Sir, – Frank McNally gives a detailed account of the effort put into scuffing and distressing all surfaces in the Paddy Whelan pub in Riga to give a lived-in effect.
In the 1990s, when the Celtic Tiger was alive and well, many Irish publicans also spent a lot of money to “reproduce the authenticity of the originals”. One day, when I was in Dublin, the late Pat Inglodsby summed it up for me: “They’re demolishing old pubs and building older ones.” – Yours, etc,
MATTIE LENNON,
Co Wicklow.
