I recently flew to New Orleans for my day job, and while visiting, I made a pilgrimage to the very famous Finn McCool’s Irish Pub.
Finn McCool’s is located two miles from the French Quarter, and is the real life setting for writer Stephen Rea’s book about surviving Hurricane Katrina, “Finn McCool’s Football Club: The Birth, Death and Resurrection of a Pub Soccer Team in the City of the Dead“.
The book begins as a funny and perceptive story about the writer’s own journey from Belfast, to moving with his new wife to New Orleans. As a stranger in a foreign land, his devotion to Chelsea FC ultimately leads him to find the only nearby pub that will show soccer, Finn McCool’s. Despite his best intentions to fit into his new American/Cajun culture and avoid reminders of home, he quickly becomes great mates with the many Irish, English and French ex-pats who frequent the lively pub. Frustrated with the local soccer scene, he even helps start Finn McCool’s Football Club, which further bonds Stephen and his new friends together.
The second half of the book describes his harrowing journey out of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and the effect the storm has on all of their lives. Rea describes many frightening tales; how homes were destroyed, bodies floated through the streets, families split apart, and how his favorite pub stood in several feet of water surely to be another victim. And yet, despite the tragedy, Rea and his wife eventually return to New Orleans, as do most of their friends. Slowly they put the pieces back together, rebuild their lives, and the team starts playing soccer again. Finn McCool’s is refurbished and soon reopens for business.
The book is lighthearted and funny, but there is an underlying very serious tone. Rea comes from a place with a history of sectarian violence (Northern Ireland), and he seems happy to turn the page and start fresh in Louisiana. So it is with surprise that Rea soon discovers a troubling undercurrent of racism in some of the residents of his new city. But he’s also shocked to discover that Celtic and Rangers fans can both sit at McCool’s and laugh and give each other grief without incident. In the beginning he vividly describes his feelings of loneliness, then later describes the pain of missing his friends who have scattered across the country to escape Katrina. Through it all, the pub serves as the place where everyone comes together. Finn McCool’s isn’t a typical bar, but becomes something much more meaningful in their lives.
So of course, I had to visit.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon of a “FIFA International Weekend”, the cab dropped me off in front of the green corner pub, built in what used to be a house. It was hard to see inside, but you could certainly hear lots of laughter roaring out. I had my copy of Rea’s book in my hand in case I ran into anyone, but I really wasn’t sure what to expect.
Of course, I screwed everything up from the start. There were no international soccer matches scheduled for a late Sunday afternoon. But the Saints game was finishing and the bar was filled with NFL fans. Leave it to me to end up at a great soccer pub and find myself surrounded by Drew Brees jerseys.
Although disappointed in my timing, I could definitely tell this pub was a little bit different. First, the place was packed and filled with lots of talking and laughing. Just from the sound alone, you knew this was a place where some serious bullsh#tting went on. The energy level was very high, and it was surprisingly “spirited” for a 4pm on a Sunday. Tourists? Not a tourist to be seen anywhere.
…And who knew there were so many Northern Irish in New Orleans?
I introduced myself to the bartender and told her I was reading the book. “We’re starting to get more and more of you here now…” she said. ”I’m in the book myself”, she said, as she tucked her hair behind her ear, walked out from the behind the bar, and showed me their recent team photo on the wall, done as “The Last Supper”.
“We’ve won a lot of trophies too” she said, pointing to the shelf above.
“You should introduce yourself to Stephen, he’s one of the owners….”
“You know, I was walking though this pub about an hour ago, and I could recognize everyone here, but I didn’t recognize you…” said the tall Northern Irishman with a bit of a mad look in his eye.
“I’ve been reading the book and I wanted to stop by…” I said.
“Have you finished the book yet?” he asked me. “Because I don’t want to ruin it for you but the ship goes down…it’s very sad…”
“Well, I’m glad you came. We’re very proud of this place. You see, we always wanted to create a place that was more than just a bar, or a place to drink. We wanted a place where people would meet and talk with a family atmosphere, like we had back home. But we also wanted to add the flavor of New Orleans too, because we’ve been here for almost 20 years…
We came close to packing it in several times after the hurricane….but no one would let us…people pitched in to help…and we figured it was just meant to go on…”
I definitely recommend stopping by Finn McCool’s.
