Away day number two.
Working all week, just time enough for a game on the weekend. Only feasible fixture was in Cobh, to see the Ramblers take on Drogheda. Never in the town before, I travelled down from Dublin, Heuston station. It took about 3 hours and a bit.
Cobh (Gaelic form of Cove), previously known as Queenstown, is a lovely seaside town on the south coast of County Cork.
The town is probably most famous as the last port of call for the ill-fated RMS Titanic, and has a long association with seafarers and seamen thanks to its natural harbour setting, with the Irish Naval Service setting up its HQ in the vicinity.
These days Cobh is set up a large tourist hub, with cruise liners stopping by each year with people flocking to experience all the Titanic history in the town.
Overall I liked Cobh, a nice picturesque town to while away a few hours.
Bar watch: Plenty of good bars in the town, very easy to meet people, have the craic, great pints of Murphys and Beamish all day.
The Quays
Address:17 Westbourne Place, Cobh, Co. Cork
Right beside the train station, I actually walked past this bar at first, but then I smelt some cod emanating from the side of the bar………..and boy did it smell good, so did a quick u turn, and followed my nose. Decided I might as well get the breakfast/dinner and lunch sorted.
The pub has a large outdoor seating area, a good location in the heart of the harbour, but, as I like to do, I drank at the bar, which had a nice and smart décor.
Wasn’t sure what to drink. I had Murphy’s before, and hated it……….but to be fair it was in Dublin so……after some consultation with the bar lady she convinced me to give it another try……..and I have to say the stout was fantastic. FANTASTIC. Drank it down quick enough. Just had to have another one. It really was THAT good.
Ordered some cod and chips, was very tasty, and wasn’t waiting too long for it at all.
Liked this bar, could have spent the day here, great location, very welcoming staff, relaxed and cosy atmosphere. Recommended. I did leave a tip for the staff…………not something I do too often, ha, but that was tip top service.
Kelly’s Bar
Address:Casement Square, Cobh
Walking more into the town, first pub that I came across was Kelly’s bar………..looked like a decent pub from the outside…………nice frontage…………and with the rugby on the box was teeming with people.
Good friendly vibe in the bar, and with a few Welsh visitors in the bar, was a lively atmosphere especially as the Welsh were getting a tanking from the English.
Friendly staff. Fast and efficient. Bar lady served a decent pint.
In the main bar it was really standing room only, which wasn’t a problem as there were a lot of big screens to watch the sport on.
Lovely traditional interior, wooden floor with an authentic bar counter. Outside has perfect views of the harbour.
Good pub, liked it, good for watching sport, and had a laid back local feel to it.
Rob Roy bar
Address: 2/3 Pearse Square, Cobh
In the centre of the town, was recommend as a place for some good music on a Saturday night. Music didn’t start when I visited, but what was there was a lot of good chat and a very lively atmosphere. Bar was pretty crowded, so it was easy enough to chit-chat with people, nice pints, and I regret not staying there longer. Has a real local feel to the bar. Pity there was no music on.
Titanic Bar and Grill, Cobh
Address: Casement Square, Cobh
Since I am in Cobh it would seem a shame not to drink in the Titanic bar!
This gastropub has a direct link to the past as the location actually was once the ticketing offices for White Star Line, owners of the “Titanic” Ocean Liner, and where passengers gathered to be collected and transported to the Titanic anchored nearby. The Passengers on that tragic day consisted of 123 passengers, mostly steerage passengers for the lower decks.
Titanic Bar was officially opened in August 2000 by Millvina Dean, the youngest Titanic Survivor who was nine weeks old when Titanic sank
The interior is pretty impressive, decked out a bit like a ship, quite spacious, luxurious, spotless, and very well designed, with a lot of history everywhere for the buffs to get excited about.
Was pretty dead when I was there, not much of a crowd, and the bar staff seemed more interested in chatting up some females at the bar than anything else, which is fair enough I guess!
