Sitting outside on this beautiful May morning in Tallahassee, Florida, as I waited for my scheduled appointment with my esthetician, I realized I was at a table reserved for patrons of a local pub.
The pub, Finnegan’s Wake, won’t open for a few hours yet, so no one seemed to mind my presence. If they were serving, I’d order a Guinness and be certain to take a nap during my upcoming facial.
I’ve never been inside this bar, but it looks pleasant enough. As I sat here with my phone I wondered if Finnegan’s Wake might be a common name for such an establishment in the United States. Thanks to google, I now have a fairly good idea. While I didn’t get a chart showing the number of bars named after the James Joyce novel, I did get a good many search results:
There’s one in Springfield, Missouri
Another in Pickerington, Ohio, tucked between a Drug Mart and a pizzeria.
The one on the Upper East of NYC didn’t offer a photo of the establishment, but it earned 4 stars and is affordable.
Philly had one, but it closed.
Here’s one in Winston Salem, NC:
Rockville, MD
And many, many more.
I’ve never read Joyce’s book, but if it inspired so many drinking establishments it must be worth exploring. Right?
peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 
You might need to have a cocktail before reading….
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I’ll take your advice.
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I just read the synopsis on Amazon because I have not read this one by Joyce either. I can barely understand what Amazon is telling me, and I see notes about it being an extremely difficult book to read. Probably why I skipped it 😉
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Ha! I’ve read excerpts through the years. Maybe I’ll read the Cliff Notes version. 😃
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I like his short stories. Nuff said.
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I’ve read a couple.
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Yeah….. They were more traddy shall we say!
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I tend to agree with you—but I’m not certain what traddy means! 😂
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traditional. xxx
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Aha!
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Definitely! And they aren’t even a chain!
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I guess it’s just such an Irish sounding name that American pub owners are attracted to it.
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You cannot get more Irish than Finnegan lol!
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True!
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There are only two books I’ve given up on in my life – each one after 200 pages. This was one – attracted by the thought of puns in six languages I had to accept it was beyond me. The other was Malory’s Morte d’Arthur – because it rivalled the Old Testament in boring lists.
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The more I read about Finnegan’s Wake, the more I’m certain I just need the Cliff’s Notes version.
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Anything Irish must include spirits!
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