{"id":504437,"date":"2026-05-27T02:17:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T02:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/504437\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T02:17:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T02:17:22","slug":"the-pubs-of-cork-i-toured-ireland-in-2017-now-i-run-a-pub-here-in-kinsale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/504437\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pubs of Cork: ‘I toured Ireland in 2017… now I run a pub here in Kinsale’"},"content":{"rendered":"

When South African Jacques Koster toured Ireland in 2017, he was very taken with the spectacular views, the wonderful heritage, and the friendly local pubs dotted around the country.<\/p>\n

So much so that he is now the bar manager of Harry\u2019s Bar in Kinsale.<\/p>\n

Did his taste of Ireland and our famous hospitality prompt him to return with his wife Chelsea and four suitcases?<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely!\u201d says Jacques. \u201cI remember going into Sam\u2019s Bar in Kinsale and the people there were so friendly. It was phenomenal!\u201d<\/p>\n

He landed on his feet too, when he got chatting to someone who was looking to open his own bar in the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe asked me if managing Harry\u2019s Bar was something I would consider,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cHe wanted me. Happy days!\u201d<\/p>\n

The role required someone with energy and enthusiasm, who was able to manage a local friendly bar in the gourmet capital of Ireland. How did Jacques fit the bill?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad had ten pubs back home in South Africa!\u201d say Jacques, who is very familiar with the pub trade at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was brought up in a pub. I worked in the business from age 13 up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The works hours that are suited to his home life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a three-year-old,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is great to be off on Sundays which is a family day for us. I\u2019m off Monday and Tuesday too. Working four days a week suits me very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy manager lets me do what I like here!\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n

Like what?<\/p>\n

\u201cLike introducing novel cocktails like chocolate vodka.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seems like an unusual combination.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to try out new things,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cYou should give a chocolate vodka cocktail a try!\u201d<\/p>\n

I might take a rain check! But there are other appealing things on offer at Harry\u2019s Bar at 1, Main Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have great music here in Harry\u2019s Bar,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cAnd we have great times. We have everything going for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it a bar for all seasons in this famous tourist hot-spot?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a great local trade here,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cThat keeps us ticking over in winter.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cOf course, the summer months bring loads of visitors to Kinsale who want to experience the wonderful hospitality on offer. The summer season is always busy and buzzing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\u2018Small Denis\u2019 is one of the customers who experiences the wonderful hospitality on offer.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Small Denis\u2019 has his own corner seat in the bar,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cHe always has half a pint of Coors. And that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two more customers, Victoria and Andrew, talk to Jacques about the \u2018home\u2019 country when they stop into Harry\u2019s Bar for a tipple and a chat.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictoria also came from South Africa,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cWe talk about what the home country used to be like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GrahamGraham D\u2019Alton, owner of Harry\u2019s Bar, pictured outside the pub in Kinsale with a regular customer. Picture Chani Anderson<\/p>\n

Like Jacques, the couple are well-travelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey like travelling and they like going on cruises,\u201d says Jacques.<\/p>\n

How does the pub trade here in Ireland and in Kinsale differ from that of the \u2018home\u2019 country?<\/p>\n

\u201cHere is more personalised,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cYou get to know everyone, and it is so easy to strike up a conversation with the customers coming in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

What might the conversations be about?<\/p>\n

Jacques laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I am the therapist as well as the barman!\u201d says Jacques. \u201cI might be talking to a chap who is thinking of getting a new car. His wife might not agree!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacques offers his two-pence halfpenny, but remains neutral.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am always happy to listen,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Additional staff at Harry\u2019s Bar, Amelia, Christian, and James, all put in their own two-pence halfpenny to the smooth running of the friendly, cosy bar.<\/p>\n

\"JacquesJacques Koster and owner Graham D\u2019Alton pictured together inside Harry\u2019s Bar in Kinsale. Picture: Chani Anderson<\/p>\n

\u201cEach have their own special personality, and each have their own valuable input,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cThey have a great relationship with our younger customers. When the young people gather here, the place is electric!\u201d<\/p>\n

Is food on offer too?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. We concentrate on a liquid diet only!\u201d says Jacques, who has obviously got a taste for Irish humour.<\/p>\n

Jacques, one of the locals since 2024, has thought of everything to make Harry\u2019s Bar appealing to young and old alike, to the locals and to the visitors who flock to the town of Kinsale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are three high tables and five low tables for people to sit down together.\u201d<\/p>\n

I like the spirit shelf over the bar counter that looks colour co-ordinated.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, lots of people comment on that when they sit at the bar having a drink,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cAll the colours of the various bottles catch people\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey like the steel lights too and the cosy electric heat here on cold days and nights.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s Bar can get very busy. There is plenty of room for everyone. \u201cWe have an overflow space out the back,\u201d says Jacques.<\/p>\n

When Jacques is out front, the friendly locals often stop to pass the time of day; or to give him a hand making the premises pretty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m hanging up flower baskets, or arranging plant pots outside the bar, people often stop and ask me if I want a hand,\u201d says Jacques. \u201cOne man came back with a ladder on the roof of his van so I could get up to the next storey!\u201d<\/p>\n

What about other jobs in the bar that are not so appealing?<\/p>\n

\"ExteriorExterior view of Harry\u2019s Bar in Kinsale, a colourful and welcoming pub. Picture Chani Anderson<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, there are the chores like keeping the ladies\u2019 and gents\u2019 toilets clean and tidy and up to scratch hygiene-wise,\u201d says Jacques.<\/p>\n

\u201cThoroughly cleaning the bar can be a big job. It can get messy after a busy Saturday night! I can get past that!\u201d<\/p>\n

I tell Jacques I used to hate cleaning and washing the ashtrays after a busy night when I worked in a bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mind doing that so much,\u201d he says. \u201cI am a smoker, so I know people who smoke like to indulge in the great outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacques escorts me out of the bar into the sunny side of the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t forget to come back for a chocolate vodka!\u201d he calls.<\/p>\n

Happy days!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When South African Jacques Koster toured Ireland in 2017, he was very taken with the spectacular views, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,19,17,36083,17827],"class_list":["post-504437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kinsale","tag-pub"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116644141299265544","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}