Pint was fine, service fine, but no atmosphere or ambiance
Good location, overlooking the harbour
If you like some cool history as you sip your pint then this is a great spot, but I prefer somewhere with a bit more life…….
Connie Doolan’s
Address: East Beach, Cobh
Wandering around the city, stumbled upon this small pokey old fashioned looking pub. Small pub, an old fellas kind of bar. Walked straight to the bar, immediately into conversation……also a small dog was jumping at me while another one was reading the paper!
Good conversation with the bar man and punters, good fun,
Easily my favourite pub of the day, had a lot of character.
Décor is very dated but who cares when the company is so good.
Cobh Ramblers Bar and Lounge
Address: St. Colman’s Park, Cobh
Knowing that the club had a bar, I made the longish walk past the Church up the hill towards the club grounds.
Always love a club that has its own bar. Really don’t know why all clubs don’t get this going in their grounds, it’s a good way to earn extra revenue.
Had a few pints in here. Good banter from both sets of fans. Drogheda youth were a bit biting but it was all in good spirit. The bar man had to tell them to calm down a few times, but he was well in control. Good barman. And lady. Served everyone quick enough, which was great as they were busy between the front bar and the lounge at the back.
Missed the start of the game, wasn’t aware of the 7.15 kick off time……….
Good to mingle with fans before the game. Some of the Drogs fans were sound enough, hopefully will get to meet them again when I hit Drogheda.
Cobh Ramblers F.C.
Arena/Stadium: St. Colman’s Park, Cobh
Manager: Stephen Henderson
Location: Cobh
Founded: 1922
Leagues: League of Ireland First Division
cobhramblers2@eircom.net
Cobh Ramblers, “The Rams”, from County Cork, are an Irish football club in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1922, play their home matches at St. Colman’s Park. The club’s colours are claret and blue.
Their only senior silverware is the First Division title that they won in 2007, when Stephen Henderson guided them to the top division for the first time in 12 years. Sadly they were relegated the next season, and then after failing to get a first division license they languished in the A championship (third tier) for a while…a four year hoodoo, only getting a license to play again in the first in 2013.
Nothing really else to talk about in terms of success, there was a cup run in 1976 that saw the club reach the last four, bowing out to Sligo after three replays……….
I guess when people talk about Cobh they usually make a reference to Roy Keane, as it was here that the bold Roy started out in the senior game, and eventually making that transfer to Nottingham Forest. A transfer that got the club a paltry £47,000 was struck with Cobh Ramblers in the summer of 1999. Significant as not long after, in 1992, he moved to Manchester United for a then British transfer record of £3.75 million.
Another hot headed Corkonian, Stephen Ireland also started his career with Springfield Ramblers, the clubs underage outfit.
Home games are at the 5900 (1,350 seated) capacity St Colman’s Park.
In Oct 2015 Stephen Henderson signed a new three-year contract with the club, and the club have high hopes of returning to the top division again sometime soon.
Train watch: Get to Cork first, from Heuston Station in Dublin, takes about 3 hours. Then from Cork Kent to Cobh, a regular commuter service, taking about 20 minutes.
Cobh Ramblers 1 – 1 Drogheda United
Attendance: 497
Not the greatest game I have ever seen. Took a while for the game to settle.
Drogheda got a soft penalty at about 30 minutes, dispatched by Sean Thornton.
Second half was much better as Cobh went in search of the equaliser. I thought Cobh looked pretty good, particularly on the wings, and definitely deserved the goal when it came from Shane O’Connor.
Drogheda had a man sent off for a bad tackle, and with the extra man Cobh got the equaliser. A nice passing sequence ended up with Mylod making a header, that seemed to stay in the air forever, back across goal, where O Conner headed it low past the Drogheda goalkeeper. Nice team goal.
Cobh had a lot more of the ball in the end, but without doing too much with it. I think a draw really was a fair enough result.
First half dour, second pretty good. Overall an enjoyable game, good atmosphere from both sets of fans, plenty of chat, and a was good to finally knock Cobh off my to do groundhop list.
