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Feather in their cap for pub landladies
By Cornelia Lucey
TWO landladies have come to the rescue of the hundreds of Irish people
living in Bristol - by opening their very own Irish pub.
And Plume of Feathers owners Grace O’Malley and Sue Hatim are hoping
to lure their Irish neighbours with more than a pint of the black stuff.
Grace - who hails from Meath — said: “We’re determined
to inject some authentic Irish charm into East Bristol with this new pub.
“I moved to Britain in 1989 and the whole time I’ve been in
Bristol I’ve been longing for a real Irish local.
“Sue did her personal licence to become a publican and put herself
on the waiting list for a pub.
“It was actually such a fluke when the Plume came up — we
used to drink in it because we lived nearby and now we’re the landlords!
It’s great.”
Grace travels back to Meath every month to visit her family and always
hoped she could find the same craic back in Britain.
She said: “To get to an Irish pub we had to travel to the other
side of the city — and what’s the point of going to a pub
if you have to drive back?
“Another alternative for us was O’Neills but to be honest
chain pubs just don’t cut it for me.”
The Irish duo has continued a fortnightly Friday night session which was
set up by the old owners.
But they have also added a lot more of an Irish essence much to the delight
of their punters.
The former office worker said: “We’ve been trying to add as
much Irish memorabilia as possible so people feel at home.
“We’ve got photos up and last week the Guinness mystery shopper
was in and he commended us on our beer with a placard — so that’s
gone up too.
“People have come up to congratulate us on how well it’s looking
good so we’re really pleased”
In the past Grace has worked in offices doing administration but now she
wouldn’t swap the pub for the world.
She said: “I just love it. Today I promised a friend I would cover
her day job — but it’s so boring compared to the pub.
“We get such a buzz out of the atmosphere, and are hoping to organise
as many trad sessions in the New Year as possible.”
Last week Dave Keogh from Wylde Green came down to sing and play to a
full house, Gypsy’s Kiss have also performed and a St. Patrick’s
Day trip is in the pipeline. | 