DAN DENNEHY breaks every rule in the publican's bible.

The proprietor of Bob's Bar on Percival St in Kanturk talks freely about politics and religion and is not adverse to the odd pint of the black stuff himself.

Having said all that, he runs an immaculate pub with great food where the first sign of serious trouble will earn the dissident an immediate red card.

The pub is in the third generation, having been established in 1914 by Dan's grandfather, P D O'connor. Bob's was renovated in 2006 — corresponding with, in Dan's words, "the spectacular decline in the the pub business".

Rather than lie down and die, the astute publican reacted to the crisis by developing the food side of the business, employing a French chef, Patrick Vicaire, and turning the over a century old bar into one of the finest gastro pub restaurants in Cork.

Dan runs the business with his wife, Martina, a Monaghan lass who he meet when he worked in the civil service in Dublin.

Martina, a nurse by profession, is the exact opposite to her acerbic husband — calm and even tempered with always a welcoming smile.

The staff, meanwhile, are truly international, coming from France, Lithuania Poland, the Philippines not to mention Lismire, Banteer, Bweeng, Ballydesmond and Freemount.

The profile of the customer is so broad based that it is impossible to categorise them. Literally, the whole gamut of of professions can be found under one roof which reflects the wide and diverse interests of the owners.

Everybody is welcome, as long as you behave yourself.

Of a day, you could have a conversation with the local doctor, carpenter, mart manager, TD, priest, electrician, teacher and Supervalu owner. The pub is a melting pot of diversity.

Though not a 'sporting pub', the bar has a strong affinity with local anglers and one can often find a group of middle aged men with names like Fogarty, Lofts and Twohig, not to mention Dennehy, engrossed in conversation about river conditions, favourite flies or adventures in Clonburan anglers paradise on the Galway/mayo boarder.

Music is another defining feature of the Bob's Bar experience. The itune playlist is so weird and wonderful it stretches from Rory Gallagher to Andre Bocelli to The Chieftans, with live trad music every Sunday night from 7-9.

Meanwhile, a function room and performance area upstairs have seen live gigs from Freddie White, John Spillane not to mention the home grown talent of renowned box player Jackie Daly and singer/musician Tim Browne.

One of the most memorable food events to be held Bob's in was a lobster themed night. The food was to die for but unfortunately it coincided with Black Thursday, the day we finally knew how much money we owed to the German banks, so it was a bit like Nero fiddling while Rome burnt.

But nobody cared, as Dan reassured us that all would be fine ... some day.

Though Dan claims not to be a member of any political party there seems to be a strong link with Fianna Fail and on occasions former government ministers have been seen on the establishment. In fairness, it's probably got to do with the fact that Deputy Michael Moynihan TD has his constituency office next door and, in Dan's words, "is a great neighbour to have".

At election time its hard to know if it's Michael's office or Bob's Bar is election headquarters. As this writer is a member of the Labour Party, political debate can be sometimes become heated but, at the end of the day, all is forgotten and I have personally enjoyed great conversations with the Dail Deputy and his brother Bernard.

So Bob's Bar, in summary, is a safe, friendly, well run establishment with great grub, atmospheric lighting, exotic beers and even green tea where conversation is easy and free flowing and as you stagger home with a load of earth shattering thoughts swimming around in your head you say to yourself "Wasn't that a great night"... and "long live the local".

- Patrick Casey