The entrance to the Irsh Rover, the first authentic Irish pub in Jamaica. - Photo by Carl Gilchrist

Last week, while Irishmen all across the world drank to St Paddy, you would have thought Jamaicans would have watched the holiday go by quietly. You would have been wrong!

In the quiet community of Drax Hall lies the Irish Rover, Jamaica's first authentic Irish pub.

The significantly green building can be seen well before you get to it and on St Patrick's Day, it could be heard too.

The sounds emanating from the building were not the usual sounds of bagpipes and mixed with the unmistakable shouts of Irish accents but reggae.

Linstead-based reggae band Cornerstone Family served up a sumptuous dose of its brand of music while patrons in the pub not only celebrated St Paddy, but the joint's first year in the business.

Owner, Winston Samuels, who lived in Ireland for 47 years before coming back to build the pub, was a pleased man as he, with the help of Jean Wilmott, cut the anniversary cake with a single candle.

Danny Boy

Winston Samuels, owner of the Irish Rover, gets a little help from his friend Jean Wilmott to cut a cake representing the pub's first anniversary last Tuesday.

The real icing on the cake, however, came when he sang Danny Boy (Ireland's unofficial anthem), dedicating it to all the Irish in the pub.

It seemed everyone was familiar with it, as Irish and not, sang along, applauding at the end.

Fish fingers, chicken wings and strips of chicken breast, baked Irish potatoes, Irish stew and wines were on the house.

While the servings were delicious, it seems somehow that baked Irish potatoes taste much better when served at the Irish Rover.

The St Ann business sector, Ocho Rios in particular, was well represented and with no age restrictions, there was even a baby among the crowd, in the safety of the arms of an adult.

While there was a variation in the music offered by the band, it was mostly reggae that was offered and the crowd seemed to love every minute of it, dancing and singing along and really enjoying the occasion.

The action was streamed live via the Internet to Samuels' wife who was in Ireland.

"It's been a good year, considering it's a new business and new concept; people have taken on to it," Samuels told The Gleaner.

Samuels has actually been coming back to the island annually with his family for the last 13 years and according to him, there was a need for an Irish pub in Jamaica.

"We built this (the pub) in six months," he said.