Columnist Jerry Fink: Pubs around Vegas are getting their Irish up

Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 | 10:43 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at 259-4058 or jerry@ lasvegassun.com.

When did Irish pubs become hot?

Some Irish entertainers, such as Brendan Bowyer and the Irish Show Band, have been local favorites for years -- the band recently performed at the Lady Luck's lounge.

And of course there is Fitzgeralds, which is particularly hot on St. Patrick's Day every year.

But the pubs, which are centers of community life in some Irish towns, have become a phenomenon in Las Vegas of late.

They're everywhere -- Finnegan's, Mahoney's, Moose McGillycuddy's, Michael's, Mulligan's, Murphy's, Paddy's and Sean Patrick's.

J.C. Wooloughan was actually built in Ireland, taken apart and re-assembled at the Regent Las Vegas two years ago.

A couple of months ago the Orleans opened Brendan's Irish Pub and features such Irish entertainment as Finnegan's Wake and John Windsor.

On Sept. 1 Palace Station opened the 140-seat Jack's Irish Pub, the fulfillment of a dream for the casino's general manager, Jonathan Swain (who states with great pride that he has Irish blood running through his veins).

Each night at 6 p.m., there is a bagpipe parade through Palace Station to welcome guests to the Pub. The night I was there the parade consisted of just one kilt-clad bagpipe player and a couple of waitresses, but spectators enjoyed the spectacle and the pub quickly filled up with patrons.

The pub is open from 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

The Wild Celts, one of the most popular Irish folk/rock groups in Vegas, perform 6-10 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 8 p.m.-midnight, Fridays and Saturdays.

Mondays, 9 p.m.-midnight, is Irish jam night.

The pub has lots of wood paneling and faux brick and stone and has the feel of a real Irish pub, although I'm not sure a real Irish pub has 14 television sets so customers can watch Notre Dame's Fighting Irish.

There are no slot machines in Jack's, which is unusual for any bar in Las Vegas, Irish pub or not.

There is a nice selection of Irish beers: Guinness, Killian's Red, Bass, Irish stout and the house's private label, Jack's Golden Ale. And there are imported whiskeys, such as Old Bushmill, Middleton Very Rare, Tallamore Dew and Jameson Gold.

Swain credits the 1994 World Cup with igniting the Irish pub trend.

The international soccer competition was held in various cities around the United States that year (Brazil won in a finals match against Italy in Los Angeles), and Irish fans fanned out across the country, spreading their infectious love of life inside pubs.

"The Irish came and took over the pubs and bars in the cities where soccer was being played, and the Irish theme took off from there," Swain said.

Coincidentally, at about the same time as the international soccer championship, an Irish folk dance group called Riverdance appeared on the international scene, creating even more interest in the Irish culture. The dancers made their debut in Europe at a song-and-dance festival in 1994 and in 1995 began performing "Riverdance -- The Show" at venues all over the world, including at the Aladdin earlier this year.

In 1996 Michael Flatley, a Chicago-born Irishman, was fired as star of "Riverdance" and immediately started "Lord of the Dance," which can be seen at New York-New York (although Flatley no longer dances, he produces the popular show).

With so much Irish music and Irish dance and Irish beer and Irish whiskey all over town, can the public's interest continue at the same high level?

Swain says so.

"Today there are companies that do nothing but build Irish pubs. I think the trend is going to stay."

Lounging around

A few of the local Irish shenanigans include: