Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Publican

The Publican

From Fado website

"The publican is the person in charge of our pubs (the General Manager). The Publican has always been one of the most essential ingredients in the composition of the public house. Their role goes far beyond being the congenial host behind the bar.

Historically, they have been the leading figure in the community performing valuable services for people in times of need. No ordinary man, a publican must know something of everything and be something of a psychologist, able to understand human nature, judge character and resolve conflict or as the Irish Licensing World more poetically put it, ‘A publican must be a democrat, an autocrat, an acrobat and a doormat.” A publican’s character and demeanor set the tone for their establishment, attracts customers, blends socially with them and keeps order.

In days gone by publicans lived above their shop, knew their customers intimately, generously dispensed advice, guidance and even mediated family disputes. A good publican was a like a father to the community. In contrast to good Irish pubs, traditional American watering houses are essentially pubs without publicans, with the ever-present insidious intrusion of television looming in the foreground."

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