Said Willie to the Dazzler 

As they settled in the snug

We’ll take a pint of Bushmills malt

To fill yon claret jug

 

Then the silver jug was lifted 

And held to Dazzler’s lips

To celebrate the winning

Of the Open Championship

 

In the sunlight on tobaccoed walls

As gold on silver fills the west

In black and white and green and red

The mythic Georgie Best

 

As he dips his perfect shoulder

And swivels at the hips

Flanked by Jimmy Nesbitt

And the masts of sailing ships

 

The taste of  turf smoke in the snug   

Paint peels from tongue and groove

Carved by time, a fine wee pub

With scarcely room to move

 

It echoes to the voices

Of the salmon fishermen

Who plied their trade in little boats

To Donegal and then,

 

Once the catch was landed

And they were safely back

They’d raise their pints to salted lips

And sing, the best of craic

 

Now the seats outside are occupied

By the people from caravan parks

Taking selfies with the lifeboat

Bobbing orange in the dark

 

For the Harbour Bar’s a haven

A shelter for the shoal

On its walls is golfing heaven

And Captain Murray’s Irish Roll

 

The Harbour Bar, the Harbour Bar,

For Guinness it’s the best by far

Glowing under Atlantic Stars

Time stands still in the Harbour Bar

 

***********************
 

The Harbour Bar in Portrush is my favourite pub. I've been going there for 40 years on visits to Northern Ireland's Antrim Coast. Although it feels much the same every time, there are subtle differences. The sepia tinted framed photographs of fishing boats and the steam paddle ferry that once sailed to Liverpool and the old mirrors advertising Bushmills Whiskey and Murray's Irish Tobacco have been supplemented with golf memorabilia now that Northern Ireland is recognised as a place of golfing pilgrimage and home to Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke. It's also "The Dazzler's" local, so when he won The Open he brought the famous old claret jug along to spend the evening with his friends. No doubt the craic was mighty.