Whilst wandering around Dublin I spotted this gentleman wrestling with his map. The city can be frustrating for visitors as streets often have no name signs, or they are at one end only. I stopped to help him find his way. Up close he revealed himself to be in his nineties and Anglo-Irish from Belfast.
This intrepid character explained that, long ago, he used to bring his father to Dublin to enjoy the atmosphere. As he explained his face lit up with a two hundred Watt smile. His purpose was to find Mountjoy Street and I expressed concern that it might be a little colourful to the uninitiated. Laughingly he identified that his surname was the same as that of the street. It was an article of faith for him, each time he visited the capital, to drink at the Mountjoy Pub on the street.
He explained too that on his last outing, he was welcomed whole-heartedly by the denizens of that watering hole who insisted on buying him pints all afternoon once they learned of his sharing his name with that of the boozer. Having ensured that he was going to be well looked after I pointed him in the right direction and wished him good luck.
Leaving in opposite directions we were both content on a lovely summer's day.
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