Mourne Mountains

Getting away from it all in the Mournes

A Pint of Plain is Your Only Man

A Pint of Plain is Your Only Man

By Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan)

Recession Blues?

Read the words, then enjoy Eamon Morrissey reciting

'A Pint of Plain is Your Only Man'

When things go wrong and will not come right,
Though you do the best you can,
When life looks black as the hour of night -
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

When money's tight and is hard to get
And your horse has also ran,
When all you have is a heap of debt -
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

When health is bad and your heart feels strange,
And your face is pale and wan,
When doctors say you need a change,
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

When food is scarce and your larder bare
And no rashers grease your pan,
When hunger grows as your meals are rare -
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

In time of trouble and lousy strife,
You have still got a darlint plan
You still can turn to a brighter ,life -
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.

Flann O'Brien - 'At Swim-Two-Birds'

Eamon Morrissey's recites
A Pint of Plain is Your Only Man

Nancy's Pub, Ardara, County Donegal

Nancy's Pub, Ardara, County Donegal

This famous Irish pub is celebrated for its pint of Guinness, its great food and its lively music. Step into the shadows and step into delight.

"Sure, wouldn't you just know from lookin' at it?"

___________________

"We both sat down at a little table

We looked at each other a little while

We both sat down at a little table

And Nancy's whiskey it did beguile."

From 'Nancy's Whiskey' sung by Andy Irvine

'The Third Policeman' - Bicycle

The Third Policeman - Bicycle

In his comic novel 'The Third Policeman', Flann O'Brien reveals De Selby's 'atomic theory' of how a bicycle and its owner gradually become part of one another.

"The gross and net result of it is that people who spend most of their natural lives riding iron bicycles over the rocky roadsteads of this parish get their personalities mixed up with the personalities of their bicycle as a result of the interchanging of the atoms of each of them and you would be surprised at the number of people in these parts who nearly are half people and half bicycles."

Malahide, Dublin - Sunset

The Sun Sets on the Celtic Tiger

This photograph was taken in Malahide, County Dublin, in 2007. The crane (Ireland's thriving construction industry/materialism) is towering above the church (decline in religion/spirituality). The jet highlights the flourishing travel industry and Ireland's international aspirations.

Carrickfergus Castle, County Antrim

Carrickfergus Castle, County Antrim

"I wish I was in Carrickfergus

Only for nights in Ballygrand;

I would swim over the deepest ocean

Just to see my love before I die.

But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over

Nor have I wings so I could fly;

I wish I could meet a handsome boatman

To carry me over my love and I.

In Kilkenny it is reported

On marble stones as black as ink

With gold and silver I did support her

But I'll sing no more till I've had a drink.

Well, I'm drunk today and I'm seldom sober,

A handsome rover from town to town;

But I am sick now my days are numbered

Come all you young men and lay me down."

Traditional

County Wicklow - Ireland

The Wicklow Hills

Tranquillity and serenity among the Wicklow hills.

"Wicklow, where the fields are sharply green, where a wild beauty hides in the glens, where sudden surprising vistas open up as the road rises and falls." H.V. Morton 'In Search of Ireland'

"It was as if a wand had touched him; it was as if the solid land of Ireland about him had become unreal." Maurice Walsh 'Come Back My Love'

Among the Wicklow Hills