CAN IRISH PUBS BE WOKE?
CAN SPEECH REALLY BE FREE?
CAN YOU GET A DECENT PINT IN OLYMPIA?

This is Irish Pub of The Week #1456

📍Biddy Mulligans/ The Trump Arms – Olympia, Kensington

By and large, Irish Pubs have been operating outside of the Culture Wars, their primary aim being to flog porter to all and sundry. But one lesser spotted Irish Pub in particular piqued my attention after appearing in the local news due its temporary topical makeover, as local boozer Biddy Mulligans became The Trump Arms for the duration of the visit of the child-king- in chief himself. And for added incendiary rhetoric, the front lounge was re-branded as the Charlie Kirk FREE SPEECH memorial room. So it was with great curiosity I ventured to Baron’s Court tube station to test the limits of this shrine to open expression.

Alas, on my arrival it had already reverted to its original incarnation, the portrait of the aforementioned college dropout replaced by Irish Patriot and sometime mysticist WB Yeats. Yeats of course was a prominent Irish Nationalist, who promoted his cause with a dedication to and a celebration of culture, language and art as a means of nationalist pride and self determination . As distinct from arguing with 17 year olds about what a woman is.

The pub is incredibly dimly lit, so much so I panic as an unseen jet black Pub Cat leaps onto my table and sniffs at my Guinness, (which is palatable). I decide to order the least WOKE item on the menu, a rack of baby back ribs from the delightful outside BBQ , but end up wokishly sucking on the many bones . Pardon.!!! On a trip to the toilet, a cut out of Elvis looms over the stairwell, pronouncing: ” Since my baby left me, I’ve found a new place to dwell.” Confusingly , I am left unsure as to whether this relates to the Trumpian display upstairs or if this is a permanent fixture. It does fit somewhat with the ‘Radicalised Facebook Dad’ aesthetic of the venue as a whole. One thing is clear, the pub is certainly singular in its decor, and to that I say fair play. And in that same spirit of expression, some free speech champion has whimsically added the word “ bag” to a urinal sticker saying “God Bless Alan Ball” . Classic.

So I leave Biddy Mulligans, perhaps ne’er to return.It would be hypocritical of me not to respect the pub’s independent streak , a feature I have often commended in the past in contrast to the customer-focus-group led draconian faceless chain pub. It is also worth noting, crucially , the attention economy has done its job, drawing me in with its polarizing magnetism, and separated me from a few quid. Which is exactly the whole point of this culture war shtick.

” Prove me Wrong”, as a man once said.