IRISH pubs in the US have seen punters drown their sorrows with whiskey – and in one case heavy metal – in a bid to come to terms with the idea of President Trump.
The billionaire businessman will become the 45th President of the United States when he takes the oath of office in January, after victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s victory will be a worry for anyone living in the States illegally, including up to 50,000 of the so-called ‘indocumented Irish’ as the President-elect has adopted a tough immigration stance.
Although Mexicans have been his most public targets to date when calling for illegal immigrants to be sent home, all those living in the US without a green card are at risk of deportation.
With this worry in Irish-American communities, combined with a general unease at what the future holds for the US as a whole post-election, the mood in traditional hubs for ex-pats – Irish pubs – was as bitter as stale Guinness as news of Trump’s win filtered from wall-mounted TVs more used to screening GAA victories.
At Johnny Foley’s Irish House in downtown San Francisco, punters were “shell-shocked", according to pint-puller David Kenny.
“It will take me, and a lot of people here, a long time to get our heads around this,” the Co Cork native told the Irish News.
“We didn’t see this coming for the longest time, and people were taking it for granted that Hillary would get elected.”
David said the busy bar did have some cheers and applause from locals as it became clear Trump was headed for the White House, but among Irish customers, moods were muted.
“The undocumented Irish issue is a very big concern. If you’re Irish living here without the legal right to do so then there would be something wrong if you weren’t worried.
“I’ve been living here for 10 years, and I received my Green Card when Obama won - it was a special time. Now things are much, much different.”
Down the Californian coast in Los Angeles, drinkers at the Irish Times Pub channelled their Trump rage in a time-honoured manner – loud, aggressive rock music.
Dublin-born staffer Donna said: “All of our customers – both Irish and non-Irish, were very disappointed; some were in tears!"
“As the results came we decided to play lots of heavy metal music to help us get through it. There was a lot of drinking being done as they realised what we were in for, for at least the next four years.”
Further south again and close to the border with Mexico – which if Trump honours his infamous pledge could see a wall replace the border – lies the sunny city of San Diego.
The atmosphere in the Ould Sod pub was, however, not so sunny.
Bartender Rudy Prather, not an Irishman, summed up the mood among clientele in one word: “Disappointing.”
He added: “We get a lot of Irish customers, as you would expect, and those in tonight were not happy at what they were hearing. The next few years will be interesting at least.”