Interview with Thomas from the “Cobh Ramblers Supporters Trust”
So my name is Thomas and I’m nineteen years of age and I’m a member of
Cobh Ramblers supporters trust, so they were set up the end of last season to help the club off the field and we all pitch in a tenner a month just to help out the club
So for the last 3 or 4 years I have been involved in the club, before that I was a fan since I was about 7 or 8 and so that’s basically it!
What got you into Cobh ramblers, why did you get into the LOI, cause a lot of people don’t really follow the LOI?
Yeah, I don’t know cause I always liked football, English football, or playing myself, I don’t know something just clicked. I liked the idea of representing Cobh on the national scale and it was something different, like not every town has a league of Ireland team and I thought its something you should be proud off
And you get involved with the people, there are very nice people involved with the LOI
There hasn’t been a lot of success for Cobh!
No it hasn’t been great the last couple of years, I mean there has been a few small things, like the under 19’s won the cup, the national cup, so things like that give you hope for the future that the club is going in the right direction, but I think this season will be different
(Two very curious young lads) What’s your name?
Jake
What’s your name?
Nathan
And why do you like Cobh Ramblers?
Because I have been following them since I was three
And what about you?
My dad used to be living in Cobh Ramblers (sic)
How do you think 2016 will go?
I think they will win the league
Really, are you sure?
I think they will win the league too!
Who is your favourite player?
Adam O ’Sullivan and Jimmy Griffin
Jimmy Giffin! (sic)
Why is he so good?
Because Jimmy Griffin is my dad’s friend and Adam O ’Sullivan is my favourite player for the summer camp
And he is so cool!
(Back to Thomas) And what about yourself then, 2016?
Yeah I definitely think it will be a good season. Based on the first game anyway, based on the Shels game. I wasn’t at it but I heard good things, and with the players signed they definitely can compete in the division this year I think
You got off to a good start against Shelbourne (won away, 0-1)
Yeah Shelbourne are a handy side now and to get a win against them its not an easy game, could be a good start.
And what about tonight’s game, what do you think, against Drogheda?
They only beat Waterford 2-1 last week and no disrespect to Waterford but they are not the best team around so they are there for the taking to be honest,
Even when Cobh were not having the best times, this place isn’t easy to get 3 points
Of course Cork City must be your rivals I guess
Yeah they would be, but we don’t really play them other than friendlies so there is not much of a rivalry there
So the First division then who would you consider…
Probably Waterford, now we have Limerick in the league this year, but Waterford would be more of a Derby
And for this season players to look out for
Eh, I think the two Galvin Twins that come over from England, Evan and Cory
Twins?
Yeah they are twins, they are very good so far, so I’d definitely keep an eye on them, they’d be moving on from here I’d say, going onto bigger things, the two of them, definitely.
And what would be considered a success this season?
I think play offs are a kind of a minimum and that’s what Hendo has set for the players, that’s his aim, Top 3, and if they get promotion that’s unbelievable. I think play offs are something steady to build on.
And what’s this Roy Keane, Cobh connection, explain that….
Actually he didn’t start his career here, he started his career with Rockmount up in the city and then, obviously he wanted to further his career, so he signed for Cobh to play league of Ireland
He was only down here a season, a season and a half, before he was spotted by Nottingham Forest
Yeah he still comes down, he was down here just a couple of weeks ago for one of the friendlies so he keeps in touch
Well who is a real legend of the team?
I suppose a lot of the 2007 team like of John Meade, Kevin Murray, Davon O’Neill, they are players that are fairly historic
And have you travelled to Dublin to support Cobh, have you travelled far and wide?
Oh I have been to Salthill, Waterford, Athlone, Dublin, yeah I have been all over the place, really
What was the best place you have been to?
Athlone was good, yeah Athlone back in 2013, a few weeks back into the season, it was brilliant, yeah
What can I expect tonight, my first experience to see Ramblers play?
It’s a good place, it’s a nice club, it’s a nice atmosphere, everyone gets on well
It’s a nice club, its great to be part of it and I think you will enjoy it
That’s great, thanks.
