After the past 2 covidy years, a semblance of normality is returned to Publican Enemy in 2022. So, what did we encounter scuttling about under the rocks of this almost palindromic year? Here is the PUBLICAN ENEMY END OF YEAR PUB AWARDS 22! OR PEEYPA’S as they shall hence be known!

OUTSTANDING IRISH PUB; This is the big one, the one they all want . Many have vied for it , few have claimed it . But this has got to be the surprisingly authentic and only- show in town, the most isolated pub Irish in the world, NED KELLYS of Ponta Delgada, Azores. Thoroughly deserving of this PEEYPA. Great Guinness, great bar staff, it’s the real deal. HONORABLE MENTION: Mulligans Irish Pub Amsterdam, MC & Sons, London.

PINT OF THE YEAR: I was surprised by the quality of the Guinness in Ned Kelly’s -they even had all the right pint glasses (which must have been a balls to import) and table service, so bonus points. The pint in O’Donnells Irish Pub Amsterdam came Guinness approved, but alas only serviceable due to its oversized head. So, this coveted PEEYPA has to go to FOXY JOHNS, Dingle, Co. Kerry . Foxy Johns, apart from the amazing name, is one of the most unique pubs you will find, combining a quaint bar and lounge with a functioning hardware shop, keeping alive the ‘Spirit Grocers’ of Ireland’s Past. The pint here is phenomenal, all creamy and domed like a boozy 99. Even those of us from the rest of Ireland remarked at these marvels. Bualadh Bos to Foxy’s !

BEST NON-GUINNESS PINT: Running concurrently alongside the actual world cup, the arguably more important WORLD PUB 22 saw me taste delights from over 30 countries in rapid succession. You can see how each group progressed here; but the top 2 in my mind were; in 2nd place, the Portuguese workhorse of beverages, Super Bock. I don’t know why I love it so much, it must be social conditioning, but each time I see their Lucky Strike-esque logo, I feel sated. In first place comes the Japanese Red Rice Ale DAI -DAI Hithico Nest. A red-rice strong Ale, it was ruby rich and unlike anything I have ever had. SO, THEY WIN WORLD PUB 22!!

BEST VIEW: What does this have to do with pubs? Quiet, Philistine! Amsterdam by night, dimly illuminated by street lamps reflected on the canals is always a highlight, but how could you compare with the volcanic craters of SETE CIDADES in the AZORES. I walked 22 KM to see them; then on returning to basecamp found out that every restaurant in the village was closed. Found a local shop that did Super Bock though!

BEST PUB FOOD: Alongside the delectation of pintage, am I not also a bon vivant, so while inspecting each Irish pub, we always must sample the local fare! Amsterdam does have a plethora of bar snacks, from the patriotic Bitterballen and croquettes of the FEBO , but again it is hard to look past a dish that can be found nowhere else in the world, a dish that is forged in the geo-thermic bowels of the earth by Hades himself- it’s the COZIDO of FURNAS; potatoes, yams, sausage, cabbage, chicken , beef , chorizo, all slowly cooked in a hole in the ground and infused with an addictive fartesque waft of sulphur . Bon Appetit!

BEST SUPPORTING IRISH PUB PERSON: Bella Day for her newfound love of the mini Guinness half pint