COMEDIAN Pat Shortt has revealed how he caused a stampede to his own bar when he began picking up glasses.
The 56-year-old was the owner of Pat Shortt’s Bar in Castlemartyr, Co. Cork for nearly a decade but never ventured behind the bar.
Until one night he was short staffed, resulting in fans almost running riot with excitement.
Pat told The Irish Sun: “I popped into the pub one night and whatever happened, one girl was working on her own.
“’What the hell are we going to do?’
“Here’s the deal I said, ‘you pull the pints and do the bar and I’ll clear the tables and collect glasses’. It was mid-week so I thought we wouldn’t get that busy.”
However the moment the D’Unbelievables star appeared with a towel over his shoulder picking up the pint glasses it was bedlam.
Pat told us: “People started ringing their friends going ‘you’ll never guess who’s picking up glasses in here tonight. You got to come in and see this’.
“They were taking photos of me and putting them online. By the time it came to ten o’clock, the bar was rammed and I was surrounded with people. It was one of the busiest nights in the bar’s history.”
Pat sold his popular hostelry in 2015 and admits the first few years were tough.
Pat revealed the popular spot was also where he bonded with the pub’s chef, Mike Hanrahan, also a member of Stockton’s Wing, with whom he hosts new series Songs of Ireland, which starts tonight on RTE One.
The new four part series sees the pair taking a musical road-trip around Ireland to uncover the history and significance of the country’s most popular songs.
The Tipperary born comic and actor started his career as a musician before leaving his saxophone behind to do comedy with Jon Kenny.
However he can be seen playing with over 20 new music acts around in the country on his new show.
Pat and Mike will also be joining forces with Asha Ari in Dublin, Dervish’s Cathy Jordan in Roscommon, and hook up with the late Shane MacGowan’s backing band Cronin in Co Westmeath and Eve Belle in Co Donegal.
Songs of Ireland airs at 9:15pm on RTE One Saturday.
