A New Year’s Day billing for Ted’s

Anton McNulty

A YEAR of excitement for the staff and patrons of Ted’s bar and café culminates on New Year’s Day as the well-established bar features on RTÉ’s popular TV show, At Your Service.
Proprietors Maeve and Darren Molloy received the mentorship of celebrity hoteliers Francis and John Brennan over the summer months, implementing a plan which has re-energised one of Achill’s iconic businesses.
Ted’s bar is located in the village of Cashel in the centre of Achill Island along the main road to Keel. The family run bar which has been in existence for over 60 years was renovated over the summer months and the RTÉ camera’s were on hand to capture the changes.
The function room attached to the bar has been converted into a café and restaurant and Brennan was on hand to offer his expert advice to Maeve and Darren Molloy on their new venture.
Francis Brennan paid a visit to the pub in September where he performed the official opening which will be shown on the Sunday’s programme.
The show will feature all the thrills and spills of renovating a premises during its busy season, the excitement and tension that comes with venturing into new avenues of trade, as well as showing more than a few familiar faces.
Many of those familiar faces will be gathering in Teds on Sunday evening to watch the broadcast and Maeve, whose grandfather Ted Lavelle began business there in 1951, is starting to feel the butterflies.
“There’s a lot of talk and build-up going on right now leading up to the show, the whole thing has just been a fantastic learning experience for us and a whole lot of fun. I’m getting a bit nervous to be honest, I’m a bit worried about looking like an eejit on the telly, but what harm,” she said.
Ted’s Bar is one of the busiest and popular pubs on the island and following the airing of At Your Service on Sunday evening, a race night in aid of the Achill Musical and Dramatic Society will take place at 9pm.
This first episode of the series of At Your Service airs this Sunday night, January 1 at 8.30pm on RTÉ 1.