Tell us a story, Johnny Daly

For dinner on our first night in Dublin, we had booked an evening at the Brazen Head, Dublin's oldest pub (est. 1198), for an evening of Irish storytelling. Definitely for the tourists, but undeniably excellent. We learned so much about Irish culture, history and folklore, and it was a fantastic way to kick off our trip.


Our storyteller, Johnny Daly, also incorporated some of the origins of Halloween in honor of the upcoming holiday. Halloween, or Samhain in Celtic, was the belief that the spirits (both good and evil) passed through to the other side on this day, and costumes and masks were used to impersonate and trick the evil ones. Samhain was also, appropriately, the time of the fall harvest celebration.

While he told us stories, we feasted on traditional Irish cuisine (we both started with the Irish fishcakes; I had the Irish stew, Nicholas had the beef & Guinness stew). The significance of the potato and traditional "peasant" fare in Ireland is woven in as well.

While we commonly think of fairies as lovely little Disney characters, the Irish used faeries and leprechauns to explain away their problems, and most were actually quite powerful (/evil). Accidentally get drunk and pass out in a ditch last night? Your wife can't possibly be angry when you tell her it's all the faeries' fault for dragging you there. The infection that plagued the potato crops and led to the potato famine were also blamed on evil faeries. A really enjoyable evening with a master storyteller, one of Ireland's most treasured traditions.

After dinner, we headed downstairs for a perfectly pulled pint of cold, frothy Guinness in the old pub.



Happy Halloween!