Unique Irish experience at O’Hagan’s

    They provide a warm and welcoming environment, a place to socialize, sing, relax, tell stories and to exchange the latest gossip and rumours. The earliest Irish pubs are said to have sold not only ale and basic food, but also    hardware – farming implements? Weapons?
   Currently Guinness, the famous dark Irish stout originally brewed in Dublin, is the drink of choice when visiting an Irish pub.
O’Hagan’s Irish Pub in Borrowdale Brooke, a branch of the largest franchised Irish pub group in South Africa, opened its doors in Harare a few months ago.
With their own Zimbabwean version of Irish charm and friendliness, O’Hagan’s seems set to pull in the crowds.
When George and I arrived for lunch last Saturday, a pint of Guinness would have been the correct drink to order.
Instead, we bought a bottle of lemon-fresh, still white Amasimi Kelder Semillon, which paired well with George’s calamari and chips and less well with my bangers and mash.
Having met up by chance outside the nearby supermarket with Angela, a friend who lives in neighbouring Hogerty Hll, we persuaded her to accompany us to O’Hagan’s.
This seemed appropriate, since an Irish pub lends itself to having a good time with friends.
Angela and George had starters, costing in the region of $4 each.
Snails, ordered by George, were served in an unusual creamy garlic sauce, with a nice-looking white roll on the side.
Angela’s crumbed mushrooms looked fresh and well-made.
While the starters were being devoured, I did my best to eavesdrop on the conversation of a large group of patrons at a table behind us.
Failing to pick up on any rumours or gossip from surrounding tables, I concentrated on our own conversation, which moved from the state of the nation to our hopes and expectations for HIFA 2010.
This arts and literary festival marks its 10th anniversary this year, and promises to be a cracker of a celebration.
Main course options in the pub included a number of ‘alehouse favourites’ such as Shamus’ Shepherds Pie and O’Hagan’s Shamrock Burger. Considering the love of the Irish for potatoes, I decided on Brendan’s Ban-gers and Mash, served with onion gravy.
Three handsome pork bangers on a somewhat rough looking but tasty bed of mashed potato were served at one end of a large platter.
There was an attempt to camouflage the empty end of the platter with a single lettuce leaf and slice of tomato. A quick look at O’Hagan’s website revealed that in Pretoria North and Potchefstroom, the bangers and mash are served on a round plate and garnished with cur-led slice of orange. Angela’s order, chi-cken strips and French fries served in a basket, looked tasty, as did Ge-orge’s calamari rings and fries.
A large party of young men and women arrived, uniformly clad in denim jeans and brightly coloured tee shirts: all the men wore a single stud diamond earring, Beckham   style. Most of the orders were for huge and delicious servings of pork spare ribs.
Flat screen TVs showing cricket and football matches provided background colour and noise, while the level of conversation drowned out whatever type of music was playing.
At Irish pubs I’ve visited in England, Irish folk and love songs such as Danny Boy and Rose of Tralee can always be heard.
Sensitive and poetic-looking individuals, probably refugees from the recession in the Emerald Isle, nurse glasses of ale and gaze into the middle distance, while the sad music washes over them. During the 19th century, under oppressive British rule in Ireland, pubs were declared illegal.
Even so, the spirited Irish still managed to meet to drink ale, complain about their overlords and plot rebellion.
The origins of the entrepreneur Shamus O’Hagan are unclear.
I discovered an architect, a physicist and a youth camp leader in Winnipeg who all go by the name of Shamus O’Hagan.
There was even a Shamus O’Hagan in the Irish Band, Barley Bree, which tried its luck in Canada before returning home.
But regardless of his place in Irish folklore, Shamus O’Hagan’s heart was in the right place when he inspired the highly successful O’Ha-gan’s pub franchise.