She loved that all these people knew Conor, not because he was famous but because he was part of the community. At home, the man in the flat upstairs was called Alastair. He’d once called to borrow some milk, although, never again when he’d discovered she was as hopeless as he was and didn’t have any. There was a couple across the hallway who worked even crazier hours than she did. She was pretty sure the woman was called Claire, but only because the man had called out her name impatiently in the echoey corridor a couple of times. Not a lot to show for living there for four years.

She took a sip of the thick, dark creamy beer, both hands holding the unfamiliar pint glass.

‘That’s very good.’

‘Some say it’s better than Guinness. They brew it out the back. You should do a brewery tour while you’re here sometime.’

She smiled, remembering that Aidan had suggested the very thing and she’d discounted it out of hand at the time.

‘I might just do that,’ she said, surprising herself. Normally, she’d decline out of habit, without even thinking about it. After all, what did she know about beer? She laughed at herself; she’d know more if she did the tour.

‘And I still want to go back to Dublin. I didn’t see everything I wanted to.’

‘Actually, I’ve to go to Dublin to sign some papers. You could come with me, if you fancied it. I’ll play tourist for the weekend.’

‘That would great, if you didn’t mind.’

‘I wouldn’t mind.’ He gave her a considering look, as if he’d surprised himself.

There was a brief silence, not quite awkward but Hannah felt the need to fill it. ‘I love this place. I can imagine people have been sitting here at this time for years.’

‘Some of them literally did. You had to be careful you didn’t sit in someone’s spot. I remember old Father O’Malley had his own beer glass.’

‘The priest?’

‘Oh, yes. He liked a pint after Mass. He always said it was a good way of keeping an eye on his flock. I think it was a reminder to folk of his presence and that they should be in church the next Sunday. He was a canny aul soul. The new fella’s not quite the same. He’s a bit smarter and he has his hair cut more than once a year.’

‘The other guy sounds a bit like the old guy from Father Ted.’

Conor laughed and took a swallow of beer. ‘Father Jack. Not quite that mad but he was a character and he had a good understanding of human failings. The new fella is a bit too clean and shiny – makes me feel like I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.’