The waters of my Youth © Tony Fallon033018.

The waters of my Youth © Tony Fallon033018.

 I often cycled across the Shannon when I was on my own

It wasn’t very difficult if you used the bridge of Athlone

As I crossed that expanse I wondered who could guarantee

That there wasn’t another monster in the bottom of Lough Ree

For it was often in my dreams that when I’d be there fishing

That along would come Nessies cousin with its tail swishing

Those beady eyes were scary and teeth from snout to throat

Even a little nip from that would surely stunt my growth

Those were the nights I’d wake up everybody with my screams

But never would I tell them the scary content of my dreams

We lived near two lakes ourselves but I wouldn’t cross in a boat

For I worried about the boat capsizing and not staying afloat

All the stories I’d been told about getting shocked by an eel

Or winding up in the belly of a Nessie for her midday meal

So that’s my story of my youthful fear of our local lake

And the wild dreams of monsters that often kept me awake

The Haircut© Tony Fallon032918

The Haircut© Tony Fallon032918

I cut my hair the other day

I miss my pony tail so much

The girls used to stroke it

Now they don’t even touch

I must have looked very wild

As I sat down in the chair

She said “oh my god

That is some head of hair”

How long ago since you cut it

It must be six or seven years

I cannot cut it with clippers

I’ll have to use a shears”

She continued her tirade

“I‘m surprised you didn’t get strangled

With the way

Your hair in the back is all tangled

That big tangle I’ll have to cut

I can’t get it undone

If you were a woman

 It could be rolled into a bun”

She clipped on gaily

But I could not ignore

My former lovely tresses

Piling up on her barber floor

I asked how much they weighed

 She said “at least five pound”

And they probably did

 They took up a lot of ground

A Tanka TonyFallon.

A Tanka TonyFallon.

She was the kind of
girl who had many angles
for every problem
one angle was acute one
she did not have many curves

A Tanka by Tony Fallon.,.

A Tanka by Tony Fallon.,.

You think you are a
Parallelogram and that
I am just a square
Geometry is't for you
But draw your own conclusions

3 Haiku's

3 Haiku's
You built your little
circle I was not around
it is cold outside
2
You know well you are
driving me crazy and you
do not own a car
3
Half a loaf is just
better than none but not if
its only half baked

3 More Haiku's

3 More Haiku's
you said a penny
for your thoughts at a time I
acted so pensive
2
put linoleum
on the kitchen floor nothing 
can fall through the cracks
3
My poor old heart is
drowning in sorrow and I
don't know how to swim

The River © Tony Fallon032518

The River © Tony Fallon032518

We had one river in our parish

So small it had no name

It wasn’t a whole foot wide

Not enough to stop a flame

It was fed by Bridgid’s well

Maybe ten gallons an hour

It was cool in the summer

 And it had healing power

Pilgrims came to Bridgid‘s well

And knelt there in the moss

Then walked to the church

Doing the Stations of the Cross

The well never went dry

Regardless of conditions

But many of the locals

Had many superstitions

The font of Bridgid’s head

Could never be removed

The well would not produce

And that had been proved

The font was right beside the well

As to school I made my way

Seventy years later I saw a photo

It still is there today.

To the best of my knowledge we only had that

one river that had water 365 days a year

in our parish and only one Bridge as it emptied

into Lough Funshinagh*Maybe a mile long.

The Dissapearinhg lake.* Go to YouTube.

Breakup © Tony Fallon032418

Breakup © Tony Fallon032418

You are gone, gone, gone at last

And I admit that I am not sad

I am so glad that I finally asked

For you have the traits of a cad

For this I have patiently waited

It must have been more than a year

And you have finally vacated

Without as much as one tear

I didn’t want to hurt or even sound blunt

And thinking of your nasty wrath

I waited many months to confront

For fear you’d go on the warpath

I was expecting you to be rude

And was surprised at your sensible reply

In fact you were very subdued

I was expecting a punch in the eye

When you left it was heavily raining

With a forecast of even hail

I could tell your strength was waning

From the pain of your ingrown toenail

I celebrated as you hopped out of sight

I found the note an hour after you’d gone

I was expecting some sort of spite

You stuffed all of my clothes in the John

The Meal © TonyFallon 032318.

The Meal © TonyFallon 032318.

Do you think I’m made of money?

