365) The Strawberry Hall of Strawberry Beds, Astagob, Chapelizod, Dublin 20

Perched Liffeyside in Astagob is the remarkable Strawberry Hall. Like a converted country cottage this small watering hole is intimate and with much charm. Often described as a hidden gem - it’s surrounded by a luscious mixed leaf salad of green trees and abundance of bushes. High on the side of the exterior are a couple of massive printed strawberries confirming to all that durst look upon her that they are indeed looking to her. Reader dear, hold on to your hat for a botanical fact: a strawberry is not a berry! (Yet, the bent banana is!). The truth hurts. And we digress.

If walking from Chapleizod (the only way to work up a good thirst) one will note a series of interesting bridges along the way [1]. Firstly, there’s the footbridge over Knockmaroon Hill connecting two old 19th century mansions built by the Guinness family. Next is the iron wrought Farmleigh Bridge over the Liffey. Finally, on approaching the pub on Lower Road one will be wonderstruck and Astagob-smacked by the arresting view of a strange reinforced concrete bridge high in the sky which Sam described as Ireland’s bridge of Sighs-cum-Suicides. Our macabre sixth sense about this M50 edifice was later confirmed to be correct, and tragic. [2]

Ireland’s Bridge of Sighs-cum-Suicides

Please forgive us our second digression and now on to the pub itself. A plump, gay Beamish sign is erect above the door and indeed the elixir of life is served, although we visited on Bloomsday 2021 just after restrictions had been eased - around the time there might not have been much flow from keg to tap. It was a foul pint, miserably stale and stagnant. We’re confident it will taste better on another occasion, and at only €4.50 one may happily drink and save.

We were told to take Liffeyside seats under a tent, a canopy - a Covid-era innovation, a Covid marquee. One must cross the raging road to reach it, and the juvenile staff do the same, risking their life each time, no matter the quantity of glasses on their laden trays. Inside the Strawberry Hall is a wonderfully wooden interior illuminated by multi-coloured windows and frillions of knick-knacks. It’s also home to the very peculiar game called ‘Bagatelle’ - go figure!

Bagatelle: a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls into holes guarded by wooden pegs

Special guests throughout the years have included Glen Hansard and Damien Dempsey spotted singing and slurping. An unusual old style green postbox is set into the wall of the pub. First-class seats can be found right outside the bar, but only three of them, occupied at our time of visiting by some stinking hunks of cologne. Judging by the amount of commuters who had stopped in for a refresh perhaps it’s not exactly much of a regulars bar.

The old beergarden is located not far from underneath the monstrous M50 bridge and couples as a carpark where one may purchase a pizza from an artisan food truck called ‘Goats Gruff’ - (note the reference to the fairy tale Three Billy Goats Gruff, the heroes of which are three goats who need to outsmart a ravenous troll to cross the bridge to their feeding ground). We had several pints of Guinness and remarked how pleasurable it was to sit and sip so close to the waters of the Liffey. But the sound of a howling dog in the background was haunting and reminded us of something more sinister. We set out along the road for another nest and pledged to return to the pub most certainly in the hope for a better Beamo, and for a more fruitful seat at the centre of the Strawberry.

Tipplers Talk: This was our 365th pub visited in Dublin for this present project, a milestone in a way - for it represents a pub for each day of the year. Would anyone dare?

FOOTNOTES

[1] See image of bridges in sequential order: Knockmaroon Footbridge exterior / interior, Farmleigh Bridge, M50.

[2] https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tragedy-body-mum-found-under-22892029

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