiago, Chile
The Dubliner, Reykjavik, Iceland
The Auld Dubliner, Bologna, Italy
The Dubliner Irish Pub, Toshima-ku, Japan
The Dubliner, Washington, D.C., USA
Of course, many publicans have chosen to name their pubs after themselves, or at least after people who sound Irish. There certainly seem to be a lot of Murphys out there:
Scruffy Murphy's Irish Pub, Heidelberg, Germany
Muddy Murphy's Irish Pub, Singapore
Irish Murphy's, Hobart, Australia
J. J. Murphy's, London, England
Fidel Murphy's, Grand Cayman
Because of the hard work and cultural diplomacy of thousands of Irish emigrants, millions of people around the world are able to enjoy Guinness in the environment in which it was meant to be enjoyed.