I said to my honey

I didn’t think you’d eat so much

We will have to go Dutch

We didn’t need to be scholars

To add the bill to forty seven Dollars

And that didn’t even represent

The extra fifteen percent

I never thought it would cost so many bucks

For two cheese burgers deluxe

My burger was divine

But thirty dollars for the wine

Even though it was imported

I think we were extorted

Well my cash is very low

I don’t have sufficient dough

So I have to tell you Lisa

We’ll be washing dishes if you don’t have your Visa

April 2017 © Tony Fallon 032218

April 2017 © Tony Fallon 032218

The grass was green that morning but covered with a lot of snow

It was so fresh and clean and so white it almost had a glow

It was the middle of April and the grass and weeds were growing

We were surprised to wake up and find it was once more snowing

We had put away the shovels the plow and the bags of calcium and salt

We had taken the chains off the tractor and the snow tires off the Renault

When I measured it said thirty inches I don’t know what that is in meters

All the neighbors were out cleaning the windows with electric heaters

People dug for two long hours to get their cars out on the streets

But when they finally got out there the ice was there in sheets

My neighbor said he’d get to work because he had four wheel drive

He wound up in a river half a mile away and was lucky to survive

The wind was causing drifts and it was cold because of wind chill factor

People were using bulldozers another guy was using a diesel tractor

That was the last snow storm last years it was on the ground until May

The weather slowly got warmer and the piles got smaller each day

That was the April of seventeen and we are hoping there’s no repeat

We’ve had more than enough snow for one year on our little street

We want to see some sunshine to get our garden of flowers sown

And watch with pride again as our tomatoes and spuds start growin'

Noise. By Tony Fallon.032115

Noise. By Tony Fallon.032115

The snow is still white upon the ground,
Today I heard an awful sound.
That sound I have to admit I do not like, 
My neighbor just started his motor bike.

The summer it is coming,
My ears will soon be drumming.
I wish he would go for a good long hike,
Instead of revving his motor bike.

I guess to stuff his tailpipe wouldn’t be wise,
But why are they allowed to make so much noise.
I wish he would go speeding on the turnpike,
Instead of up the street on his motorbike.

Clichés Galore © Tony Fallon 032118

Clichés Galore © Tony Fallon 032118

Don’t judge a person by his size or a book by its cover
Most times milk that’s spilt you cannot recover
If you don’t like someone avoid them like the plague
A diamond in the rough is a promise that is vague
Many people can’t let their hair down they just got it cut
And in just a matter of time you might find they are a nut
Only time will tell if the stars are all aligning?
Or if the dark clouds actually have a silver lining
You shouldn’t have to settle for any port in a storm
Or kiss and make up if their love is lukewarm
You may be head over heels in love sitting in the park
But all that glitters is not gold especially in the dark
Are all the lines he used as old as the oldest hill?
Is he dressed to impress or is he dressed to kill
Without experience there is no wisdom, or warning signs
And if you are in love you can’t read between the lines
Only time will tell if you have been misled
And your new partner got up on the wrong side of the bed

Cliches Galore © Tony Fallon 032118

Cliches Galore © Tony Fallon 032118

Don’t judge a person by his size or a book by its cover

Most times milk that’s spilt you cannot recover

If you don’t like someone avoid them like the plague

A diamond in the rough is a promise that is vague

Many people can’t let their hair down they just got it cut

And in just a matter of time you might find they are a nut

Only time will tell if the stars are all aligning?

Or if the dark clouds actually have a silver lining

You shouldn’t have to settle for any port in a storm

Or kiss and make up if their love is lukewarm

You may be head over heels in love sitting in the park

But all that glitters is not gold especially in the dark

Are all the lines he used as old as the oldest hill?

