Well, I was visiting my homeland after a long time and I had bought a ticket for my son for his first time in Ireland. Once we got to my sister's place in Leixlip the question was "What now?" "The first order of business is a pint of Guinness" was the answer. So the two of us trooped down to the village about noon on a weekday. We happened on The Middle Shop. At first I thought that it would be, well, a SHOP. But it sure looked like a pub and I pushed in the door and sure enough it was. Nothing fancy but a nice local. I ordered a couple of pints and told the barman it was his first in Ireland so make it a good one. Of course it was and of course the couple of customers there wanted to talk. After a pint or two or five we went back to my sister's and Dylan said how he could not have had a better introduction to Irish pubs. read more