As soon as the song finished, they segued straight into ‘The Whole of the Moon’, much to the delight of the entire pub who joined in with the words. Conor moved around the pub, a real showman, dancing with some of the girls and serenading them, with a big smile on his face. He was clearly in his element. Hannah ignored the quick pang of jealousy. She had no reason to feel anything towards Conor. They’d had an ill-advised night and it was over and done with. Determined to enjoy herself and not think about him, she gave into the infectious atmosphere and tugged on Izzy’s hand to pull her up to dance. Then Alan asked Meredith and soon the whole pub was on its feet, dancing and singing. At one dizzying point she danced into Conor’s orbit. He caught her eye and she couldn’t look away. There was a gentle tilt to his mouth as he smiled at her and in that moment she could have sworn he was singing the line, the whole of the moon, to her… or maybe it was wishful thinking.

When the song finished to riotous applause, Conor took a bow, clapped his hands towards Rory, and shouldered his way through the crowd back to Hannah’s table. Everyone wanted to stop him and pat him on the back. When he sat down, draining his pint in one, his eyes shone and his grin was as wide as ever.

‘Well, that was a bit of fun.’

‘It was brilliant,’ said Hannah, beaming at him, still buoyed up by the wonderful atmosphere. ‘It’s like being at a party.’ She glanced around the busy pub at the animated, happy faces, everyone united by the music. It was a rare moment and her heart burst with joy. She could see exactly why people fell in love with Ireland.

‘That’s the craic for you. We love a song and a dance. There’s nowhere quite like a pub on a Friday night in Ireland.’

Barra appeared with a pint of Guinness and put it in front of Conor. ‘Good job, boyo. Any time you want a slot, you let me know. You’ll have to get Mairead along too.’

Conor lifted his pint with a grateful nod at Barra ‘Cheers but we’re not The Corrs just yet.’

‘Give it time. Young Niamh can hold a tune, I hear.’

‘Granny Bridget will have us all singing at the Orchard Party, don’t you worry.’ Conor rolled his eyes. ‘And she’ll dance the night away with more energy than anyone else.’

‘Your granny’s a legend. There’s no better woman on the fiddle.’ Barra picked up a few empty glasses and made his way back to the bar.