War and Whiskey: From the Blue Line to the Front Line

Join us for an evening of American Sports from football to baseball to ice hockey and learn about the men who left from the blue line to the front line.

War and Whiskey: From the Blue Line to the Front Line

  • Scott Edgar - WartimeNI

War and Whiskey

War and Whiskey is an innovative new series of informal history talks focussing on World War Two and the role played by Northern Ireland. Each month we will meet in one of Northern Ireland's most historic bars.

This will be an opportunity for informal storytelling and discussion. We will have authentic 1940s music and visuals to set the mood, providing a relaxed atmosphere… and of course, we’ll have Irish whiskey.

Our second evening takes place downstairs in McHugh’s Bar on Queen’s Square, Belfast on Thursday 28th November 2019. The speaker will be Scott Edgar from WartimeNI.

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The War

Scott Edgar is the editor of WartimeNI, an online portal containing thousands of articles, photos, and documents that help tell the story of the Second World War as it played out in Northern Ireland between 1939 and 1945.

At this War and Whiskey night, you will learn about the arrival of American GIs in 1942 and how they brought American Football and Baseball to Ulster.

Ice Hockey, however, was already well established here…

The Whiskey

More info on our whiskey of the month coming soon.

The Where and Why

McHugh’s Bar is one of Belfast’s most historic buildings. The gable wall contains early handmade bricks. The timbers show evidence of early construction techniques. The building dates back to between 1710-1715.

The building stood on Hanover Quay, renamed Queen’s Square in 1849 to honour Queen Victoria. Even then, the site was a public house managed by Ann Quinn. In 1935, the Hendron family took over the bar and it was a favourite of the American military between 1942 and 1945.

The current name dates back to 1989 when Pat McHugh took full ownership of the bar.

War and Whiskey was born from a need to take history out of the stuffy confines of museums and lecture halls. WartimeNI aims to educate and inform as many people as possible about the events of the Second World War in Northern Ireland. This series of talks will make information more readily available to those who may not be able to make it along to more traditional events.

Right of admission reserved. Strictly over 18s.