Hannah’s Bar
Close to the judo club behind Stewarts clothes shop in the Lower Main Street in Strabane there was pub called Joe Hannah’s. It had a stout brown wooden outer street door and set in recess was a narrow salon type door you might have seen in the old time cowboy pictures that open directly into the bar. The barroom, which was no bigger than a small front room, which it might well have been in its time, was panelled in dark wood with narrow high straight backed pew-like seats round well used scuffed tables with black iron legs and scarred tops ringed with beer stains.
Grimy glass mirrors advertising Irish whiskey decorated the wall behind them. No doubt they’d be antiques and worth a fortune today..
Cassie, a small stout woman from Ballybofey in Co Donegal was the barmaid. All you could see of her behind the high bar was the top of her head.
Cassie ruled the customers with a rod of iron. You didn’t get serve if you staggered in drunk. And you didn’t get staying long enough to get drunk.
After the men had been served a certain amount of drink Cassie would come around from behind the counter, fold her arms across her chest and say,” It’s time you went home.” she’d open one of the swing doors and say “No more drink in here for you the night!”
How times have changed.
Gemma Hill 2018
Gemma Hill Writeyou Writeme 