It's a well-appointed one too, and there's been non-stop buzz about The Irish Rover located at Drax Hall since its soft opening on February 1, followed by the ever so grand launch on St Patrick's Day. "It's been an amazing two months," shares owner Winston Samuels, the man who, having spent an amazing 47 years in Ireland, has literally recreated the pub, and brick by brick too, since The Irish Rover is an authentic pub. "I spotted the land in 2006, during one of my regular trips back home, came back in March 2007, and started the building process in July of that same year. It all came together pretty quickly." It certainly did, including road signs and other paraphernalia. "I brought everything in," he states when we caught up with him late Sunday afternoon, rested after a busy Saturday and ready to go at it all over again. The pub opens seven days a week from 10:00 am until the last customer leaves. Truth be told, the pub's specs are somewhat bigger than the typical Irish ones, a result of Samuels wanting a much more spacious, airier feel for the pub. "We are, after all, in Jamaica," he states. We are indeed, but the mostly local patrons are as passionate about the lively Irish jigs (there are regular nightly sing-alongs) as they are the weekly live band, the Irish Rover Club Sandwich, the Irish Stew, Irish Rover Mixed Grill, Steak and Guinness and Shepherd's Pies. There are local and international staples as well as favourites like traditional fish and chips. "I really have to applaud my kitchen staff, and especially Charmaine, another returning resident, who've really had to pull out all the stops in the kitchen." The Irish Rover's open kitchen is the result of years spent in the army - "the army kitchen was always open and clean.I think it's very important for patrons to see just how their food is prepared and handled." It's been a rewarding but at the same time challenging two months for Samuels who was born in Linstead, moved to the United Kingdom, joined the army and met his second wife Angela in Belfast, Ireland where her family owned the much-acclaimed Trocaderos pub. Samuels would eventually leave the army and work in the music industry playing drums for the celebrated Jimmy Johnston's ShowBand. "I was the first black man to join in the ShowBand and I reckon I was too the first black man many persons in Ireland were seeing." That aside, the family pub is filling up and yes, there are children in the mix too. "It is," reminds Samuels, "a unique, non-smoking family experience and one that we're working on each day to ensure great customer service and good quality nosh."

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