115-119 My Ladys Rd, Belfast BT6 8FE
This was originally the London Bar, and still to be seen are the nice glass murals portraying noble buildings on London’s skyline, like The Royal Albert Hall, Tower Bridge, Parliament Buildings, St. Paul’s, and Trafalgar Square.
With my friend and companion for the day, Ray McDermott, I called here around mid-day on a Tuesday, to find the place was packed. Jim Hawkes, who took over the premises in 1986, said the reason was his prices – by far the cheapest in the area, with 93p for pints (85p for pensioners) and 83p for spirits . . . you can’t complain against these ‘frothy’ prices.
It was Jim who changed the name of the bar to The Longfellow. Some say he named it after champion jockey Lester Piggott, but others will tell you it’s named after Disraeli, or could it be after Henry Longfellow, the poet . . . as Jim says, take your choice!
The outside of the bar is in striking Glentoran colours: green, black and red. This is no accident, as Jim is a staunch Glen’s supporter. It reminds me of the story of the teacher who asked a young boy in his class to name the nine Glens of Antrim. He quickly ran out of ideas after naming Glentoran and Glenavon.