There are many travellers who would never dream of setting foot in an Irish pub. They are too busy immersing themselves in the local culture, partying in hidden spaces, browsing art and absorbing history in areas far from sightseeing bus tours.
I get that. I do. I’m there. Too much, perhaps. Which is why – exhausted after days of rolling in at dawn and conversing in fragments of a new language – I occasionally find myself stepping, foot-weary and frazzled, into an Irish pub. Yes, it is the easy option. But I am on holiday. This is not an endurance test.