CLOSE your eyes and think of Ireland: Saint Patrick, The Pogues, potatoes and pubs. And if you are thinking of Irish pubs, you are probably contemplating Guinness, that dark, velvety stout with the thick, creamy head that is hailed as class in a glass. Irishmen miss their Guinness almost as much as their mothers when they leave the Emerald Isle in search of a brighter future elsewhere - as they have been doing in droves since the potato famine of 1845. And wherever the Irish go, from New York to New South Wales, their pubs have not been far behind.
For a place which has more than its share of international bars, the Irish pub has taken a surprisingly long time to reach Hong Kong. But on August 12 - truly the Glorious 12th for Irishmen here - this barren rock will finally get the chance to hoolie.
Delaney's is the brainchild of two expat Irishmen: David Cowan, an architect from Northern Ireland, and Sam Roch-Perks, a civil engineer from Eire. Arriving in 1990 and 1992 respectively, the lads touched down gasping for a decent pint of Guinness, only to find Hong Kong severely lacking establishments that sold the black stuff which was in any way reminiscent of home. Now they are about to rectify the situation.
The luck of the Irish has nothing to do with Delaney's birth: the lads have been working hard. Together with the Irish Pub Company, commissioned by Guinness to recreate Irish pubs all over the world and which opens one every three weeks, the pair are hoping to bring a little congeniality to a cosy corner of Wan Chai. Hard at work converting what used to be Club It into a convivial watering-hole, the men from the Irish Pub Company have jetted in from Germany and Czechoslovakia, where they have recently completed similar establishments.
The company's basic concept is to make customers feel they can meet new friends in the open atmosphere of the central main bar or enjoy a quiet jar with mates while cosily ensconced in a snug. Whether the pub is in Galway or Geelong, the Irish Pub Company has the knack of being able to pull it off in style. Which was good news for Cowan, because as an architect and interior designer, he was adamant there were to be no plastic shamrocks or green table cloths at Delaney's. Instead, the imported fixtures and fittings were all specially designed and included dark wood church pew-style seating, mahogany table tops, period light fittings and brass trims.
Cowan and Roch-Perks are bon vivants. They have not just kissed the Blarney Stone, they have swallowed it whole. With a twinkle in the eye and a twitch of the mouth, they regale each other with stories and good-naturedly disagree on the correct recipe for Irish stew.
'My mum makes her stew with lamb, neck of lamb it has to be,' Roch-Perks says.