February 15, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Patrick Markey
With a touch of amateur dramatics and a well-pulled pint, Trevor O’Driscoll went from a New Yorker to the proud owner of an Irish pub.
O’Driscoll, a 22-year-old Manhattan resident, beat out the competition Monday to win the annual “Guinness Win Your Own Pub in Ireland” competition.
“It’s amazing, just amazing. I can’t believe it. It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said O’Driscoll by telephone from Ireland, where he was celebrating and planning his new life as the owner of Finucane’s Pub in Listowel, Co. Kerry.
“I can’t think of anything that would top something this crazy,” he said.
O’Driscoll, a legal assistant with a Manhattan law firm, said he plans to quit his job and drive across America, a dream he had put on hold while working in New York. Two friends will join O’Driscoll in August as the three buddies move to Ireland and into the pub’s four-bedroom accommodation.
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Originally from Philadelphia, O’Driscoll moved to New York after graduating with a degree in American history from Brown University in June last year. As part of his study abroad program, he attended University College Cork. That county is where his family’s Irish roots started, he said.
“They are several generations removed and I don’t know much about them, but I’ll have plenty of time to look them up now,” O’Driscoll said.
He beat out nine other hopefuls in the last stage of the competition, where finalists had to demonstrate their skill at pub games, pint pulling and their “gift of the gab.” Convincing the judges of his aptitude for the publican life, O’Driscoll dressed up as an old storyteller and told the tale of Finucane’s in 100 years time when his great grandson would be manager
As part of his initial entry, O’Driscoll also wrote a brief essay that described Guinness settling in a glass as a struggle between the swirling black and white tones, a struggle resulting in the perfect pint.
The Guinness competition which has been running for five years received a record 65,000 entries this year.