Is he dressed to impress or is he dressed to kill

Without experience there is no wisdom, or warning signs

And if you are in love you can’t read between the lines

Only time will tell if you have been misled

And your new partner got up on the wrong side of the bed

Overused © Tony Fallon 032018

Overused © Tony Fallon 032018

In every day use words are overused,”you know”

So I’m going to list some of them below

To use the word “amazing” is no longer cool

And using “very” often is really old school

“Totally” I’m afraid is no longer complete

 “Unbelievable;’ cannot be used for a girl who is petite

“Literally” doesn’t mean that things are always true

“Unique “may be unique to me but not to you

“Honestly” is a word few people understand

If I had my way “absolutely” would be banned

“Basically” going away would not be too silly

And I’d finish my removals by getting rid of “really”

Haunted© Tony Fallon031918

Haunted© Tony Fallon031918

I often cycled on my bicycle undaunted

 By graveyards and houses that were haunted

At least that what I told my young sister and brother

But I was not fooling my father or my mother

While they may not be very easy to scare

When they went out at night it was as a pair

On dark nights any noise gave a great big fright

But it was better if you had a good flashlight

My father was not a native of the community

And was told scary stories at every opportunity

They had him convinced next door was a banshee

And that it was unlucky to touch the blackthorn tree

They told him never to go close to the fairy fort

Because they would play tricks on him just for sport

He never left our happy home on the feast of Halloween

He was convinced the wee people that night were mean

With an attitude like that from the head of the household

You can imagine that our Halloween activity was controlled

Today the youth sometimes hang out without regard

And even damaged headstones in the local graveyard

In our time that was a place to reflect and pray

If disrespectful you’d be haunted until your dying day

Still Waiting© Tony Fallon031618

Still Waiting© Tony Fallon031618

It’s been two long years since I saw your face
I wonder if you are ever coming back to my place
Just to be with you again would be so splendid
You’d have to leave again I would not be offended

You know I didn’t forget you  and I never will
The day that I met you is still my biggest thrill
This time I will know in advance what to expect
And you know I always show you great respect

I would never want to lose your friendship
You will be forever be my eternal blue chip
You are so levelheaded without illusions
And I value so much your conclusions

So will I see you  once again real soon
Maybe you’ll surprise me some afternoon
When we have dry hot summer weather
And like before spend two magic weeks together.

Roscommon Solstice Choir © Tony Fallon 031718

Roscommon Solstice Choir ©
Tony Fallon 031718

From the land of the O’Connor’s
They have brought themselves great honors
Reflecting on the County and the town
And many other counties all around
Famous both at home and abroad
Last year’s winners of the Epic award
All dressed smartly in similar attire
The famous Roscommon Solstice Choir

They were welcome everywhere
They spread joy and not despair
They do not sing in any way for prosperity
Because all the money raised goes to charity
They are a vanishing breed
Altruism at it’s best instead of greed
If they practice winter spring and fall
They will one day get to Carnegie Hall

For seven days they were in the states
And they must have had eight singing dates
From Yonkers to the famous Ellis Island
Surrounded by exiles from old Ireland
They toured round to all the sights
They have seen Broadways flashing lights
There must be great memories stored inside
To be remembered often far across the tide

We all were so excited as we shook their hand
And always the question which is your town land
There was indeed a great burst of conversation
When someone found a distant relation
I found my own third cousin twice removed
It might be closer so it will have to be proved
Many great memories will never ever fade
Of marching in St Patrick’s big parade

The doubt © Tony Fallon031318

The doubt © Tony Fallon031318

As days are getting lighter
You seem to hold on tighter
You are giving me a scare
I'm not having an affair.

We've been together for a while
To you I am no way hostile
There's only one to whom I'm true
You must realizes it's you

And I admit you've had to wait 
To become my only first mate
But I still want you to feel sure 
that our love will always endure

My love for you is passion
But I am still old fashion
Not too easy to discuss
If it's you or me or us

Over © Tony Fallon 031018

Over © Tony Fallon 031018

The more I think about you the more I like my dog

The more I think about you, you were a demagogue

On the train last Saturday from Dublin up to Louth

You talked incessantly you never shut your mouth

Why don’t I do this why don’t I do that or thother

You do more nitpicking that a fifty year old mother

I get forty questions if I go drinking with the blokes

Every time I light up it’s when am I quitting the smokes

When ever I go out to practice with the hurling team

If I should be five minutes late all you do is scream

When we do go out you stick to me like adhesive tape

Or cling to me like a scared cat would to a bedroom drape

If the waitress should be pretty I have to beware

If she should smile you’ll say we are having an affair

But it’s ok for you to smile and flirt with all the other fellas

And If I should act uncomfortable I’m accused of being jealous

We have been a pair for a year we should be starting to thrive

But you act like a teenager and you are nearly twenty five

All your clothes and shoes go on my master card or amex

You keep all your wages and you want half all my checks

You say that’s to pay the utilities all the food and rent

I’m not happy with this set up but you seem quite content

When I come home I want to watch the news in my recliner

But you complain about your sad day you really are a whiner

When we were going out you did everything to attract

You were a completely different person or was that just an act

We’ve talked about you attitude and its worse by the week

Maybe you can’t help it you’ve inherited this mean streak

I don’t know why we teamed up or what was the allure?

