Oscar-nominee spotted in Limerick pub out 'for a few quiet ones'
Bartender says he didn't think he would meet a Kneecap member 'in a month of Sundays'
IT’S NOT every day that an Oscar-nominee walks into a Limerick pub “for a few quiet ones” but recently, one star-struck bartender “couldn’t believe his eyes” when that very thing happened.
Kneecap’s Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) was spotted in Mother Macs pub in the city with Hermitage Green band member Dermot Sheedy. A close friend of the Limerick band, the Irish-language rapper from Belfast was at Hermitage Green’s New Year gig in Dolans.
Shortlisted for two Oscar nominations for their music biopic film with the same name, Mother Macs bartender Vinnie Gillooly says he is a “most definitely” a Kneecap fan.
Vinnie said he would not have thought “in a month of Sundays” that he would meet one of the rap trio in Mother Macs, where he has worked for the last seven years.
“They just came in and had two or three pints and sauntered off down the road then after that!,” Vinnie said.
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to them too much now because they were wrecked from the night before but he [Móglaí Bap] is a lovely guy to talk to.
“He would be chatting away to you with a proper Belfast accent and it was ‘mo chara’ this and ‘mo chara’ that.. He would be chatting to you as gaeilge! He was really down to earth.”
Saying that he got a shock when he saw Móglaí to begin with, Vinnie, who is originally from Roscommon but lives in Limerick for the last 12 years, summed up the experience as “pretty cool”.
“As it stands, he’s the most famous person I’ve met in the pub!,” the Catherine St resident, Vinnie, said.
Mother Macs is an award-winning pub located between High St and Denmark St in the city.
Pictured: Michael McMahon (Mother Macs), Jack O’Sé (Sailors Home), James McMahon (Mother Macs)
Held on December 18, the event welcomed over 50 guests, including whiskey aficionados and industry icons, to honour this unique release at Ireland’s Whiskey Bar of the Year 2024.
Michael McMahon of Mother Macs said: “A collaboration of this nature celebrates Limerick as much as the businesses involved. It is about bringing together passion, desire, and a love for Irish whiskey to create Odyssey – a truly special and unique release.”