‘You can have the best craic at the counter’: The stories of Ireland’s old-school butchers

by Amy O’Connorpublished in www.thejournal.ie

 

Thanks to Amy for featuring us in this article. Read the full article here

….For his part, McCarthy believes that butchers still play an important role in their local communities. There’s a personal touch that you just don’t get in supermarkets.

“I love meeting people. You can have the best craic inside the counter talking to people, meeting people, catching up with people. Giving you their news, giving them your news. It’s a very sociable job. Our average interaction with someone could be four to five minutes.You know their habits, you know what they’re into.”

“I don’t call them customers. They’re all my friends coming in.”

With Christmas just around the corner, McCarthy says the turkey queries are coming in thick and fast. It reminds him of a well-worn phrase.

“You know they say, ‘A turkey is for life and not just for Christmas?’ A butcher is there all year round, not just at Christmas.”

Our butcher Tom shared a stage with the Happy Pears at the weekend

Our butcher Tom shared a stage with the Happy Pears at the weekend. Of course Tom stole the show and the 2 pears were so impressed with Tom they called to see him at work before they left for Wicklow.

We will forgive them for cooking Tom a veggie dish.