The Village Pubs of Cork: 'We hold keys and take messages... our pub is a community service'

Bushe’s Bar in Baltimore faces the West Cork islands of Sherkin, Long Island, and the further out Cape Clear. Ferries dart over and back from the nearby pier.

Run by brothers Tom and Aidan Bushe, the pub has been a staple of the village for well over a century - long before tourism became Baltimore’s mainstay, and when fishing boats crowded the pier from morning to night.

“We inherited the pub from our parents. They bought it in 1972. Before that, it was Salter’s, named after the previous owners,” says Tom, who has lived in Baltimore his whole life.

The Salter connection goes back more than a century. In 1896, a man named Salter married a local woman and inherited the pub. “He was a brother of my great-grandmother, so there was a family connection there. He ran it into the 1950s, then his son Dinny took over. My father bought it from him in 1972,” Tom explains.

In those days, the pub operated as a ‘Beamish pub’, tied into the brewery - a system that was common across Ireland from the late 1800s to around the mid 20th century.

“That kind of contract was being phased out around then,” says Tom of his father’s purchase.

He and his brother Aidan took over the running of Bushe’s in 1998, after both had spent years working elsewhere. Tom had been in Waterford, working as an engineer in a factory making contact lenses, while Aidan had spent much of his working life at sea, involved with ferries and boats around the islands.

“Our parents were retiring and they gave us the option. It was up to us whether we took it on or not. We decided to take a chance and see how it worked out,” says Tom.

When their parents bought the pub in the early 1970s, Baltimore was still a lively fishing village. Trawlers, which kept many locals employed, lined the pier.

“There was a lot of fishing going on then. There was a fish factory operating here at the time, and I’ve heard there were over 100 people working in it,” Aidan says.

That factory closed in the early 1980s. “It was devastating to the area. Baltimore had to go down the tourism route. It took time,” he says.

“Twenty years ago, there were maybe ten or 12 trawlers fishing out of Baltimore,” Aidan says. “They were smaller boats. Now, there are four big trawlers, and they go wherever the fishing season takes them.”

Baltimore is still a fishing village, though on a much smaller scale. “You don’t have that day-to-day fishing activity on the pier anymore,” Aidan says.

Even so, he believes fishing remains part of Baltimore’s identity. “I’d still consider it a fishing and tourist village,” he says. “The fishing is still important, but you don’t have the visibility that was there when the factory was running and the fleets were coming in and out.”

With ferries to the islands, and various tourist attractions, its economy is still tied closely to the water.

“Every part of maritime life is here,” Aidan says. “Sailing, scuba diving, sea angling, ferries, whale watching, it’s all part of Baltimore now.”

Inside Bushe’s, that maritime character is reflected. The walls are decorated with nautical objects, photographs and memorabilia, most of it decades old.

“My father loved collecting that kind of thing. A lot of it is still here,” Tom says.

The pub itself has two main spaces. The main bar, is open all year round and carries a more authentic, rugged-pub look and feel ,while the adjoining area, which opens as needed during busier periods, has a slightly more pub-restaurant feeling about it.

Both sides are rich in a maritime decor.

“There was another pub next door originally. It closed for a number of years in the 1980s, then came up for sale and my father bought it. Now it’s all the one place,” Tom explains.

At one time, Baltimore had six pubs in a row along the street. Three remain today, along with one restaurant, kept going by the village’s long tourist season and its role as a gateway to the islands.

Patterns of drinking have changed significantly since Tom and Aidan took over the bar in the late 1990s.

“The customer base is much the same but the pattern is completely different. Years ago, we’d be very busy right up to closing time. Now the busiest time is between five and nine, even in the height of summer,” Tom says.

He puts it down to wider changes in society. “People are more health-conscious. They want to be up earlier in the morning. They might come out for a couple of drinks and head home,” he says.

Non-alcoholic beers and alternative drinks have become increasingly popular, and there is less tolerance now for the kind of excess that once was associated with rural pub life.

“We don’t have people shouting for drink at closing time anymore, that’s all changed,” Tom says, laughing.

Bushe’s adjusts its opening hours according to the seasons, particularly in winter, when evenings are quieter. Even so, the pub remains open seven days a week.

“We feel it’s important to be open. You’re providing a service to the community,” Tom says.

While Bushe’s also serves light lunches, soup and sandwiches, that type of thing, it also operates as an unofficial community hub.

“We hold keys for people. We take messages. Couriers drop things in. People ring and ask can they leave something here. If this place wasn’t open, things would be going into Skibbereen,” Tom adds.

Events like New Year’s Eve celebrations and regular island ferry traffic bring steady footfall, while summer brings sailing courses, families and outdoor enthusiasts.

“Everything that comes to the area helps, in one way or another.” Tom says.

Their children have worked in the pub while in college, but there is no expectation that the next generation will take over. “You have to let people do their own thing, that’s what our parents did.” Tom says, and Aidan agrees.

“We’re still here. That’s the main thing,” Aidan says.