The Pubs of Cork: 'I toured Ireland in 2017... now I run a pub here in Kinsale'

When South African Jacques Koster toured Ireland in 2017, he was very taken with the spectacular views, the wonderful heritage, and the friendly local pubs dotted around the country.

So much so that he is now the bar manager of Harry’s Bar in Kinsale.

Did his taste of Ireland and our famous hospitality prompt him to return with his wife Chelsea and four suitcases?

“Absolutely!” says Jacques. “I remember going into Sam’s Bar in Kinsale and the people there were so friendly. It was phenomenal!”

He landed on his feet too, when he got chatting to someone who was looking to open his own bar in the town.

“He asked me if managing Harry’s Bar was something I would consider,” says Jacques. “He wanted me. Happy days!”

The role required someone with energy and enthusiasm, who was able to manage a local friendly bar in the gourmet capital of Ireland. How did Jacques fit the bill?

“My dad had ten pubs back home in South Africa!” say Jacques, who is very familiar with the pub trade at home and abroad.

“I was brought up in a pub. I worked in the business from age 13 up.”

The works hours that are suited to his home life.

“We have a three-year-old,” he says. “It is great to be off on Sundays which is a family day for us. I’m off Monday and Tuesday too. Working four days a week suits me very well.”

“My manager lets me do what I like here!” he jokes.

Like what?

“Like introducing novel cocktails like chocolate vodka.”

Seems like an unusual combination.

“It’s good to try out new things,” says Jacques. “You should give a chocolate vodka cocktail a try!”

I might take a rain check! But there are other appealing things on offer at Harry’s Bar at 1, Main Street.

“We have great music here in Harry’s Bar,” says Jacques. “And we have great times. We have everything going for us.”

Is it a bar for all seasons in this famous tourist hot-spot?

“We have a great local trade here,” says Jacques. “That keeps us ticking over in winter.

“Of course, the summer months bring loads of visitors to Kinsale who want to experience the wonderful hospitality on offer. The summer season is always busy and buzzing.”

‘Small Denis’ is one of the customers who experiences the wonderful hospitality on offer.

“‘Small Denis’ has his own corner seat in the bar,” says Jacques. “He always has half a pint of Coors. And that’s it.”

Two more customers, Victoria and Andrew, talk to Jacques about the ‘home’ country when they stop into Harry’s Bar for a tipple and a chat.

“Victoria also came from South Africa,” says Jacques. “We talk about what the home country used to be like.”

Like Jacques, the couple are well-travelled.

“They like travelling and they like going on cruises,” says Jacques.

How does the pub trade here in Ireland and in Kinsale differ from that of the ‘home’ country?

“Here is more personalised,” says Jacques. “You get to know everyone, and it is so easy to strike up a conversation with the customers coming in here.”

What might the conversations be about?

Jacques laughs.

“Sometimes I am the therapist as well as the barman!” says Jacques. “I might be talking to a chap who is thinking of getting a new car. His wife might not agree!”

Jacques offers his two-pence halfpenny, but remains neutral.

“I am always happy to listen,” he adds.

Additional staff at Harry’s Bar, Amelia, Christian, and James, all put in their own two-pence halfpenny to the smooth running of the friendly cosy bar.

“Each have their own special personality, and each have their own valuable input,” says Jacques. “They have a great relationship with our younger customers. When the young people gather here, the place is electric!”

Is food on offer too?

“No. We concentrate on a liquid diet only!” says Jacques, who has obviously got a taste for Irish humour.

Jacques, one of the locals since 2024, has thought of everything to make Harry’s Bar appealing to young and old alike, to the locals and to the visitors who flock to the town of Kinsale.

“There are three high tables and five low tables for people to sit down together.”

I like the spirit shelf over the bar counter that looks colour co-ordinated.

“Yes, lots of people comment on that when they sit at the bar having a drink,” says Jacques. “All the colours of the various bottles catch people’s eye.

“They like the steel lights too and the cosy electric heat here on cold days and nights.”

Harry’s Bar can get very busy. There is plenty of room for everyone. “We have an overflow space out the back,” says Jacques.

When Jacques is out front, the friendly locals often stop to pass the time of day; or to give him a hand making the premises pretty.

“If I’m hanging up flower baskets, or arranging plant pots outside the bar, people often stop and ask me if I want a hand,” says Jacques. “One man came back with a ladder on the roof of his van so I could get up to the next storey!”

What about other jobs in the bar that are not so appealing?

“Yes, there are the chores like keeping the ladies’ and gents’ toilets clean and tidy and up to scratch hygiene-wise,” says Jacques.

“Thoroughly cleaning the bar can be a big job. It can get messy after a busy Saturday night! I can get past that!”

I tell Jacques I used to hate cleaning and washing the ashtrays after a busy night when I worked in a bar.

“I don’t mind doing that so much,” he says. “I am a smoker, so I know people who smoke like to indulge in the great outdoors.”

Jacques escorts me out of the bar into the sunny side of the street.

“Don’t forget to come back for a chocolate vodka!” he calls.

Happy days!