McGuire’s Irish Saloon

“Cead Mile Failte”: The phrase appears in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic. In both, it means “A Hundred Thousand Welcomes”.

We thought we’d do something special for lunch on Sunday and remembered seeing a place called McGuire’s while touring old town the day before. I’ve been in a lot of Irish bars over the years and I can honestly say McGuire’s comes in on top, maybe number two; I can only think of the Cricket, an old Irish pub back in Milwaukee I used to patronize decades ago that was very traditional and (all Irish) including the sing-a-longs. I have never seen Boxtys on a menu since Milwaukee until McGuire’s here in Pensacola. As the old Irish saying goes: “Boxtys on the griddle, Boxtys in the pan; if you can’t make Boxtys you’ll never get a man”. Boxty is called Irish poor bread and is a traditional Irish potato pancake.

McGuire’s opened in 1977, and Molly McGuire signed her first dollar tip and tacked to the back of the bar for good luck. Today there are more than 1.8 MILLION dollar bills signed by customers and tacked to every wall and ceiling in McGuire’s 615 seat restaurant. Get this: The government makes them count it each year for tax purposes. It’s a taxable event.

They have their own in-house brewery and produce 6 different beers along with homemade root beer, too. Their wine cellar has over 8,000 bottles of wine from all over the world. Their Hebrew corn beef is imported from the Bronx and is to die for.

McGuire’s menu is a mixture of traditional Irish and American dishes, and serves a wonderful “Senate” bean and ham soup for .18 cents a bowl. The rub here is in 1960 this, Navy bean soup, was sold in the U.S. Senate’s cafeteria for .18 cents a bowl. Today the bean soup there costs $6.00 a bowl. McGuire refuses to raise the price of his now famous so-named “Senate” soup and is quoted as says “they’re all full of beans back there and it’s costing us, the taxpayers, more and more each day to feed the SOBs”. The soup reeks of garlic – love it!

McGuire’s is located in an old abandon firehouse in Pensacola, FL

1.8 MILLION and counting . . . a taxable event. Once a room is counted no more bills are allowed, and counting each year is done in a controlled room/area and then added to the total from last year making the counting process manageable. Whew… glad someone figured that out…

Money, money, money . . .I wonder what their insurance premiums are???

“When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure ’tis like a morn in spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing. When Irish hearts are happy, all the world seems bright and gay, And When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure, they steal your heart away. “

“Sláinte” means “health” in Irish

Bridget McGuire, age 19. A spirited lass well remembered.

Oh the tales we spin . . . I have no idea if any of this is true and didn’t ask . .

Didn’ know Peugot even made a motorcycle . . .

Nothing like a good olde Irish pint of ale to bring a wee bit of a smile to an Irish face . . .

One of several dining rooms to choose from…

If ever captured by a human, the Leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchange for their release.

Corn beef on rye with homemade potato salad and homemade potato chips. “Wonderfuldelicious” (all one word). The only ding is the horseradish was bland. Good horseradish is suppose to knock you off your bar stool or at least it does back in Milwaukee.

There’s another one. Their everywhere . . .