But I’m glad that it is over you are far too immature.

Johnny &the EEC© Tony Fallon 030818

Johnny &the EEC© Tony Fallon 030818

If you give him an inch he’ll take a meter

That’s what Johnny always says about Peter

He never talked like that prior to the EEC

If the answer is yes instead he says oui, oui

He has a beautiful girl friend named Christina

Who he drives crazy by calling her signorina

When he’s feeling romantic she’s his only Agapi Mou

He also often asks if she’ll one day be his Frau

On Valentine ’s Day he always sends to her home

A really big bunch of roos and blomme

I often want to tell he is full of baloney

When he refers to Dublin footballers as La campione

Everybody who is named Sean he calls Juan

The road from Galway to Tuam is the Autobahn

He never mentions the punt whenever he’s in the bank

He’ll only talk about the Euro or the Swiss Franc

We didn’t join brixit and we won’t for a while

If we left the Common Market it would ruin his style

For the old Irish ways he is not sentimental

He wants to be known as a genuine continental

Missing someone © Tony Fallon 030918.

Missing someone © Tony Fallon 030918.

I sat there and cried

The awful morning that you died

For weeks we had watched you in distress

While the doctor’s said there was no progress

Injections morphine and pills

No more to return to your home in the hills

No more to look out at the River Shannon

We said prayers nightly with the Cannon

I’m not sure I understood

About God only taking the very good

Why for the good must we say amen?

And leave a husband with sad children

Leaving behind half a loving pair

And at the table an empty chair

No more will she help in the meadows

But on her grave will be a big red rose

Why oh why was it her time

Barely forty in her prime

No more will she feed the lamb or calf

No more shall we hear that hearty laugh

No more shall she hear wild birds sing

Nor teach her children the Highland fling

No more shall she hear the Christmas noise

Of children opening Santa’s toys

Never will she see a wedding dress

No grandchildren will she caress

I think that was the day I became aware

That life for some reason is often unfair.

End of rainbow© Tony Fallon030718

End of rainbow© Tony Fallon030718

When I got to the end of the rainbow

I never found any gold

I never even found a shilling

Despite what I’d been told

Grandpa always had told me

There would be a leprechaun there with his last

Making shoes for all the colleens

And if I caught him to hold on fast.

The story they still tell in Ireland

Is that now he must grant wishes three

But you must hold on tightly

If you don’t he will get free

So there is the solution

For the wee man and his little pot

You must follow the instructions

Or you’ll wind up exactly with squat.

Missing Someone© Tony Fallon 030618

Missing Someone© Tony Fallon 030618

I do not miss you any more
And I shall never miss you less
I still dream of our days of yore
And those dreams I can not repress

That we met I do not regret
You really spoke my lingo
I am forever in your debt
Like a big payout at bingo

We roamed the hilly heather
Memories dance like ballet

Those days we spent together
Like wee angels flew away

For reasons we were miscast
I was not to be your beau

That life is now in the past
Somehow I can not let go

When I die I want on my stone
I grieved until the very end
I wish I did not die alone
We shall meet in heaven my friend

M.E. Cohen© Tony Fallon 030618

M.E. Cohen© Tony Fallon 030618

Someone is missing I can’t find them

This morning I was standing behind them

They didn’t know I could have wined them

If they did why go and leave me so glum

I don’t know where she was going

My curiosity really is growing

I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t snowing

Where are you Mary Elizabeth Cohen

She may be gone to Manhattan

Or to the Island named Staten

But the wind on the ferry would flatten

The great four stars General Patton.

