Grove Street eateries had to draft in extra help

Extra staff had to be drafted in from Dublin to two Grove Street eateries for the fleadh in order to ensure that local staff were able to take some time off to enjoy the festivities.

“Even my parents were drafted in for duty,” says Eoghan Murray of Apache Pizza and the new Pita Pit.

“It was all hands on deck and we had help booked in from head office just so we could make sure our team had two or three days off to actually go and enjoy themselves as well as having to work. It’s a long week from the Friday it started to today (Monday) – and it’s still going on out there, still busy.”

Eoghan was proud when a visitor to town told RTÉ’s Marty Morrissey on air that some of the food at the stalls was expensive, but that she got to feed her family for €25 at a local pizza place.

“That was us,” says Eoghan, saying that Apache – now almost 19 years in Mullingar – has meal deals starting from a fiver, and at Pita Pit, their breakfast offers drew hungry musicians and music fans as soon as the doors opened.

The early-morning starts meant Eoghan saw at first hand the effort the council’s outdoors staff and the Tidy Towns volunteers put in to keep the area pristine – and he appreciated too the advice and commentary from town legends Ben Dolan and Frank McIntyre.