'People travel for miles to spend a day on the Guinness here. As long as you're not an a***hole, you're good'
17.03.2024 - 07:47
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, a crowd of men are glued to a TV screen showing the Cheltenham Festival. As the horses cross the finish line, they place down their pints and inspect their betting slips.
Jockey Rachael Blackmore has just won the Champion Chase on her horse Captain Guinness and her shock victory is greeted with a frustrated groan from those who failed to back her. At The Station pub in Didsbury, it's been a busy week - and it's about to get busier.
Friday is the Gold Cup, one of the biggest events in the horse racing calendar, and bar manager Eddie Cunningham is expecting a lively day. Yet it will be nothing in comparison to what the rest of the weekend has in store.
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This Sunday marks St Patrick's Day and The Station is expecting its busiest day of the year. It's not hard to see why.
Wedged between a Domino's Pizza and a row of terraced houses, it's impossible to miss the Guinness branding outside the narrow pub at the corner of Wilmslow Road and Norgate Street. Step through the door and you'll find a wooden bar complete with a traditional Guinness pump.
A sign above the bar advertises a 'traditional Irish session' while signs and artwork dotted around the walls are a nod to the Emerald Isle. The traditional Irish music session held at The Station on a Wednesday night is the longest-running in Manchester, Eddie claims.
"Our record takings for a single day was St Patrick’s Day last year," says Eddie. "That’s what we have to beat. St Patrick's is not just a day anymore, it's a weekend.
"We've got live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday but we've had to alter our plans for Sunday. We did have live music