No two days are the same at Ireland's oldest bar, which is quite a feat considering the pub has been serving patrons since 900AD.
Declan Delaney, manager of Sean's Bar in Athlone, Co Westmeath hails the people who visit the venue as the best thing about operating the nation's longest-running pub.
Locals, tourists and Hollywood stars have all passed through its doors since its 1,100 years in business and the bar continues to attract crowds in their droves curious to see one of Ireland's most famous watering holes.
"As we say here, Athlone is a town built around pubs, the pub came first and the settlement grew up around it," Declan told the Irish Mirror.
Sean's Bar is located in the centre of Ireland by an old ford, the Ford of Great Antiquity, which is the crossing point of the River Shannon.
The area was home to a man called Luain Mac Luighdeach who in 900AD established an inn which later became known as Sean's Bar.
"It wasn't until the 12th century that the first wooden castle was built to protect the settlement that had grown up here," Declan explained.
"If you come into the bar, one of the main features is the old walls made of wattle and wicker and they're on display in the pub.
"They were discovered in 1970 and they date back to 900AD."
Sean's has been researched thoroughly by the Guinness Book of Records and proudly holds the record for 'The Oldest Pub in Ireland'.
It retains some of the original features dating back hundreds of years while at the same time offering modern amenities that attract all ages.
"We're officially certified by the Guinness Book of World Records back to 900AD and that's also on display in the pub along with a letter from them," Declan said.
"The original features of the bar [are still there], the sloped old floors which were part of the drainage system, we have traditional Irish music every night of the week, the open fireplace as well that adds to the atmosphere of the place and the peat and turf fire.
"We're very much a pub for all ages, we have a huge beer garden at the back where we have bands and DJs and then in the main bar itself, the traditional Irish music, so it's a real contrast."
The bar naturally attracts lots of tourists, with one or two people working at the pub dedicated just to doing tours during the summer months.
Declan's favourite thing about working there is "definitely the people".
He said: "You come down and you're meeting people from Dublin or Cork and next thing you know you're running into people from South Carolina, you're meeting people from all parts.
"That's what makes it interesting, and the conversations you strike up as well during the day, that's actually the best part.
"No two days are ever the same here which I suppose is a bit unusual because people would say, 'Sue you walk into a pub and everything is the same', but two days are never the same."
It is also not surprising that many famous faces have passed through the pub down the years, both from Ireland and further afield.
These include 'JR and Sue Ellen' from the TV show Dallas, 'Alf' from Home and Away, Hollywood actor John C Reilly and Irish stars Brendan Grace and Nathan Carter.
Photos of all the well-known visitors line the walls of the pub with the 'Wall of Fame' a reminder of all the happy memories in recent decades.
Declan added that the pandemic was tough for the business, but that he is hopeful things will return to normality now after a positive reopening weekend.
"It was strange and obviously tough, we made the most of it because we did some work on our beer garden and we were kept busy for a lot of it," he said.
"But it was very tough especially in the heart of winter, I remember this time last year was especially tough because it was gloomy as well as everything else.
"Mentally it was tough and then operationally it was tough because when we did open last summer we had the same difficulties everyone else had with staffing and issues with everything that Covid brought.
"It was a constant stress, a seven-day worry so it was a great relief to open last month.
"People really got back to normal very quickly, people were at the bar mingling, they were well able to mingle very quickly."
