The Mullingar Diaries

“So I'm gonna sit right here

On the edge of this pier

And watch the sunset disappear

And drink a beer”

I have always been a beer enthusiast. I love tasting new kinds of beer from all around the world and some of the things I enjoy the most are to just go into a bar and tell them that I want to try something new or just sit outside with a cold one and enjoy it. This means that I am of course familiar with Irish beers. Before I moved to Ireland I had already had my fair share of Smithwick’s, Murphy’s, Kilkenny and Guinness – Guinness being my favourite though. But however there is one thing I find kind of odd in Ireland and it is something I didn’t even think about before my parents came to visit me in December. One evening we went to Druid’s Chair for a pint and my mum wanted a Kilkenny, but they didn’t have it. At that time I realised that I hadn’t even seen it at any of the other pubs I had been to either which I thought was weird since I was pretty sure it couldn’t be anything but Irish.

A while later I have now decided to look up the missing Kilkenny and what I found out when I googled Kilkenny is that everything has to be a bit more complicated in Ireland (Just like with Magners). First of all Kilkenny is owned by Diageo (the makers of Guinness), but the name ‘Kilkenny’ was originally used during the 1980s and 1990s to market a stronger version of Smithwick’s for the European and Canadian market, because apparently they had trouble with the pronunciation of Smithwick’s. So maybe that is why I have never seen Smithwick’s in Denmark. What I think is weird is that Ireland is the primary market for Kilkenny, and yet the women at Druid’s Chair looked like we were talking nonsense when we asked for it. Even though I tried to look it up I still don’t have a clue why I haven’t seen it at any pubs yet. But one thing’s for sure, I am going to figure out the mystery of the missing Kilkenny. I’ll walk from pub to pub if that is what it takes. The only conclusion I can think of right now is that they don’t serve it at some of the pubs because it’s similar to Smithwick’s. But to be honest I think that would be a horrible excuse, because it’s not the same beer and it’s a shame that I can’t seem to be able to get a Kilkenny at the pubs because I really like it.

That was just a tiny update and I hope to be back with a part two with some actual answers. 

One last thing. I met a really proud father at John Daly’s one day when I was watching football and I promised him to put a video of his son’s band on my blog. I actually think that they are really good. So give them a listen.