Barmaid serves up beers and cheers in McCormack's of Castlepollard with pints at just €5.50

Sunday World

16-05-2025

There was a good atmosphere throughout the pub and the barmaid certainly shared a good rapport with the locals
Our Commandos liked the view from McCormack's of Castlepollard in Co Westmeath
​It's hard to believe that more than 10 years have passed since we drank a pint in Castlepollard, but the Old Commando can still remember that cold January evening back in 2015.
'I checked my notes before we left. We were drinking pints of Guinness for only €4 that night, I doubt we'll be so lucky this time around,' he joked.
Following our 75 minute journey from the capital, we arrived in the small village of Castlepollard and having circled the village green twice, our designated driver finally parked the pub-mobile and let us out to stretch our legs.
Having admired the nice blue exterior, the Old Commando made his way across the street and into front bar of McCormack's pub, where he instructed us to take our seats at the front window overlooking the green area in the middle of the village.
'Isn't that a lovely view on a lovely sunny day like this?' he said as he went to place our order. It is a nice feature of this pub, we must say, to have a counter area just inside the front door in front of a large window — it almost made us feel bad for sitting inside as the sun split the rocks.
However, we were here to drink porter, not work on our summer tan, and after a brief few moments a barmaid arrived and took the Old Commando's order.
The creamy pints of stout cost us €5.50, an almost 38 per cent increase since our previous visit to the area ten years ago, but this is arguably one of the cheaper prices you'll find these days.
There are a large selection of drinks available on draught in this pub including Coors, Corona, Birra Moretti and Orchard Thieves Wild, while the fridges and shelves were also fully stocked.
There was a predominately male clientele during our stay and most of the crowd was in the front section, with saloon-styled doors separating the first two sections of the bar.
The second section, which was populated mostly by younger males, contained a pool table, a jukebox, a TV and two gaming machines.
There was a good atmosphere throughout the pub and the barmaid certainly shared a good rapport with the locals who seemed as happy to see her as she was to see them.
The wine leather barstools were in good condition and there are coat hangers located along the counter for convenience.
There are two TVs in the front bar and horse racing was being shown during our visit. We noticed a third section of this pub but it was closed off during our visit.
A sign behind the counter advised that hangovers only last a day, memories last a lifetime, so having read that sign the Young Commando ordered round two and we began working towards the hangover.
We noticed some GAA photos hanging throughout the bar, including one of the 1981 U21 hurling team that won their championship, and the Old Commando mentioned that it is now 20 years since Castlepollard's last senior hurling title.
'They must be starving for success, who knows what the year will bring?' he continued.
Our designated driver took it upon himself to inspect the beer garden and toilets which are located side by side, and while he was complimentary of the beer garden, the toilets need some attention.
'There's no seat on one of the toilets and the cubicle lock is busted,' he told us upon his return. These are two very basic items and they should be fixed immediately.
We enjoyed our visit to McCormack's bar and perhaps we'll return next year when they pub will celebrate its 50th birthday, having been established in 1976.
Rating: Three pints out of Five
One for the road:
Town and Country – Castlepollard
A very smartly dressed blonde barmaid served us when we stopped off at the Town and Country pub in Castlepollard.
There were few empty seats in the front bar with a middle aged to elderly clientele all in fine spirits and enjoying their few drinks.
There was a very good atmosphere during our stay and some good characters perched at the counter telling tall tales.
The red leather barstools and bench seating were in good condition and we spotted a TV at both ends of the room.
The brown brick fireplace is a nice feature and there is a framed Kilkenny jersey hanging just above it.
We passed through the second section of the pub on our way to inspect the toilets and noticed it has a pool table, a poker machine and a gaming machine.
A light bulb in the toilet cubicle is required as the current one was flickering, and the sink tap needs to be replaced too.
A general update in the area of the toilets wouldn't be any harm, in Pub Spy's opinion.
Rating: Three pints out of Five