For her safety I really am scared

For this weather she is unprepared

My poor head is pounding like thunder

Because I don’t have her telephone number

Grandpa © Tony Fallon 030618

Grandpa © Tony Fallon 030618

Grandpa and I sat in the kitchen which was cold

The only pair of boots he owned he had just resoled

The summer was not over it was the middle of July

There wasn’t much of a fire the turf was in short supply

They lived far away from the bog twenty miles by road

They bought some turf from Dugra bog just one big lorry load

So the fire was also kept going with wood from fallen trees

The odor of smoke from the fire was carried far on the breeze

We had very little in common I still hadn’t started to school

And I was afraid to talk in case he would think me a fool

We lived many miles away and to visit grandpa was rare

My mother had a fitting in Athleague and I was under his care

He asked if I could play checkers or any other board game

When he asked he said you I bet he couldn’t remember my name

When I said I could play checkers I could tell he was impressed

He said you have a good teacher your mother is one of the best

He got out the draft board I played my first game with the master

It lasted no more than five minutes in fact it might have been faster

That was not the last time we played that was not my last slaughter

And he was as good if not better than my mother his oldest daughter

He said you’ve got the basics and you’re not bad for such a wee lad

But you have plenty to learn from your mother and me your granddad

It was like a challenge was laid down as I sat in that old country seat

I wish I could go back in time and with grandpa once more compete

The used bicycle © 030418 Tony Fallon

The used bicycle © 030418 Tony Fallon

A few years ago

On a warm summer day

A boy I knew showed up at my store

He had a bicycle that had seen better days

And nights

The front wheel was beyond repair

He wanted me to buy it

So he could buy another at Walmart

I told him if he gave me a few dollars

I’d throw it in my garbage since I have to pay

An Irish American heard the conversation

And bought a bicycle from me

And gave it to him

When I asked him why

He said “I remember this Irish American kid

In the Bronx about 25 yeas ago etc etc etc”

I said “you should have told him

He’d have to mow your father’s lawn a few times.”

That summer went by

And so did September AND October

That kid even though he passed on foot and riding

Never spent a nickel in my store

And I sell a full line of bicycle parts

In November he showed up

With the remains of a bicycle

No brakes one pedal missing flat in front

He wanted a refund

So I played along

Did he have the receipt?

Why did he need the money?

He was going to buy a new one at Walmart

“Oh  I remember now’  I said

“Leave it here and I’ll give the money

To the nice man who paid for it”

He didn’t leave the bicycle

And he never returned

He probably didn’t like

My store’s Customer Service.

The Super Bowl ©Tony Fallon 020418

The Super Bowl ©Tony Fallon 020418

It’s Super Sunday I must be getting ole
Because I was in America for every Super Bowl
The first one I remember was the New York Jets
Just after the World Series was won by the Mets
I remember clearly there was no civil breakdown
No one came out that night and burned the town
That is one American custom I never understood
When your team is champion burn the neighborhood
That could happen tonight in the town of Philly
But burning your own town seems kind of silly.
I hope the police there can keep a cap on trouble
Since Boston won last year and are looking for the double
This day is heavily advertised as the day of the drinker
And the game itself often turns out to be a real stinker
Often one team is inferior and so badly outclassed
Than even before half time some turn off the broadcast
But no matter how far Brady trails the game is never over
Just watch out for what he can do if he gets a turnover
Last year he was so far behind they thought he was mismatched
But you should never count chickens until they are hatched
All must be rehearsed all the planning done in advance
This may be your first and your only Super Bowl chance.
And if you are far ahead and you think it’s a gift from Santa
Just look what happened last year to the great lead of Atlanta
So I guess what it comes down to some team has to lose
It would be nice to have a new champion yet it’s Boston I choose

The Frenchie Connection © Tony Fallon 021618

The Frenchie Connection © Tony Fallon 021618

When I first moved here I was running from the Law
I had been working on a ranch near Lille Rock Arkansas
I had many fake licenses and numerous fake ID’s
And I could open and start any car even without the keys

There was a woman tagging along a little Paris wench
She only speaks a few words of English but she speaks French
She is smarter and wiser than many women twice as old
She didn’t care a shit about laws we were from the same mold

I didn’t have much money I spent most of it on wine and song
If I didn’t spend the rest on Frenchie she wouldn’t come along
So I decided to come to see Broadway and all the tourists from Japan
And get money from a bank with no interest or repayment plan

That was the easiest plan to make money that I ever devised
And the cameras didn’t catch my picture because I was disguised
When I called my mother a few nights later she got an awful shock
When I told how easy it was to make money far away from Little Rock

That night I was watching a TV show the subject was about fraud
And they said the FBI was interested in this hairy man named Claud
Of course you wouldn’t recognize me shaved, crew cut and glasses
As I walk the streets around Broadway I blend in with the masses.

