While most of the Commonwealth is celebrating Boxing Day on 26 December — when householders traditionally left gift boxes out for the postie, the milkman and the like — in rural Ireland a different custom is observed. Wren Day sees young men (wrenboys) don masks and straw suits and pretend to hunt a wren. The bird — these days a fake but in past times a real one — is tied to the end of a pole before being parading around town. The wrenboys then collect money from the townsfolk which is used to host a dance for everyone in the evening.
Mark Gibson is fond of alluding to his Irish homeland in his New York hospitality ventures which include The Penrose on the Upper East Side and Wilfie & Nell in the West Village. This time we’re across town in the East Village, where gastropub The Wren perches on Bowery. Wood panelling gives the place an Irish country farmhouse feel, with little nooks somewhere between church pews and inn settles adding to that bygone times atmosphere. The drawer-filled unit behind the bar, reminiscent of an apothecary’s cabinet, promises weird and wonderful cocktail concoctions to enjoy, but for a truly traditional Irish experience, stick to the black stuff.
Photography, Paul Wagtouicz
