Irish pubs offer rich cultural experience to student

The night starts slow. People steadily pour through the old wooden doors of McDonagh's Pub. Soccer plays on the television in the background. A group of old men laugh as they play a game of darts, arguing now and then about the score. It is a normal Wednesday night in Dalkey, Ireland. A man strolls in quietly, singing to himself, "When Irish eyes are smiling, sure 'tis like the morn in spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing ..."\nThe soccer game ends and musicians began gathering in their corner. Many of them have been at the pub for a while, talking and drinking with their friends. Their table is cluttered with half finished drinks, cigarettes and a flickering candle. They casually talk about the music that will soon spread through the people inside. They offer up ideas and play short samples to warm their sound to everyone's ear.\nJohn McDonagh, a bartender whose last name graces the front of the building, approached some of the musicians a few years ago to see if they would play.\n"I've known them all for a while. I asked them if they would get together and play a few years back. It's all real nice," McDonagh says. "They really add a lot to the place. The crowds are bigger and there is more energy." \nThe music begins, carrying through the conversations, echoing off the wall in the back of the pub. The sounds provide rhythm to the voices in the crowd. The players continue, lost in their own circle, undisturbed by the people stirring around them. They become a part of the pub, separating themselves from the crowd while they conduct the movements of the night.\nIn a break from the music, guitarist Shea Fitzgerald sits down with a pint in hand to answer a few questions. He has long silver blonde hair, a medium build and calloused fingers from nights spent on the strings. He grew up 10 minutes from the pub, and has been playing at McDonagh's every Wednesday for the past three years.\n"We'd all be here drinking anyway," Fitzgerald says. "The owner asked one of the lads if we'd bring our instruments and play. We've been here ever since." \nUnlike Fitzgerald, a career musician, a lot of the other members take on other careers during the day. A key ingredient to their chemistry is their love of playing together.\n"The lads are all over, one's a teacher, another is a master plasterer," Fitzgerald trails off. "I've known them all for quite awhile, we play off each other, we forget about the crowd." \nAside from the bluegrass and blues music played, most of the songs are traditional Irish tunes that have rung through pubs for years.\n"Most of the songs have not been written down, just passed down." Fitzgerald says. "Traditional Irish music is dance music. Usually no words, just melodies."\nPubs around the country are packed with musicians who often play these traditional Irish tunes that have become the base of this "pub culture." \nLike Fitzgerald and his friends, each musician adds a little of their own personality to each piece, changing the song to fit their own style. \nHe returns to his seat amongst his friends. They drink and have a few laughs, and then the music once again cheerfully conducts the conversations at McDonagh's.