Bray (Irish: Bré, meaning “hill”), with a population of about 32,000, is a long established seaside town in Wicklow, close to Dublin, and popular with tourists and day trippers who like to get in some good cliff walking along the coast line (7km), enjoy the beach views, or hang out in the numerous hotels and guesthouses, shops, restaurants and evening entertainment dotted along the extensive promenade.
First bar of the day, handy location and in close proximity to the Dart, kind of hard not to have a pint here! Very enjoyable pint, good service, nice and clean décor. Not much of a crowd in. Menu looked a bit pricey, or at least too pricey for us…..
Bray was where it all started, having the first Porterhouse way back in 1989
Had a German beer, and ordered some food, fish n chips. The meal was pretty good, albeit a bit pricey for the smallish portion I got, but hell it did the job as I was full and didn’t have to eat again for the rest of the day/evening.
Not a bad place, good lot of cool sports and music memorabilia on the walls, had the horse racing on the go when I was there, good pint, friendly bar man, nice and relaxing place.
Perhaps my favourite bar of the day. Lot of sport going on at the time on the many Tvs dotted around the pub. Was German and English football, horseracing, some gah…..the world is your oyster, fantastic. Good atmosphere in the pub. Lively crowd and all good fun. Nice pints too. Liked it.
This place was buzzing, of all the pubs that we visited this had the biggest crowd in. Very jovial atmosphere, nice pints, good craic, has a nice décor going on, not a bad place with a good friendly vibe to it. Liked it.
Playing out of the small but quaint Carlisle Grounds (7,000/3,185 seated), the team were founded in 1922 but in its present incarnation it really all began in 1942. The Carlisle, is situated close to the Dart station, and is one of the coldest grounds in the LOI, its closeness to the seaside, an Irish sea making it cold throughout the year, Costa del Sol this aint. The ground is also used for international rugby league games and had a bit part as a “body double” for Croke Park, in the Michael Collins blockbuster, where the Bloody Sunday scene was shot.
Recently there has been a lot of shenanigans going on as new directors and ex directors fight it out in the press and behind the scenes, and this was evidenced at the club last season (2015), where Bray had not one, nor two, but actually five managers (including caretaker manager) taking over first team affairs, before finally settling for Mick Cooke, the present man in charge. Despite this the team did relatively well, finishing a very respectable 8th, four places off the bottom, considered a success for the Wanderers!
For Dundalk Ciaran Kilduff scored within five minutes so Bray were already on the back foot early on. Kilduff got another in the first half while Ronan Finn finished it off late in the game with a shot outside the box that took a slight deflection. Finn looked lively all game.
Was with the Dundalk support first half. Great fun, a bit of pyro which is always welcomed, and some good colourful chants as well. Went over to the Bray side for the second half, a bit quiet which was fair considering how the game was panning out.
Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards are an Italian band hailing from the North of Italy. Their love of Irish music was inspired not from growing up listening to the Pogues or the Dubliners as per normal for a Celtic band, but from the fact that they spent a lot of time living, working, and visiting the Emerald Isle. At that time Ireland was no longer the sick man of Western Europe, there was some kind of Celtic Tiger going on, the economy was booming, there were jobs a plenty, and many flocked to the country in search of opportunity, some money and a bit of craic along the way. Quite a lot of Italians dropped anchor in Ireland at that time.
Coming and going, visiting friends, hanging around, listening to Irish music in the bars, having the good times, learning about the culture and the ways of the people. Well we all know the charms of Irish music, and it was this that the lads fell in love with. So of course in 2007, they then started to set up their own band, at first a bit of fun, no expectations, no big plans, a few songs here and there….and with the grace of god……and all that. But the funny thing was people actually liked what they were doing. It was working. These Italians had mastered good old Celtic folk punk, and the feedback was positive. In a few years they had played all over, from decent sized rock venues, loads of Celtic and punk festivals, pubs, clubs…everywhere, and sharing the stage with the kings of Celtic punk, Dropkick Murphy’s, trad legends De Danann, amongst a lengthy list of other bands along the way. But one thing was constant, people clearly liked their brand of Italian Celtic punk.
