At the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England, you might notice a small room near the bar. In this week’s digital exclusive, ICC President Sean Cahillane shows off the “snug,” a private room where ladies could enjoy a drink at a time when it was not proper for a woman to be seen in a pub.
Learn more about the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England in our full feature on the organization.
Read the full transcript:
Sean Cahillane, Irish Cultural Center of Western New England: When we first built this place, we cut a snug out. A snug is a traditional Irish small room, where in a lot of cases women weren’t allowed for century or so, to enter into pubs.
So, they would have to come into a snug, and where you’re standing would be a door, and they would order their drinks, and the bartender would serve them their brandies or whatever, and then they’d sit in here by themselves. And then there was, you know, other things would be private business meetings could be conducted in here, but the door was always closed.
So, it was basically, the women were not mixing with the men in the bar — and as you can see from these little ladies. But you could have your food served in here, and over time, the snugs became the real cool place to be. So, if you’re here with four, or five, or six people during the Saint Patrick’s weekend, this is the best room to be in.
