Tir Na Nog, Wandsworth, SW18

With the original name and Truman Hanbury Buxton monogram in cut brick to the first floor, this dates from the late 19th century – though probably rebuilt in the ‘30s – and was the Horse & Groom until 1994, the “…some sort of foreign language” referred to by John M is Gaelic, the legend of Tír na nÓg (Land of the Young) being a famous Irish myth that tells the story of Oisin, a young warrior from na Fianna, who falls in love with a beautiful girl called Niamh. They both travel across the sea on Niamh’s white horse to the eternal land of Tír na nÓg where they live happily for hundreds of years, despite the lack of cask ale. With effective penetration of the interior afforded by Google, there’s quite a woody interior which probably dates back several decades, complemented by a riot of knickknacks along with distillers’ mirrors and some taxidermy, including a pair of legs seemingly descending through the ceiling; there’s an aquarium with a solitary fish and also of note is an old solid fuel kitchen range, seemingly geared up to provide heat; in all, there was a bit of a time warp feel to the place, with mixed local customers, younger than expected in this type of establishment, all contributing to a good atmosphere. With cask removed, a half of Guinness costing £3.00, served by a well-intentioned though almost comical old-school landlady, effing away in my ear at point blank range as she struggled to reach the pot shelf. This is a fun place and certainly the least dispiriting of the seven genuine pubs along Garratt Lane, making for a good though utterly dissimilar double with the Spread Eagle; reinstating a quality cast offering would get the score up.

Official site of Tir Na Nog - www.tirnanogwandsworth.co.uk

Official site of Tir Na Nog - www.tirnanogwandsworth.co.uk

Shabbily nice Irish themed pub with the usual clutter on the walls.The translation of this gaelic name is Land of Eternal Youth and the older crowd in here tonight may have been a lot older than I realised.Sambrookes -Wandle the only cask but had an Opengate(guinness)-citra which is becoming my beer of default in Irish pubs.Quite enjoyed my visit.Saw a band called Tir Na Nog in the seventies.

This is another pub that I dropped into because I had a bit of time to kill. There were two handpumps on the bar - one with a Wandle clip reversed, and the other dispensing Doom Bar. I was charged £1 for a half of Doom Bar - either I was undercharged or it's the cheapest half I've had in London for some years. There was no sign of any food during my early evening visit. This is obviously branded as an Irish pub, and I think I may even have detected an Irish accent at some point. The tables all had wax-encrusted bottles on them, presumably at some times they have candles in them to add a bit of atmosphere. Furnishings are mainly normal tables and chairs, and although I did see a barrell doing duty as a tall table, with its attendant tall stools, there were no sofas or that kind of thing. I saw free wi-fi advertised, as well as live music, but when I was in the music was provided by a TV tuned to a music channel. There's loads of interesting decor in here - including a fish tank, waggon wheel, framed Irish counties arms, and all manner of dtuff hanging from the ceiling. I reckon it might be dog friendly as there was a dog making itself at home running around the place. But perhaps it was at home and other dogs would be regarded as unwelcome interlopers. This struck me as a friendly pub - one of the punters moved his bag so that I could get at a stool at the bar. The ale choice is not brilliant, to say the least, but I quite liked the pub.