The Pubs of Cork: ‘I was working 100 hours a week at first - now I have a life’

Since the age of 14, Eoin McCarthy has been working in the service sector in his home town of Cobh.

“At 14, I worked in local shops, and at 17 I worked in the local hotel, The Commodore,” says Eoin.

For the last three years, he has been leasing the Rob Roy Bar in Pearse Square in the centre of Cobh from the owners, the Allen family.

“I feel very lucky because of the massive support from the locals here, from the wider community, and from the other publicans and businesses in the town,” says Eoin.

The Rob Roy is a cosy, welcoming, traditional pub sporting maritime memorabilia that reflects Cobh’s history. It has a long history.

It is recorded as ‘The Rob Roy & Commercial Inn’ in Slaters 1846 Directory and the ‘Rob Roy Hotel’ in 1867. Many emigrants spent their last night upstairs here before departing for the shores of America.

Eoin, who studied Hospitality Management in GMIT, never thought about leaving Cobh, where he was born and bred and where he now lives with his partner Freda.

“When I started work in the Commodore, I was collecting glasses and bottles,” he says . “When I left the hotel, I was operations manager.”

Why did he enter the pub sector?

“I realised that over the years I had worked for so many people, either in pubs or hotels, but never for myself,” says Eoin.

“I said I’d give it a go when I leased the Rob Roy. I love the craic with the customers.”

But is it not all work and no play? I tell Eoin that is why my parents sold their pub in the late 1970s.

“Yes, I agree the hours are long and the pub business can be hard work,” he says. 

“At the start, after taking over the Rob Roy, I was working 90 to 100 hours every week. After a year, I worked less hours and now I work 50 hours a week. I have a life.”

Eoin has good fun and enjoys good camaraderie with his customers.

“I have great fun and a bit of banter with the customers. I was very lucky that I knew the locals well and I am very well supported. I think you can’t beat Cobh for support and the way everyone helps each other out.”

Visitors to Cobh enjoy the fun and banter too.

“Cruise liner season began on April 13 when the ships start coming in,” says Eoin. “The season lasts until the end of October.

“When the cruise ships arrive, there is always a bit of a buzz. There is music on the street. People sit out on the street in the sunshine in front of the sparkling sea and enjoy themselves.”

Business is good.

“The bar at the front and the lounge at the back are full when people enjoy what we have on offer,” says Eoin. “The offerings of the liquid variety always go down well!”

The welcome on the mat at the Rob Roy goes down well.

“Last Monday night, we had a crew of 30 Greek lads from a ship docked in the harbour. They showed us Greek dances and the craic was only mighty!” says Eoin.

It is often a case of round the house and mind the dresser at the Rob Roy.

“On Tuesday nights we have set dancing,” says Eoin.

Good vibrations abound.

“The place is hopping. On Wednesday, we had local musicians shooting a video in the pub. There is always something going on.”

There is something for everyone at the Rob Roy.

“Board games are popular in the lounge,” says Eoin. “Twister is always a good laugh for the customers. There is a good mix of people of all ages. On a Friday night, we can have ages 20 to 70, all having a great time.”

Cobh, renowned in song and in story, has a rich history and culture.

“Characters who are retired, coming in here that the lads know well, tell brilliant stories,” says Eoin.

Like what?

“Stories about the naval dockyard. the Verolme dockyard, the IFI (Irish Fertiliser Industry) in Cobh, a serious operation that had its own rail connection and deep-water port.”

“They tell us stories of what they got away with!” says Eoin, laughing.

Nobody gets away with much at the Rob Roy.

“Unofficially, the old-timers all have their reserved seats and bar stools,” says Eoin. “Almost everyone knows what seat belongs to who. No words are exchanged. Whoever is occupying the ‘reserved’ seat automatically moves to another seat!”

In the early 2000s, the Rob Roy was known as a rock bar. In recent years traditional music is on the music agenda too.

“We do a mix of both,” says Eoin. “Every Friday and Saturday night we have live bands play in the pub and on Sunday evenings there is a trad night. Somebody always strikes up a tune and others join in.”

The Cobh Trad Fest brings its own unique buzz to the town each July. “It is a brilliant weekend for all the family,” says Eoin.

The town is alive with the sound of music. “Music sessions are in the pubs and music and dance performances out on the street,” says Eoin. “There are sessions, folk music workshops, set-dancing, something for people near and far to enjoy. Cobh is a huge hub of music, dancing, and good fun the whole weekend.”

The Rob Roy, king of the town square, is a hub of its own.

“We like to think so,” says Eoin, who employs several local full-timers and part-timers in the bar.

“Stephen Walsh, my manager, is a mighty man,” says Eoin. “There are six of us working here in total.”

The publicans of Cobh are mighty men.

“There are 13 pubs in Cobh and there are 20 plus licensed premises in Cobh,” says Eoin. “We all look out for each other. The local chamber put in huge effort to promote and support the town.”

The bar and the town are a melting pot.

“I had a dozen tourists from the UK, Spain and Brazil in here during the week, and a man from Arizona in this morning,” says Eoin. “He lives here during the summer as the temperature in Arizona then can reach up to 48C.”

Eoin has his mum and dad living nearby.

“Dad is a carpenter by trade,” says Eoin. “He is the handy man around here.”

And mum?

“Mum has an eye for design,” says Eoin. “She did all the window boxes full of flowers out on the windowsills.”

Eoin smells the roses in the Rob Roy every day.

“I just feel so lucky,” he says. “You must come back to visit us during the folk festival in July.”

I’d better not sit on any of the ‘reserved’ seats then.

“Better not,” says Eoin, enjoying the banter. “You wouldn’t get away with it!”