An act of Drogheda hospitality has catapulted The Punt’s barman, Phil, into TikTok stardom and sent the popular social media platform’s Guinness aficionados into a heated debate over the correct way to pour a pint of ‘the black stuff’.
It took just a day for a TikTok, featuring Phil giving a visitor from Bucharest the benefit of his 30 years of pint-pulling knowledge, to pass 100,000 views with no sign of it slowing down. Hundreds of TikTokkers forwarded and bookmarked the post as, in the comments, a good natured but lively debate raged, about everything from the ideal temperature, to how far up the glass the first pour should reach.
“I post regularly on TikTok but rarely see such a conversation in the chat ” said Declan Cassidy of EurAV, the non-profit audio visual organisation on Fair Street who were hosting the visitors from a music college in Bucharest. “We are involved in a number of international projects so we often have visitors from other countries. It’s an opportunity to show what a lot Drogheda has to offer. We had spent the morning at a workshop in Regus Bru Digital Hub in the town centre and we had stopped for lunch in The Punt when Phil offered to show our visitors the secret to a great pint. They were delighted, and I filmed it so that they’d have a record of the occasion. But I don’t think any of us thought that the clip would go viral and cause such a storm in a pint glass!”
Those wanting to learn the secrets behind the perfect pint, or to add their knowledge to the converstation, can find the tiktok post at tiktok.com/declancassidy.
The visitors were from Music 4 All – a music college in Bucharest, and were in Drogheda as part of an Erasmus + funded EU project that saw Drogheda-based EurAV work with them and a dance organisation in Belgrade to develop for inclusion of people with additional needs through music and dance. The visitors were treated to a hip-hop workshop by local dance organisation Fit Kids Fit Teens (FKFT) and got to witness a class in Laytown where the young dancers were rehearsing for a film, Movie Magic, that is to screen in the TLT in December.
“They went away singing our praises,” said Declan. “Drogheda really has so much to offer and it’s a short hop from the airport, which is really handy for groups who are only here for a few days and, so, are trying to make the most of every minute.”
