Discovering the secrets of Buck Mulligan’s, the oldest pub in Nantes

The masks are well and truly removed, the vaccine passes gone, and the kegs of beer ready to be unsheathed… Like the large hats decorated with clovers that customers will undoubtedly wear this Thursday evening, the lights are definitely green at the Buck Mulligan’s. In this essential pub in the Bouffay district of Nantes, Saint-Patrick’s Day, usually described as the “peak of the party” will have an even more special flavor after two years of closures and restrictions linked to Covid. “People have been waiting for this for a long time, it’s going to be huge”, assures Simon, the manager, all the same a little stressed by the event. For the occasion, the Irish bar will take out its dispensers in the cobbled street of the Château from noon sharp. Ten people have been specially recruited for the occasion, with the equivalent of two weeks’ worth of beer to go… in a single day.

A highly anticipated moment even if it is not the first March 17 that the establishment is preparing to celebrate, quite the contrary. Because this bar with its authentic atmosphere, made of sticky wooden tables, stone walls and the smell of malt, has 25 on the counter! Which makes this place, in its own right, the oldest pub in Nantes. “A long time ago, these were the stables of the castle here,” says Simon. The two Cormack brothers, from Ireland, opened in October 1996. The reins of the pub were then passed on from friend to friend. I was a client for seven years before taking it over, you have to know how to be accepted! »

Beer, whiskey and the essential Irish coffee

Because here, traditions die hard and beware of those who would like to deviate from the “spirit of the Buck”. Si Saint Patrick’s Day, which celebrates the patron saint of Ireland (died March 17, 461, read below) is the unmissable event, life here is governed between blind tests on Tuesdays, concerts on Thursdays, and of course broadcasts of rugby matches or darts games. The decor hasn’t really changed either, it’s rather filled with memories of all kinds, like the thousands of posters of rock or Celtic groups from floor to ceiling, or the pink mules of “Aunt Buck”, a regular who came in slippers and ended up bequeathing them. A crazy detail among others, like this unexplained tradition of giving a first name of the opposite sex to all the members of the team…

But beyond the decor, we also come to drink. Not enough change? Just help yourself from the coins placed by customers in the stone wall, you will “refund” next time. What we consume the most: beer, whiskey among the 80 kinds, but also for insiders “the Buck’s cocktail”, this drink with secret ingredients that does not even appear on the menu! And when it rains, the Irish coffee remains a must. “It’s not a cliché, smiles Simon, alias Natacha. Unlike other bars, it’s winter that we work best. People come to rest here in the warmth, like in a cave. In general, even if someone comes alone, he knows that he will necessarily find someone to talk to. »

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St. Patrick’s Day is not Ireland’s national holiday

In Nantes, the dozen pubs (Gigg’s, Peter Mc Cool, Brady’s, John Mc Byrne…) are ready to celebrate Saint-Patrick’s Day. But do you know where this party really comes from? Boom, the myth that collapses: Ireland does not have a national holiday in the proper sense of the term. St. Patrick’s Day is actually a religious holiday adopted by the Church at the beginning of the 18th century, celebrating the evangelization of the country. Green is its signature color.

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