The Moy dubbed the new Killarney by visiting Americans

It was all giddy-up and go in the Moy last Thursday night when an old-school Irish pub swung open its doors to a bunch of ‘hot-shot’ American business people… as well as a donkey, pony and crowing cock!

Having been tended to like kings and queens in Belleek Castle Hotel in the earlier part of the day, the well-heeled Americans were given a much more grounded experience when they were received in Tomney’s Bar later that evening.

Having been told by their hosts that they were being taken to a ‘traditional’ Irish bar, the Americans might have had visions of flutes, fiddles and pints of porter.

However, what lay in store was far more traditional than any of them had anticipated.

Unbeknownst to their visitors, the owners of the bar called upon local animal-handler and all-round maverick, Johnny Fee to arrange a menagerie of Irish beasts to greet their unsuspecting guests.

When the refined folk of the new world arrived, a donkey and cart sat in front of the pub, a pony trotted gently around the bar, and, as the music poured from the musicians in the corner, a cock crowed in perfect harmony.

Speaking with Mr Fee, the man who made this piece of unforgettable pageantry possible, he recalled how one of the Americans swore that ‘the Moy is the new Killarney’.

“The whole thing got some reaction, they had never seen anything like it,” said Mr Fee, stating what some might see as the obvious.

“They were all monied men and women, (there were) no fools among them, and they said they had never seen anything like it.

“I left at about half-11, and, at that time, the drink was flowing and the whole thing was really only getting going,” said Mr Fee.

The visitors, Mr Fee said, commented earnestly on the kindness of their hosts and the friendliness of the general public.

“It was a great night. Things could not have went better.”