Monthly Archive for November, 2005

Watergrasshill is a village located about 15 minutes drive from the Jack Lynch Tunnel off the main Cork to Dublin road. Myself and Jen decided to pay the place a visit and review a couple of its finest drinking establishments. Watergrasshill is now bypassed so watch out for the turn off. The first pub we visited was O’ Mahony’s. There is car parking available at the side of the road. It was quite busy inside and it appeared that some of the patrons had been drinking for the best part of the day. One guy was up on a high stool, which was quite unsteady doing some sort of dance! How he didn’t fall off i will never know. The pub is split into two sections. There was a mixture of young and older people out enjoying the night. In fairness the man behind the bar was very polite and efficient and he pulled a very decent pint of Murphy’s. There was a big projected screen in the back section showing a premiership match. We were getting a lot of stares from people in the bar wondering who we were.

The toilets are off the back section and through an area where i noticed loads of coats to be hanging. The toilets themselves aren’t too bad but they were in an awful state when i went in. One of the urinals was covered in vomit that smelled discusting and really gave a bad impression. I found this pub to be quite modern inside with a good mixture of people. There was no need for music as everyones conversation filled the room. O’ Mahony’s is a good pub overall.

Toilet rating: 3/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 7/10

Final comment: The toilets dampened my overall impression of this pub however it certainly has a lot of appeal.

Following another very enjoyable meal at the roberts cove inn we took the ferry across the water to Cobh. We wandered the streets in search of some warmth and came upon The Mauretania. It is nothing special to look at from the outside but we had a look inside. Cobh is renouned for being the last port of call of the Titanic before its final journey. This pub is named after the ship that was built in 1906 and made her maiden voyage from liverpool to Queenstown (as Cobh was known in the past). It is a very small pub. There was a couple we knew inside and after a quick chat we sat across from the bar. I ordered a Murphy’s and two glasses of white wine. I noticed many musical instruments on the wall in the pub. There was a good crowd inside and there was music playing in the background. It is certainly a quaint little bar and would not be everyones cup of tea. I enjoyed the Murphy’s and have to say that it was a good pint.

The ladies toilets got the thumbs down from the two women with me. They are up a steep stairs and did not have any loo roll! The gents are situated down stairs and are very small. The entrance to them is extremely small. There was an old style Cogans towel that i refrained from using. It appeared to be in good condition other than that. Its a grand pub for a drink during the afternoon but if it got anyway packed it could be uncomfortable and i’d say the queue for the toilet would be something worth talking about!

Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7/10

Final comment: The Mauretania is centrally located in Cobh facing the sea. If on a visit to the town then pop in.