Although spirits were high at the dawn of Day 2 (Friday 17th March), energy levels had reached a nadir thanks to some late night poker which Didsy had machined. A quick stop at Sainsbury’s @ Sprucefield rejuvenated the crew and we hurtled south on the road to Newry.

Crossing the border into Louth we immediately came across Dundalk, a grim, industrial wasteland of a town. Bones had suggested the Dublin House pub, but we discovered that it had long since folded to be replaced by a shoe shop.

How appropriate though that our first stop on St. Paddy’s day was The Shamrock. It was very quiet at 11:00, but the barmaid (the sister of Belfast hairdresser Paul Stafford!) was full of dry humour and bent double with the weight of shamrocks and tin foil. Brian and Hon decided to find the nearest bank machine which happened to be a full mile away – their hurried pint drinking was a sweaty and wheezy affair.

Guinness Rating
Would we go back? Difficult to say as most pubs are pretty dead at eleven in the morning. Probably not as the town looks crap
Best Moment Discovering how cheap a round of drinks costs with euros