We want to go to there.
As part of the
Irish Pub Of The Year awards, there is a few categories that recognise the good work put in by Irish Pubs that don't actually exist within Ireland.
Awarded to the venue that "epitomises the very essence of what makes an Irish pub", the winner is judged on authenticity, atmosphere, food and beverage offering, design and customer service.
Bars-of-an-Irish-nature have been broken down into geographical categories for Europe, Americas, and then Asia, Africa and Australia, the finalists of which are as follows:
D’arcy Arms, Australia
Fiddler’s Green, Australia
Paddy O’Shea’s, Beijing
McGettigans, Abu Dhabi
The Irish Embassy, Koh Lanta
The Irish Times, Phuket
The Irish Village, Dubai
Seumus Bar, Picton
That last one, in Picton, is situated on the southern half of New Zealand, which plants it just short of 19,000km from Ireland, so pretty much qualifying it as the furthest-away-from-Ireland-Irish-Bar in the competition.
Owned by a local couple, who bought out an Irish couple who they previously ran the bar with, that distance obviously hasn't harmed it any, since it has been shortlisted for the finals, and the folks who run the bar are now so excited about the nomination, they're really pushing for the win.
Speaking to local news outlet
Stuff NZ, they said: "We're pretty stoked. It's pretty exciting and our customers are excited for us and proud.
"A lot of people have being passing on their congratulations which is pretty special."
"I posted that we had entered on our Facebook page and on my Instagram account but never really tried to push it. It's been done by public nominations which makes it even more special.
"I love that we are small enough that you're back-to-back with people and can talk. When people come in we can shout out and say 'hello' and make people, both local and from elsewhere, feel like they belong; that they're not out of place."
The owners are hoping to make it to Galway for the finals in October, and we wish them all the best!
Listen, if somebody wants to send us to each and every one of those bars to see which is the best, we're totally down for that. The craic in Picton looks mighty!
Main image via Facebook
