The Old Stand

Finished Mullingar Cycle Loop #3 and arrived to the train station 1.5 hours before the next Dublin train departure. The Unilocal info said that the pub is closed on Sundays but I didn’t believe it and I was right.
Nice pub with large selection of mainstream beers (I had a pint of Beamish), plenty of rooms at two bars. I didn’t explore whether the beer garden was open. No cats this time.

Of all the pubs in Mullingar, this one has always been my favourite because of the homely feel.
They also used to have some good beer, namely bottled English ales available but I believe this is no longer the case coming from someone who was in more recently.
The bar itself seems like an old man’s bar, in fact it is full of old men usually.
I fell in love with The Old Stand when I popped in there one wet and cold winters day while I was waiting for my wife to come in on the train. The fire was roaring and there was a cat wandering around. Myself being a cat person meant that the cat wandered over to me and jumped up on to my lap for a cuddle. When my wife got in I had her come meet me and we stayed for a drink.
Next door is the off license where they have a wonderful collection of Whiskey and some good world beers.
The heated and covered beer garden outside is quite big and attracts the younger crowd. There is one of those punching machines in there if you fancy a test of strength.
I must try and get back some time and see what it’s like these days. Unfortunately even though I only live 10 minutes drive away, it is over € 20 each way in a taxi making it much cheaper to get the bus to Dublin for a night out.