An Irish publican has told how Liam Gallagher put his bar “back on the map”.
The former Oasis frontman reveals he was reborn as a solo artist after jamming with the locals at JJ Finan’s pub in Co Mayo in his new documentary.
The trailer for the film, As It Was, sees him reigniting his old feud with brother Noel and declaring that his music was reborn in the west of Ireland.
In a scene from the documentary, Gallagher is seen laying the blame for Oasis’ break-up in 2009 on his older brother Noel, saying: “The geezer split my band up.”
Then Liam fondly recalls the impromptu session in JJ Finan’s pub and hardware store in Charlestown, where a local produces a guitar and rekindles the singer’s love of music.
Mayo man John Finan’s family have run JJ Finan’s since 1953 and the proud owner credits Liam for tourists flocking to the bar.
John, 65, told the Irish Mirror: “Anytime he came to Mayo he liked to come here, he went to every pub in the town and loved to play a game of pool with the locals.
“We’d some good nights in here and I appreciate the man; my bar trade is gone, rural society is falling down, you can’t drink and drive and Liam has put us back on the map.”
“He brought a good few tourists and stag dos in, people are asking me if Liam drinks here.
“I’m going into retirement in a few years myself, so it’s a big boost that our pub is being featured in the new film.
“He’s done me a lot of favours singing in the pub a few years ago with the locals.”
The Gallaghers’ mother, Mayo native Peggy, also appears in the new trailer saying: “[It’s] a new year and they’re all going to get on together.”
Liam then slams his elder sibling, pointing to a photo describing Noel as “f***ing Prince Philip”.
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Mr Finan told how he knew the Gallaghers when nobody believed they could make it big.
He said: “In the beginning they made a CD and nobody thought they’d come to anything, but then a week later they were in the top 10 in England.”
John explained how the Gallaghers’ grandmother, Mayo native Margaret Sweeney, was a shining light in the rural pub and he was heartbroken when she died over a decade ago.
He said: “Their grandmother Margaret Sweeney was so special to me; the night she died I was crying.
“She used to give me a few quid for my young lad for birthdays and Christmas, that’s one of the reasons I like the lads – they come from decent people.
“The day of the burial the Noel and Liam had a grand time here, they sat down talking to a lad in the bar for a good hour and had a bit of craic with him.
“If I get an invite to the premiere of the film I’ll go to it – Liam Gallagher is a friend of mine.”
As It Was hits cinemas June 2 and follows Liam’s life from fronting Oasis to “living on the edge, ostracised, lost in the musical wilderness of boredom, booze, and bitter legal battles”.
