AN American couple’s wild fairytale trip to Ireland was so much craic, bumping into President Michael D Higgins along the way, that they have built a replica of their favourite West Cork pub on their return to the USA.
The distance from Bernard Harrington’s pub in Glengarriff to Boise, Idaho is 7,300kms, but US visitors Allen and Michele Sielaff have bridged that gap with a permanent reminder of their recent trip.
Ironically, Hollywood royalty Maureen O’Hara, a much-loved former resident of Glengarriff, moved to Idaho in 2012 to be with her grandson Conor Fitzsimons, where she died aged 95 in 2015.
‘Michele had so much fun in Ireland she wanted to sell everything and move there,’ said Allen. ‘Michele recently had neck surgery and I built the replica to help her recover, remind her of Ireland and to hold off any moving she wanted to do!’ explained Allen.
Allen said his bar is a reminder of ‘the incredible experience of music, fun and international camraderie that we felt that evening.’
Allen and Michele had travelled to Ireland with a travel group called Backstage Pass Travel for a visit entitled the ‘Castles and Pints Tour’ with Geoff Tate, a former lead singer of multimillion record-selling US metal band Queensryche. Geoff now has a band that has members from all over the world, including musicians from Ireland. ‘We travelled to Cork and met Geoff, the band, and his wife Susan – who actually is the coordinator of this incredible musical experience and travel group,’ said Allen.
The musicians they met included guitarist James Brown from Kilkenny and Mark Daly from Cork, Ryan Parsons, and David James Murphy, and Tomas and Clodagh McCarthy of band Fire and Water.
The group kissed the Blarney Stone, toured castles, and enjoyed whiskey tasting and live music before their trip to Glengarriff. ‘None of this prepared us for our night at Bernard Harrington’s and the incredible town of Glengarriff,’ recalled Allen.
Checking in at the Eccles Hotel before a trip to Garinish Island, the group had another surprise. ‘There was a very friendly older couple eating breakfast next to us. One of our group members told the distinguished older lady that she loved her hat. As they left, the older lady said that you had to wear a proper hat to visit Garinish Island.’ When people started taking pictures with the ‘older couple’, Allen was stunned to hear it was President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina. ‘We were just amazed that we were able to talk to them at the table right next to us.’
Allen and Michele and the group ventured to Bernard’s that evening.
‘It is exactly what you picture if you are thinking of an Irish pub in business a long time,’ said Allen. ‘The music session was nothing short of incredible, a night of singing, laughter, drinks and fun. The staff at Bernard’s kept up with all of us thirsty music fans and did not let the musicians cup run dry.
‘We had a patron from France singing the Auld Triangle while playing guitar. A man from Glengarriff pulled out a tin whistle and joined in. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves from all over the world. Geoff bought the whole bar a round of Jameson to toast our evening.’
Inspired by his trip to Bernard’s, Allen got to work back home recreating the bar back in Idaho for his wife Michele. ‘The letters on the sign were the closest ones I could find. The real Bernard’s lettering is very unique,’ Allen told The Southern Star. ‘The real benches would be hard to find here in the US and I only had room for one bench so I found a wooden one and painted it yellow.’
Bernard Harrington’s in Boise, Idaho is now a permanent reminder of a trip of a lifetime. ‘We have yet to have a live music session at Bernard Harrington’s replica in Boise. But anything is possible after having breakfast next to the Irish president and first lady in Glengarriff and our musical night at Bernard Harrington’s!’ said Allen.
