One of the favorite activities that my wife and I have is to follow our friend, Harry O'Donohue, when he performs at pubs around the Southern states. Never had I heard of the Shamrock Irish Pub in Macon until Harry told me that he would be performing there on the following Friday. Macon is much closer to where we live than any of the other venues that Harry plays, so my wife and I decided to take Friday evening and drive the 32 miles to visit the Shamrock.
We left home about 7:30 on a very rainy evening. I had the windshield wipers on high and was still having difficulty being able to see. By the time we arrived at the pub I was ready for something to soothe my nerves. We entered a small building and noticed that there were two main areas: one with a bar and about five or six tables, a second with a larger space (with seating for about 150 people). I didn't see Harry, nor did I see where he might have space to perform. I was almost ready to give up and return home when at about 9pm, Harry came into the pub and set up in a corner. It did not take long for him to begin singing his songs. Instead of requests for the great Irish drinking songs and Irish ballads that Harry does so well, though, the requests from the audience were for country music songs. I really couldn't believe that Harry knew such songs. By 11:15pm, though, the crowd thinned and Harry could play the music that he loves so much.
My wife and I were impressed with the Shamrock's warm inside and the lively crowd. The meal that we ate included some form of steak. It had a great flavor, but I was unfamiliar with the style in which it was prepared. One of the negatives that I had about the Shamrock was that while advertising to be an Irish pub, it really had more of a country/western flavor. It was difficult to get Irish beers or Irish whiskey. What other ethnic pub fails to serve the ethnic drinks? We had to settle for English beers and a shot of Goldschlager. Overall, this evening was not as pleasant as an evening at our favorite places in Atlanta, Savannah, or Columbia, SC, but being able to visit with our friend and have a great time together compensates for a lot of the displeasure that we had with the atmosphere of this pub.
The only way that I would not return to Shamrock Irish Pub would be to see Harry when he returns in about three months. There was nothing wrong with the Shamrock as a pub, but when I go out looking for a cultural "fix" I expect to be immersed in the culture, not just be within another American bar. My wife and I left this place happy for our friend, but disappointed in the overall experience.