In 2009 they released their first album ‘Drinking Not Thinking’ and in 2012 they set out for a very adventurous busking tour through Ireland, Wales and England. Meeting and playing with musicians on the streets or in the local pubs. This added a lot to their style and development. In 2013 they were joined by Luca Crespi, a renowned Irish folk musician and player of the Uilleann Pipes, tin whistle, and Irish flute, further enhancing the bands progress. This step forward resulted in their first full-length album “Get The Folk Out!”(2014).
The gig was to be in the Baronessa, a “Culture bar” (whatever the fuck that is?), a music venue that has been going strong for the last 20 years or so…. The bar located within an old factory, is run by a large group of volunteers (230+ members) and is funded entirely by membership fees, the proceeds from the bar service and other events that the venue organises. The venue hosts a wide range of events but particularly focuses on live music.
Luca Crespi brings a lot to the band, his tin whistle solos were really soul stirring stuff, but it wasn’t just Luca the whole band played expertly, all working great as a band, really complementing each other’s skills.
So Uncle bard and the Bastards explain the name
But you all met in Dublin and brought it back, did you?
So Paolo what about 2016 for the band, what are you hoping for?
So what’s your part in the band anyway? (to Lorenzo)
I have a question like, what is the Italian part of your band, I mean there must have some kind of Italian kick to the band, there must be something that you can bring from Italy to a Celtic punk band?
But I think Irish people like to see their culture appreciated and they like to see, you know, it’s cool for us to see that we are not just crazy Irish people playing this music, someone else appreciates it, you know
First thing to note is that the album comes in a very nice 16 page digipak which includes the lyrics to all the songs with some interesting notes about the stories behind each number, mugshots of all the band members, and some excellent shots of the guys working out on the farm!
The song starts off slow enough, but builds up to where the whole band can be heard, with Luca making good use of the bodhran. A good way to introduce the band, and their story.
On the meaning of life in the song The Dark Side of the Leaf ……. Guido questions how nature can supersede religion and god, “if you could find the rhythm between the spruces and the pines you’d discover a sound of fiddles makes us all divine”. An Interesting, soulful number that shows the full range of Guido’s talents.
I Only Got One Pint, a catchy number that has a comparable sound to the Chicago band, the Tossers. A good old drinking song, no Irish Celtic album could be without one, “now we know the meaning of life, and we buy another pint” a chant that echo’s out in the end.
Blue Velvet Glove is an instrumental showing the skills of Luca Crespi on the Uileann pipes. This is Davy Spillane eat your heart out material here. Excellent, another highlight for me in the album. It is soulful, and you can just imagine the waves from the Atlantic hitting the Cliff of Moher on a wet misty late Autumns evening, evocative and expertly played.
A true Carlsberg classic, Elephant Beer was first launched way back in 1959. The elephant represents both strength of the beer and an exotic taste, or at least that’s what the pen notes say.
Comes in a 330ml (11.2 ounce) nice green bottle. With an alcohol content over 7% you are expecting a kick with this brew.
On taste I got a creamy mouthful, with some grains
Brauerei C & A Veltins is a brewery based in the west German city of Meschede-Grevenstein. Veltins is one of the more popular breweries in Germany
In the 19th century, twin brothers Carl and Anton Veltins (the C and the A!) brewed in GrevenStein, an excellent beer that gained popularity well beyond its borders of Sauerland, the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia. This region has many mountains (from which the name “Sauerland” comes) and is therefore an ideal place for the production of exceptional beer. The naturally cloudy Greven Steiner Original is brewed with soft spring water and freshly harvested hops.
This present beer is inspired by the first beer brewed by the brothers. Then, as now, it was named Grevensteiner, and uses the traditional brewing methods the twins used all those years ago. A direct descendant, Susanne Veltins has directed the company since the mid 90’s.
A nod to the German purity law. Comes in a lovely 0,30 cl Steinie bottle with a label that shows the history and tradition of the brewery.
