Tír na nÓg in Gili Trawangan is the largest Irish Bar on the smallest island in the world. In its almost 20 years of business, The Irish has established itself as ‘the place to be’ on the island. As such, they attract quite a diverse crowd of people through their doors. Here are the 15 types of people you might find at The Irish!
1) The Drunk Irishman
This goes without saying. If there are Irish citizens on the island, then they will be at The Irish. And they will be drunk. Most Europeans are delighted to learn there is an Irish Bar on Gili Trawangan. But the Irish take it the extra mile and consider it “their bar.” They’ll spend most of their time comparing The Irish to their own Irish pubs. All the while drinking just as much as they would at home!
2) The Australian buck’s night
In England, it’s a stag do. In America, a bachelor party. And in Australia, the party before a man gets married is called a buck’s night. Gili T is the perfect party island for a destination buck’s night. Especially because Indonesia is so close to Australia. Groups of Australians seem to hop off the boat and head straight to The Irish. Bound for an unforgettable night that none of them will remember. Don’t worry guys. What happens at The Irish, stays at The Irish.
3) The spoiled American
It is notoriously difficult for an American to grasp the concept of a remote island. Oddly enough, modern conveniences often don’t exist on an island. Heck, Gili T doesn’t even have motorised vehicles! The American is the first to ask why Guinness isn’t “on tap” at the bar. It doesn’t occur to them that it might be difficult to get a large number of kegs to the island. Looks like bottled Guinness will have to do.
Also, they are forever bewildered by the bum gun in the bathroom…
4) The sports fanatic
Tír na nÓg is the only sports bar on Gili Trawangan. If there is an important sporting event on, then The Irish is the best place to catch it live. This brings in sports fans from around the world! The sports fanatic will usually show up early to request the game, grab a good seat, and have a few ice-cold beers. As the intensity of the game increases, so does the intensity of the crowd. The more sports fanatics there are, the louder and crazier it gets!
5) The Diver
The Diver won't stop talking about diving! As if there aren’t a million other things to do on the island. He wants to tell you about all the cool fish he saw today. She wants to know which course you're taking or how many dives you have. He's trying to convince you to try tech diving because it's the coolest thing on the planet. And, even though physical fitness is important for The Diver, they will most likely be drinking like a fish.
6) The Backpacker
The Backpacker is the one at the bar who asks what the cheapest drink is. They’ve been travelling for weeks or months on a tight budget. You can almost see the quick calculation in their heads with each beer order. As if they’re asking themselves “will I be able to eat for the next two months if I order one more beer?”
7) The Globetrotter
The Globetrotter has been everywhere and they can’t wait to tell you about it. Get two globetrotters together and you have a competition. The winner is the one who can tell the most impressive travel story. Get a whole table of globetrotters together and you have a group of people chatting. But no one is listening and everyone is thinking about their own travel adventures.
8) The oblivious tourist
It is extremely rude to bring your own food into a restaurant. Yet some oblivious tourists do. There’s also a special place in hell for people that bring their own speakers into a restaurant. Yet the oblivious tourist will! Which is curious, because The Irish has a delicious food menu and plays awesome music. They even have a live band that would drown out any music from a speaker that a tourist might obliviously bring in.
9) The Rockstar
There’s always that one person that insists on singing even though they can’t. Not only singing, but screaming lyrics at the top of their lungs off-pitch. The Rockstar will often request that the live band play Wonderwall by Oasis. Which, at The Irish, will always be a resounding no.
10) The Dancing Queen
There’s also always that one girl on the dance floor taking up as much space as possible. In her drunk mind, she is the star of her own dance video. All the attention is on her and the love of her life might come up and compliment her sweet moves at any moment. To everyone else, she is in the way.
11) The Instagrammer
The Instagrammer can take many forms. She may be sitting at a table in the Tír na nÓg restaurant, trying to get the right angle of her BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese. She may be sitting at the bar, looking for the right lighting for her frozen cocktail as it melts. Or she may be dressed to the nines with her friends, the epitome of a girls night out on holiday. Whichever form she takes, her followers are going to LOVE it!
12) The Infiltrator
The Infiltrator is someone who notices that The Irish has a pool and thinks they can jump right on in. In reality, the pool is for the valued guests staying in the Tír na nÓg accommodation. There are standard rooms, deluxe bungalows, and a two-bedroom villa full of guests. And the pool is meant for those guests. Not The Infiltrator.
13) The Indonesian
For some reason, there’s always a silent, smoking Indonesian man hiding in a dark corner of any bar on Gili Trawangan. And The Irish is no exception. If they didn’t have a lit cigarette you wouldn’t even know they were there. They're completely harmless, they just want to hang out at The Irish like everyone else. They just prefer to sit and smoke in silence and darkness.
14) The Bule
The community of local Westerners living on the island are called The Bule. They are shop owners and dive professionals who consider The Irish a safe place to get unreasonably hammered. They blend right in with tourists, drinking, flirting, and dancing the night away. Hey, they chose to live on a party island for a reason.
15) The Party People
The Party People could care less if it’s an Irish Bar or not. They were drawn in by the great music, fun crowd of people, and inviting atmosphere that The Irish has to offer. Their only goal is to have a legendary night out and they know The Irish is the perfect place!
You may find many different types of people at The Irish Bar in Gili Trawangan. No matter what country they're from or what their budget is. No matter if they came to the island for the diving or the nightlife. It doesn’t matter what brought them to Tír na nÓg. Everyone loves The Irish!