A Night At Scholar’s Pub

At Scholar's pub on the University of Limerick campus, various musicians entertain students with traditional Irish music on different nights of the week.

Scholar’s pub, one of a couple on the University of Limerick campus, is a cozy, quaint little bar set up in the hub of student activity for the college. We were strongly encouraged by Dr. Rick to spend some time at pubs, as pub life is a very important part of Irish culture. As much as college students like to drink, generally speaking, pub life here is not just about the alcohol. It’s about socializing with your peers and listening to moving music.

On this particular night, a group of talented young musicians was playing in a corner of the pub, their respective beverages of choice bubbling up in glasses on the wooden tabletops. Two are recent UL graduates, two are soon to graduate. One is both English and Irish, one is Italian and two are American. All of them are friends, residing together in a house that is a fifteen-minute walk from the university. Though my experience with in other countries is limited to three- England, Ireland and my own United States of American- there seems to be a common thread of camaraderie and brotherhood amongst band members. These four prove that music rises above all geographical borders and unites people.

John, Carol, Torie and Daylina enjoy the traditional Irish music and some Irish coffee at the Scholar's Pub, located on the University of Limerick campus in Ireland.

The USF group sat back and enjoyed the music. The sound of Irish bagpipes, flute, guitar and fiddle floated throughout the tiny pub. I can only speak for the Americans there but the music was delightful and inspiring. We were so excited about being in Ireland and listening to genuine Irish music live, from people our own age, that we could only stop and tilt our heads to assist the exhilarating sounds into permeating every fiber of our eardrums and souls.

After the last call for drinks, we slowly made our way out of the pub, chit-chatting with the band as we went. Michael, Martino, Erik and Conal were very friendly and funny. They invited us back to their place to hang out for a couple hours and the night was quickly passed by exchanging music and intelligent conversation.

Possibly my favorite part of the night was when Martino made the comment that we were “where the history is at,” a reference to British transvestite comedian Eddie Izzard and one I got right away. After a high-five, we started over to their place for a little more conversation about the band’s music and life in Ireland.

This is just one example of how the culture differs here from the States and other parts of the world. While friendliness is not an a virtue limited to Ireland, the people are incredibly accepting and friendly here, particularly in more rural areas. As we have made our way from London to Dublim and Limerick, we have noticed a definite increase in the level of personal interaction. As in the States, the bigger the city, the more apathetic people are towards you as an individual. Here, in a college town in a culture that does a lot of its socializing in pubs with good music, food and drink, people are very interested in you as an individual, always willing to exchange life stories or tell you about that cousin of theirs in Boston.

Aubrey and Josh at Scholar's Pub, enjoying Irish music and the company of fellow USF bulls.

Torie and Lauren showing off their mad shamrock-creation ability.

Priya and Jessica sound off a "Slainte!" (pronounced "slawn-cha") at the Scholar's Pub on campus. Slainte is Gaelic for "cheers!"

I love this country.