I was on my way back to the city after delivering furniture in Blackrock for a meeting at the Merrion Hotel when I found myself passing the Merrion Inn.
It was lunchtime, so I decided to stop.
I was keen to see if there had been any significant alterations to the the bar and fixtures that I provided when the the premises was completely revamped by the McCormac brothers, Eamonn and Paddy, in 1991.
Dave Crowley was the architect and it was my first taste of a large-scale bar fit-out.
It was gratifying, therefore, to find that all the essential elements were still there, unchanged, and, in my own estimation, still looking fresh and interesting.
Unfortunately, I have only this one shot of the Merrion Inn to hand but it gives a flavour of the project.
(I am so new to blogging that I'm not sure if it acceptable to use other people's images that are to be found on-line but there are more shots to be seen on Cantrell & Crowley's site - www.cantrellcrowley.com).
Lunch was excellent and it was good to chat with Eamonn: he told me that it is just as difficult to be a publican in this recession as it is to be a custom furniture maker! Anyone who says things are not difficult is a lying, he declared.
And so, after lunch I went on to my meeting at the Merrion Hotel where I provided the Cellar Bar in 2000.
And guess who was the architect for the Cellar Bar? - Dave Crowley, of course.
The Bar
Wide, oak architraving
This was a fascinating undertaking.
The brief, as passed on to me during early discussions, was to 'provide a bar that will look as though it has been there for a hundred years'.
The architect and I agreed, instantly, that we would not even consider the 'Irish Pub' solution, versions of which were then, and still are, to be seen throughout Ireland - and all over the world, for that matter.
The space was (and still is) magical: the cellars of the eighteenth century building with stone walls and vaulted, brick ceilings.
At the time I was drying Irish timber (and that's another tale) and thus had available to me substantial quantities of Irish oak.
A 'pippy' oak log, similar to the material used in the Cellar Bar
In short, I decided to present the idea of selecting a simple design (construction) motif that could be extrapolated throughout all elements of the fit-out: the bar-front itself, panelling, doors and so on.
So, I reversed the more usual stile and panel format, where the stile is narrow and the panel is wider, and, instead of providing a moulding between the stile and the panel, I introduced a second square element. Furthermore I made the stile exceptionally wide, up to 300 mm. (12"), and the panel exceptionally narrow 50 mm. (2"). This had the 'optical' effect of turning what is, structurally, the stile into the panel.
It also had the merit of being very easy to manufacture and to scale to the varied requirements - bar-front, wainscoting, radiator covers, panelling etc.
Half the job for furniture-makers is finding timber suited to the task.
As mentioned, I had my own Irish oak available, so, for the purpose of achieveing the 'been there for 100 years' look, I instructed the workshop to regard certain defects as an advantage: boards with cracks, shakes and stable knots were to be selected rather than rejected, thus, once again, reversing usual practice.
The client approved the design but there was to be a battle over the finish.
I badly wanted to leave the oak raw for it to age and take-on colour and to patinate naturally through time and usage.
But stain and polish was demanded.
The client won the battle.
And since the result was so good I have to concede that he was not wrong - I just can't quite bring myself to say that he was actually right!
This job was to be the beginning of a long association with the Merrion Hotel. And this all due to Peter MacCann its General Manager.
Peter was on site throughout the convertion of the terrace of eighteenth century houses into the hotel.
It was at this time, as I was fitting-out the Cellar Bar, that I got to know him and recognise his exceptional managerial and person skills.
The convertion was a very major undertaking and, as is the way of such contracts, the site was crawling with architects, project managers, quantity surveyors, and foremen all of whom, it often seems to me, are looking for and thus creating problems.
But not Peter MacCann. Yes, he can identify a problem before it develops but his only interest is in its solution. - I don't believe the job would have been completed yet had he not been there to mediate the project.
And he runs the hotel in the same manner and it is thus a pleasure to work there: whether it is teasing-out the best solution or installing the result, one can rely on his wisdom and good humour.
Anyway, I have been fortunate that Peter has called me back again and again to maintain and make improvements to the Cellar Bar and other associated tasks.
And last year I rose from the cellars into the drawing rooms for which, working with Peter and Alice Roden, I manufactured and supplied a 'faux cabinet-front', a Kilkenny limestone-topped pier table and replica chairs.
The only drawback to working in a perfectly managed five star hotel can be finding times when noise and disruption will be tollerated. - The management, at all levels, believes that their customers must be cosseted and protected from any inconvenience. My experience, however, is that, on the rare occasions when I have worked-on in their presence, guests almost always, and to a man, engage with and enjoy the activity!
More pictures will be added shortly...
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And following the bar fit-out at the Merrion Inn, Eamonn and Paddy McCormack also became long-term customers. I supplied a second bar, upstairs at the Merrion Inn and, as with the Merrion Hotel, have returned many times to maintain and improve the bar and fittings and I have supplied furniture into both their homes.
I have been very lucky with my customers and many of them have not only come back to me again and again but have become, if not friends, people with whom I have the most friendly relations.