Colette Sheridan, writing in the Evening Echo, Cork, recalls a visit to Mulligan’s where she encountered the kindness of Noel Hawkins:

For research purposes on the state of the pub, I made a little pilgrimage to Mulligan’s of Poolbeg Street when I was in Dublin last week.

I was carrying a copy of Mercier Press’s newly published book ‘Mulligan’s: Grand Old Pub of Poolbeg Street’ written by journalist, Declan Dunne.

It was about 4 pm and the seasoned drinkers were sitting around the bar counter, drinking Guinness and beginning to get comfortable and garrulous.

The light was dull and the premises was almost sepia-toned. I sat at the counter and ordered a coffee from Noel Hawkins, Mulligan’s witty barman.

 ‘We have only the ordinary stuff,’ he said. ‘Grand,’ says I.

I did the food test, asking him if he was ‘doing sandwiches’. As if! But he told me I could buy a sandwich from the nearby Spar and bring it back to eat on the premises.

Then he gave me a few squares of his Aero chocolate bar. What a sweet man.

Evening Echo, Cork, 20 May, 2015