282) The Seventy-Four of Talbot Street, D1

A pub with a penchant for frequently changing its name, previously operational under the monickers of Cheers Bon, Gallagher's, Lowry's, The Ramblers and Mother Kelly's. It receives a very brief mention in Ulysses, at a time when it was known as Cormack's. To honour this fact, they have a mural to Joyce [1] on the exterior wall of the pub. The windows get good light but watch your ass and don't speak up. The seats outside afford passable people-watching eye candy if you're really stumped. A smoking man in the doorway offered us this choice political pearl: 'Ireland needs a Trump'. And I need a dump.

FOOTNOTE

[1] The Seventy-Four pub sits directly opposite ‘James Joyce Street’ which leads to ‘Foley Street’ (formerly ‘Montgomery Street’ or ‘The Monto’). The area was once the largest Red-Light Districts in Europe, which Joyce famously called ‘Nighttown’ in Ulysses. It is unlikely the town planners considered this prurient detail when designating the street 'James Joyce Street'. Once, while waiting for a Belfast bus around 5am, Sam Coll was hailed by a horny Yank who wanted to know 'You can get chicks around here, right?'

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