With my fake British accent and Frenchie we are an international pair
And we have less to worry about than a New York millionaire
That one visit to the bank made us quite a handsome stash

Maybe Love © Tony Fallon 021518

Maybe Love © Tony Fallon 021518

You tell others I’m the one
With me you only flirt
If you treat feelings as fun
Someone will get hurt

If you crave this love of mine
Then convince me we’re a pair
I do not like to whine
That is so unfair

Those wasted days you will lament
You are already my friend
With that I’m not content
Your intentions must be penned

I can be warm I can be tender
I am not a tease
Nor am I a pretender
I want to be your squeeze

I don’t have airs or graces
I don’t have a lot of money
I just want your embraces
And forever be your honey.

But I cannot wait much longer
Because I feel despair
Maybe my feelings are stronger
Maybe you are unaware.

The Olympics 022618 (C) Tony Fallon

The Olympics 022618 (C) Tony Fallon

I checked with RWR to see if I needed a rhyme
I did for yesterday
So if I put it in today will it be in time
I always dreamed of competing in the Olympics
I was watching the curlers from Norway
That is such an amazing event
So absorbed I forgot to write a poem
I have four years to prepare
I think I could represent Ireland
I’ll train here in Cairo at the rink
My mother was a devil for clean floors
So I’ve been cleaning floors all my life
I think I can handle a broom
I just got to find out what the heck
They are doing
Still it can’t be that hard to learn
What have I got to lose?
I can’t look any more foolish than the others
Wouldn’t that be something?
A gold medal for Ireland in Curling

The Snowman 030218© TONY FALLON

The Snowman 030218© TONY FALLON

I remember the big snow of 51

Or was it 52

Everybody was talking about it

Probably was close to an inch

It was Sunday

Paddy Corcoran’s funeral

We kids were alone

Parents gone to the home

So we decided to built a snowman

We started at the top of the garden

By the time we got to the road we had the base

Once more and we had the chest

A little more and we had the head

The previous year we had potatoes

In that garden

So there was a lot of clay

Mixed in the snowman

As the funeral went past

We and the snowman stood at attention

I wish we had a mobile phone

Many in the funeral

Probably wished the same

I’m sure Paddy Beirne will smile

At his memory of the first

Multi racial snowman in Rahara.

The irony of it all © Tony Fallon 030318

The irony of it all © Tony Fallon 030318

I woke up this morning before I went to sleep

I had a very expensive breakfast that was cheap

I had a plate of cabbage and spuds before my cereal

The drapes were made of paper not curtain material

The dog lay stretched out purring in front of the fire

Even thought I’m telling the truth you think I’m a liar

I looked out the window to see who else were within

They were very quiet still making a bit of a din

I was always very obedient but I sometimes still defied

And even though I was humble I was still full of pride

People who liked me often were unreliable and unfair

They didn’t like my style but loved me being debonair

I ‘m always on the side of doves others say I’m like hawks

Oh such a very simple person yet can be like a paradox

I known everything except things that are unknown

Even when I’m all by myself I don’t feel alone

I really think that most of my enemies are friends

This poem is just beginning but sadly it now ends.

The Irish snowstorm© Tony Fallon 030118.

The Irish snowstorm© Tony Fallon 030118.

They say it snowed in Ireland the twenty eighth day of spring

They say it’s not too heavy and it probably will not cling

High wind and tides are promised from a visitor named Emma

With low temperatures and snow already she will be a problema

There’s more live videos on social media by the minnet

Someone sent a video of a donkey maybe ‘twas a jennet

A dog was so excited he didn’t know what else to do but bark

And there was another video of the deer in Phoenix Park

But the predictions for the next few days are not too rosy

And people are being advised to stay home and try to stay cozy

The temperature is very close to zero and goes down by the hour

And many homes around the country already have lost power

I’m sure we’ll see pictures the next few days that will be stunning

Of people walking on the streets since the busses won’t be running

They say schools will all be closed and all the big and small airports

The storm will be gone by Sunday but it’ll probably still affect sports

They say that in the center of Dublin there’s no milk or sliced pan

And you’ll have to go out to the Santry grocery of a man from Pakistan

There also is no sign of instant coffee cocoa or any boxes of tea bags

But I bet the ould fella has bottles of Guinness and plenty of fags