Fine Place to Daydream

Sports & Outdoors

Bill Barich

Individual Sports

CollinsWillow

A Pint of Plain is a quest to chronicle the state of the Irish pub today, and thereby to examine Irish culture at a time of great change. When the American writer Bill Barich moved to Dublin, he began searching for a traditional pub to serve as his local. Although he had no shortage of choices, he had trouble finding one that measured up to the archetypal ideal portrayed in Ireland's literature and such iconic movies as The Quiet Man. That suggested something deeper was at play - a shift in the country's values and identity. As Barich roamed from hectic urban pubs to their dwindling rural counterparts, he met an array of extraordinary characters whose lives are bound up in the trade. He blends the history of Guinness into his account, and also explores the impact of the firms that export 'authentic' Irish pubs around the world. A Pint of Plain will be irresistible to anyone who has been touched by Ireland and cares about its future.

A Pint of Plain

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Beverages & Wine

Bloomsbury Publishing

Seamlessly blending history and reportage, Bill Barich offers a heartfelt homage to the traditional Irish pub, and to the central piece of Irish culture disappearing along with it. After meeting an Irishwoman in London and moving to Dublin, Bill Baricha found himself looking for a traditional Irish pub to be his local.There are nearly 12,000 pubs in Ireland, so he appeared to have plenty of choices. He wanted a pub like the one in John Fords classic movie, "The Quiet Man," offering talk and drink with no distractions, but such pubs are now scare as publicans increasingly rely on flat-screen televisions, rock music, even Texas Hold 'Em to attract a dwindling clientele. For Barich, this signaled that something deeper was at playan erosion of the essence of Ireland, perhaps without the Irish even being aware.A Pint of Plain is Barichs witty, deeply observant portrait of an Ireland vanishing before our eyes. Drawing on the wit and wisdom of Flann O'Brien, James Joyce, Brendan Behan, and J. M. Synge, Barich explores how Irish culture has become a commodity for exports for such firms as the Irish Pub Company, which has built some 500 authentic Irish pubs in 45 countries, where authenticity is in the eye of the beholder. The tale of Arthur Guinness and the famous brewery he founded in the mid-18th century reveals the astonishing fact that more stout is sold in Nigeria than in Ireland itself. From the famed watering holes of Dublin to tiny village pubs, Barich introduces a colorful array of characters, and, ever pursuing craic, the ineffable Irish word for a good time, engages in an unvarnished yet affectionate discussion about what it means to be Irish today.

Pint of Plain, A

Business & Money

Industries

Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio

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Books by Bill Barich