BIG READ - End of an era as popular Kilkenny man pulls his final pint

Well known and much loved barman at Tynan’s Bridge House Bar, Liam Phelan, pulled his final pint before retirement on Friday, May 17.

Many of his family, friends and colleagues past and present joined with the legendary Kilkenny figure for an evening of celebration, nostalgia and laughs as the curtain came down on an illustrious career for Liam behind the bar.

Liam has become a treasured part of Kilkenny life for over 30 years, spreading his stories, joy and happy days to locals and visitors alike during memorable spells with local pubs and restaurants including Hotel Kilkenny, Paris Texas, and — for the past nine years — Tynan’s.

So, as one door closes and another opens for Liam, is the local man dreading the prospect of retirement?

“I’m actually looking forward to it, in fairness Ann (Liam’s wife) is on her own the whole time in the house so it’s the right thing to do but I mean I will miss it,” he said.

The local man’s list of roles is unmeasurable as his ability to turn his hand to jobs when required which made him a favourite with customers and employers alike.

“I came to Kilkenny in 1983, I started off in Rosslare, I was the head chef in Hotel Rosslare with Liam Griffin. He bought the Rosehill House Hotel in Kilkenny and I came up as assistant manager to Richard Butler. I worked with him for years but during that time the head chefs used to leave so I’d go back into the kitchen as head chef and then I became entertainment and food and beverage manager so I looked after weddings.”

Liam spent over a decade in the local hotel before turning his attention to city centre bar and restaurant, Paris Texas in 1996 where the fun and devilment as well as the unmeasurable amount of happy memories still resonate with the local barman to this day.

By 2006, another project caught Liam’s interest as he joined friends to run the Boston Bar.

A year to take stock and focus on family soon followed but his time away from bar work and the industry he holds so close to his heart was never going to last forever and by the turn of the new decade, Liam was back in his second home behind the bar of the ‘ Dylan Whisky Bar’ in the city refinding the golden touch which had endeared him to hundreds of pub goers from at home and abroad and one evening out of the blue in 2015, another door would open for the long-standing barman.

The now-owner of Tynan’s saw an opportunity to re-open after a period of closure, with one man in his sights to run it — Liam Phelan.

“I couldn’t wait because I love Tynan’s. This will be my ninth year here and what I love about this bar; is it’s a real pub, it has a pub atmosphere, the television is on the whole time with good, old fashioned music that suits everyone that comes in,” he says.

What sets Tynan’s apart according to Phelan though is the relationships it builds and the connections it makes.

“You meet people from all over the world here and I’ve met some famous people between Katie Holmes and her daughter Suri, to Led Zepplin. The pub is in the Lonely Planet guide so you have a lot of people come from that.”

And it’s no coincidence the local pub has garnered world attention with its cosy interior and warm atmosphere, with arguably the pub’s greatest feat coming in 1974, winning the first Black and White Pub of the Year Award.

“There’s something special about Tynan’s. When you come here you’re talking to Germans, to Americans, to Canadians and so many more and you end up talking to everybody. It’s a special place to me and it will always be a special place to me, without a doubt.”

The pub landscape continues to change with customer demands and needs constantly evolving with that trend set to continue according to Liam.

“I can see things constantly changing with new people coming in and even with cocktails coming in,” he says.

“I never did cocktails; I was too old to train but everything is training, like even before, we didn’t have a whole lot of foreign beers, it was just basic beer because it was all locals and because it was an old bar, we didn’t tend to have hens or stags, it just wasn’t our scene but that’s changed now and in fact they’re all coming in now and enjoying it,” he says.

“I love it (the changes), I love the bar business. The big thing I’ve always said is no matter what’s going through your head, when you come through the door in the morning it’s show time, and that bar there to me is a stage, your a performer and even if you’re down in the dumps you have to lift yourself and when you’re up and running sure you’re grand, not a problem in the world.”

In a job that Liam has given so much and feels he’s gotten a lot back, what will he miss the most?

“The biggest thing in here is the craic and the wind ups that just goes on non-stop,” he says.

“I would never be late, I would always be on time or a little bit early because I used to love the bar and I love listening to the music as well.

“I put all the playlists together so I sit down quite enjoying the music and not a bother in the world and most people who come in are elderly so they love the music.”

And be it for the music or the company, the customers keep flocking back.

“We have locals here every day of the week and you know exactly what they’re going to drink and exactly where they’re going to sit,” he says.

“I love being on both sides of the bar, and sometimes when I’m finished I hop out and sit beside the locals and the tourists and have a chat with them.”

Customer loyalty is key according to Liam, but equally the support of fellow pubs in the area is invaluable.

“(The relationship) is always great. We’d borrow stuff from them and them from us. If you’re stuck, we’ll sort it.”

And as the well-known barman prepares to pass on the mantle on, he expressed a deep thanks to all his colleagues and friends from down through the years who he still meets today and looks forward to spending his days gardening and on the other side of the counter in the next chapter of a colourful life.