‘Many jam sessions here have become legendary’

#jam #sessions #legendary

After 35 years, Miriam Feuth (63) has sold her Irish pub Mulligans aan de Amstel – known for its traditional Irish live music. Regular guests and musicians will miss her. ‘No musician will get rich from playing here, but it does mean a lot to them.’

Jesper Roele26 February 2024, 20:00

“This is one of the few pubs with real traditional Irish music,” says Miriam Feuth. “I received reactions from all over the world on Facebook when I announced that I was going to quit. Mulligans has a worldwide reputation.”

She does not say whether it is a warning to the new owners of Mulligans, who will be handed over the keys to the oldest Irish pub in the Netherlands on March 1. One thing is clear: there are big shoes to fill here.

It’s Wednesday afternoon and the place hasn’t even been open for a minute when the first guests are already trickling in. Soon it is cozy and English is heard from all corners. With a heavy Irish accent, of course. Without exception, everyone drinks Guinness. The reporter, who orders a regular beer, soon has to exchange it for the Irish beer.

“Many more Guinness is drunk here than all other beers combined,” says Feuth. “That, just like the music, is part of an Irish pub. And Irish whiskey, and preferably Irish staff. It is a feeling that has to be there.”

Living room for Irish Amsterdammers

Feuth received that music from home. Although she is not Irish, many Irish musicians came to Groningen where she grew up. “A relative of mine went to Ireland in the 1960s and sometimes took some people with him,” she explains. “So I came into contact with Irish music from an early age.”

Mulligans owner Miriam Feuth: ‘Many more Guinness is drunk here than all other beers combined.’ Image Ineke Oostveen

In 1987 Feuth started working in the very first Irish pub in Amsterdam, The Dubliner on Dusartstraat in De Pijp. A small place, not suitable for live music. And that was exactly what she wanted. So she started in 1988 at the age of 28 with an Irish partner who was a contractor, the Mulligans, on the Amstel.

“Those were different times,” says Feuth. “Now it would be very difficult. There weren’t that many rules. It is now a lot more difficult for young entrepreneurs to start their own catering business. Then you could start up and you were allowed to make a mistake. You now have to comply with so many rules and immediately pay a high rent. I can now say that I started at the right time.”

That start was an immediate success. She and her partner, whom she bought out after four years, did not need a start-up period. For many Irish Amsterdammers, the Mulligans was immediately a living room where they could meet fellow countrymen. While expats now often use sports classes and dating apps to make friends, at the time this often happened at the bar.

Although the case has also had its downsides, says Feuth. For example, noise standards became stricter in the early 1990s, meaning that no live music could be heard in the store for a whole year. To make the Mulligans the Mulligans again, she decided to give up square meters and insulate the business to meet the standards.

“We had become a live music bar without live music,” Feuth says. “We have renovated and installed very thick walls. The bar was then also moved to the other side of the business. The people who come here and still remember it, I know that they have been coming here for a long time.”

Legendary jam sessions

Since then, live Irish music has been continuously heard in the store several days a week. Every Sunday there is an ‘open session’ where musicians can join in to play traditional Irish music together. On Wednesdays everyone can join us, but other styles such as bluegrass, Americana and pop can also be played. During the weekend there are performances by Irish bands that often come especially from Ireland.

According to Feuth, those jam sessions are of an extremely high level. “That also has a lot of attraction for even more session musicians who would like to come and play,” says Feuth. “As a result, many sessions have become legendary. Good Irish musicians know that too and they would like to come visit again.”

Many Irish musicians and bands love to come and play in Mulligans, says Miriam Feuth. Image Ineke Oostveen

To get good Irish musicians and bands to come to the Mulligans, she used to ride her bike all over town asking musicians to come play. “Later I also received handwritten letters from Ireland with a cassette tape,” Feuth explains. “Then I could listen to that and decide whether I would book them. Many Irish musicians at the time did not have telephones at home. They would let me know which Irish pubs they were performing in at the weekend and then they would call me during their break to make the booking. A few weeks later they could be heard in Mulligans.”

Emotional

Nowadays it is a lot easier and Feuth can book many artists online and via social media. “That saves a lot of time,” says Feuth. “Most people also love spending a weekend in Amsterdam. As long as their expenses are covered here. No one gets rich from playing here, but it means a lot to them.”

Yet Feuth wants to stop after 35 years. Last year she was hit by a car and tore several tendons in her shoulder. “That will probably never fully recover,” she says. “Working a bar shift is therefore no longer an option. But the main reason is that I have done it for 35 years and it has been nice. That’s a long time in this business. It is heavy. We are open five days a week, but it involves working seven days a week with everything that entails.”

Regular guests Ankie Jansen and Terrence Weijnschenk are sad about it. Especially when they hear that bartender Sean Mcloughin, who has been one of the regular faces for 29 years and Feuth’s support and support, is also leaving.

“I came to live in Amsterdam in 1999 and was introduced to the Mulligans by a friend,” Jansen says emotionally. “It has been a nice and safe place ever since. I’ve lived alone for much of my life, but here you never feel alone. You know Miriam is almost always there. You are never alone here, that’s Mulligans.”

“Miriam and Sean are Mulligans,” adds Weijnschenk. “The obviousness that they are here is disappearing.”

St. Patrick’s Day

Some guests do not understand that Feuth is transferring the business two weeks before St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 – the busiest day of the year. “During the negotiations with the new owners, that was one of the conditions for me,” Feuth explains. “There really are a hundred people at the door.”

According to Feuth, the new owners will continue the business in the same tradition and open the doors again on March 1. “They have years of experience running Irish pubs, and I am confident that things will go well,” says Feuth. “And if there is live music, I will definitely go there for a beer myself. But not every evening and certainly not until closing time.”

Mulligans’ building, on the Amstel. From March 1, the Irish pub will have a new owner. Image Ineke Oostveen

About the author: Jesper Roele has been writing for Het Parool since 2019 about everyday news from Amsterdam, festivals, nightlife and the tech sector. You can send tips to [email protected].

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