Johnny Fox's Pub

If you’re doing reading and research for a trip to Ireland, there’s no doubt you’ve come across mention of Johnny Fox’s before. It’s in every guidebook, on almost every itinerary, and even has its own website--- which I find bizarre, for a pub. So, marketing bullshit aside: what’s the real deal about "The Highest Pub in Ireland"?

Let this be an indication: in the four years I’ve lived there, I’ve darkened Johnny’s door at eight or ten times. I’ve brought visiting friends up there, went there on my stag night, relaxed out front in the sunlight, after hiking the Wicklow Mountains. Most authentically, I was up there last week with three Irish people who were just looking for a place to have a good time.

Johnny Fox’s is the sort of pub that Bennigans and all that Faith-and-Begorah ®©™ Irish "Theme Pubs" are trying to rip off. There’s a lot of old roadsigns, notices, and photos up on the walls, with nick-nacks in nooks and on shelves galore. A big turf fire, trad musicians throwing an old sessioun, tons of people guzzling the Guinness and the whiskey. Two different taps on the old farm sink, in the jacks. The floor is slate and wood, under a generous sprinkling of sawdust and shavings.

OK, so maybe the sawdust on the floor is a bit OTT. On the whole, Johnny’s gives a good picture of what an Irish pub is, or at least ought to be. It’s casual, to its very core.

There’s grub there, as well. Oddly enough, for a pub that claims the highest elevation (i.e., farthest from sea level in all of Ireland), the speciality is seafood. It’s been quite good, the two or three times I chowed down. Had a crab and shrimp salad, last time I was there: deffo a winner. Beware, though: it’s one of those places where a dinner for two can easily run you £75. (That’s one hundred Euro, the newfangled way.)

So anyway, the night last week when the four of us trekked up there: we were out to hear some good trad music, and the crew there delivered. Now, none of the songs were anything atypical. They were all trad standards like "Whiskey in the Jar" and "Tell Me Ma When I Go Home." Still, quite well done.

Judging by the weak crowd response to "The Fields of Athenry," about half the people in attendance that night were tourists. Johnny Fox’s is one of those places where visitors and locals stand shoulder to shoulder without any discomfort--- a good atmosphere for all. Just the same, tourists, here’s a tip that will help you to impress the locals and fit right in: When the band gets to the chorus, right after they sing "Where once we watched the small free birds fly," holler back: "Yo, baby, let the free birds fly!" It’s a tradition.

There’s another song like that, too: when they play the song about Alice, shout out the dirty part. Trust me: you’ll know it when you hear it.

Before I get further off track, lemme sum up: even though it is about a half-hour’s drive up into the Wicklow Mountains, from South Dublin, Johnny Fox’s is a good pub for locals and for visitors alike. It is an especially welcoming sight after a long day’s hiking along the Wicklow Way, or thirty minutes after your %^&(*&^!! Stag night bus driver finally stops for directions.

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