‘We were starting to think we would have to wash a few glasses to work off the pints’
UNIQUE Gorby’s on the map for generosity
Gemma Good
Despite a tough couple of months, Irish country pubs continue to deliver the winning charm for which they are world-renowned. This is exactly what Dublin couple Peter Tully and Ailis O’Carroll encountered at Gorby’s Newtown Inn in the beautiful village of Newtowngore.
Originally from Belturbet, Peter had been sailing along the Shannon Erne waterway and anchored at the stunning Garadice Lough.
With Peter living in Dublin city and his girlfriend Ailis just back from Australia, a country escape was long overdue.
“It had been absolutely glorious weather, it was our first time on dry land so we said we’d head into Newtowngore,” Peter explained.
Parched after the trek into town and disheartened by the sudden thundering shower of rain, the couple took refuge in Gorby’s Newtown Inn.
The pair were warmly received among the gaggle of locals who were “a few pints ahead” already.
“We sat down and straight away started having the craic with one of the lads trying to sell us a bit of turf.”
The couple got the typical Irish quizzing on where they were from, who their parents were, and who they knew in the area?
The pints continued flowing, as did the banter thrown over and back, with great competition on where to get best pint of stout.
“We had a couple of lovely pints. I must say they were delicious,” the Belturbet man praised.
Disaster struck
As the hours went on, Ailis and Peter decided it was time to depart for their boat. But as they went to settle their bill- disaster struck! There was no card machine, and no ATM available at the pub.
“We realised there was no facility to tap our card, with the virus we’re not used to having cash on us. We were starting to think we’d have to wash a few glasses to work off the pints,” Peter joked.
In the company of Cavan and Leitrim people, there was no need to fear; Peter and Ailis were in good hands. They were waved off by the locals who clubbed together to pay for the friendly couple’s drinks.
“You’d never expect it,” said a shocked Peter.
Unable to believe their luck, the icing on the cake came when the pub owner Gerard Gorby refused to let the couple walk back to their boat in the rain.
“We thought it was a joke but then he pulled up in his car,” said Peter, explaining how the locals piped up saying “he’d only throw us in the back of the tractor.”
“It just really shows the loveliness of people. They wouldn’t like to see anyone put out or stuck for a couple of euros.
“Even before we weren’t able to buy the pints, we were sitting there having a gas experience with the couple of lads,” he said, revealing that at time he “could barely understand the accents.”
With both his parents living in Belturbet, Peter said he will absolutely be returning to Newtowngore for more of the black stuff the next time he’s in Cavan.
“Maybe next time we’re in Gorby’s there’ll be a waiting list and we won’t be able to get in,” Peter stated, especially with “the breaking news” that Gorby’s has since got a card machine.
Peter couldn’t recommend the Irish countryside enough for those looking to staycation this year.
“You could go thousands of miles away looking for unique experiences but really we have them in our back garden.”
Good pints of Guinness, a laugh with the locals and a lift back home, Gerard Gorby detailed that this is “all part of the service” at Gorby’s Newtown Inn.
Overwhelmed with all the attention since, Gerard said, “It’s a sight to see all the recognition we’re getting.”
The Newtowngore man’s pub is a family business which opened in the late 1800s.
Gerard loves to see tourists calling by for groceries and such.
“They come in to relax before they go back to the boats,” he says.
On this particularly wet evening Gerard would not see the Dublin couple out in the rain. “It’s about a mile from the pub but it was teeming rain so you couldn’t let people walk.
“Usually we’d drop people back if they were in for a couple of drinks.”
He’s not surprised either at his generous locals who “forked out a few pounds” to cover the couple’s costs. However, he noted this wouldn’t happen in every pub.
“The country pub is different,” stated Gerard, who highly recommends the area for staycationers.
“We’re on the Cavan Leitrim border and there’s so much between the Cuilcagh mountains and the Shannon Erne Waterway, there’s loads of nice walks, Lough Rynn Castle, we’re in between everything here, it’s a great location.
“People are going to Killarney and these places but Leitrim and Cavan are as nice a place as any,” he concluded.