A very smooth beer, easy to drink, soft on the tongue and lovely to taste. I liked it, for me it was like having a nice cup of tea (I am not a coffee drinker!), the creamy caramel kicking in and some biscuit flavours, so relaxing and refreshing!
Calvinus beers have been brewed by the Papinot brothers of Geneva (“Les Frères Papinot”) under the umbrella of the small scale, but popular, family run Locher Brewery in Appenzell for over 15 years. So even though it is classed as a Geneva bier, at the moment this is strictly not quite true.
Brewed with wheat from the Appenzell region, this Witbier is brewed in the best craft tradition, unfiltered, containing Alpine spring water, organic wheat, barley, hops, yeast, coriander and orange peel.
Only organic ingredients are used for this pale, naturally cloudy beer that was originally brewed according to a secret recipe from Geneva.
Formation: A group of six school friends in 1976, from North London, formed the band. Fronted by Buster Bloodvessel (born Douglas Trendle), the band were mostly made up of self-taught musicians and a lot of energy. After becoming popular in the pubs and clubs of their native surrounds with their unique stage performances and huge leading man they quickly gained a following, which got them a record contract (without even recording a demo tape) with Magnet Records in 1980.
In 1985 Buster mooned (indecent exposure) the POPE! Yeah you read that right! In Italy, for the San Remo Festival, wanting to outdo Barry White, who was just coming off stage, and shock the crowd, Buster dropped his pants, and his rather large and not that hard to miss bum was picked up live on state TV. Unfortunately for Buster this festival was a favourite of his Holiness Pope John Paul who was watching the whole spectacle back in the Vatican. This resulted in a lifetime ban from Italian TV, and perhaps eternal damnation in the next life as well.
Touring Bad Manners are a hardworking band, permanently gigging which takes them all over the world, from as far afield as Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the Americas, all round Europe, and the length and breadth of Britain. Yet despite the years the band still packs out venues, albeit small sized venues such as leisure centres, pubs, theatres, festivals.
Making my way from the tube stop on Mornington Crescent, and just off Camden Town High Street, I went to meet a few old friends at The Sheephaven Bay, a good Irish style back street boozer. I have had beers in this pub before, always has a cracking atmosphere, feels homely, and even though it’s an Irish pub, it’s definitely not an “Oirish” pub, this is the real deal, warmth and charm, and none of your “O’Neills” plastic shite here!
Have to say I completely missed it at first as it still retains the old name of the previous pub, “The Jolly Gardeners”, with “Zeitgeist” written in much smaller signage, so was very easy to pass. Think it’s officially called “The Zeitgeist at the Jolly Gardeners”. Clever, eh? Hmmm! This Victorian pub is just behind Lambeth Bridge and about 10 minutes from Vauxhall station. It was what looked like an old style British boozer on the corner of the street.
Service was on the slow side, very slow, snail’s pace. Average time waiting for beer was about 20 minutes. Happened to loads of customers, ended up as a running joke, was actually quite funny how bad it was. One St Pauli fan had enough, got up and left!! Bar staff didn’t seem too bothered about all the thirsty customers, not rude or anything just they looked a bit stoned to be honest or perhaps that’s a German look? They looked a bit clueless and didn’t seem to be upto the job. I do know that they would be out on their ear if this was in an Irish bar, can’t be that slow when people need a drink!
Calanda Bräu is a Swiss brewery from the small town of Chur, which is reputedly the oldest town in Switzerland, and lies next to the waters of the Grison mountains, which are part of the Alps.
The Calanda brewery and its unique beer, from the water of the Grison mountains
Taste wasn’t what I was expecting, a bit of a slow burner. A good feel in the mouth and that initial taste was good. Creamy, stringent sour taste, some citrus.
Finkbräu De Luxe, another Lidl special. Special in that its dirt cheap, catering for students and those that are skint, you can get a bottle for about 50 cents, or less depending on where you are.
The Lidl France special that’s as cheap as shit.
