Fair City fans will be delighted to see McCoy’s pub back on their screens this week after a two-year absence.
The interior of the iconic soap boozer was ruled out of bounds during the pandemic because interior shots made it impossible to socially distance. Now, with Covid-19 restrictions eased, the pub regains its rightful place as the centre of the drama on the RTE soap set in the fictitious Dublin suburb of Carrigstown.
We took a tour of the set just to make sure everything was ship-shape, and we can let you in on a little secret. It’s real beer in real taps that’s served behind the bar counter – but it’s 0% alcohol.
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A Fair City spokeswoman revealed: “The set and stage area was not big enough to ensure a safe social distance so they had to sacrifice one set. Any scene set in McCoy’s would have been limited by the number of cast featuring, making the once busy pub look unrealistically quiet.
Rebecca Grimes, who plays feisty McCoy’s landlady Hayley Collins, said she can’t wait to get back behind the bar. She told Irish Sunday Mirror: “The pub is back open, but we’ve only seen the beer garden area.
“Now we’re back inside the pub which is brilliant. I’m dying to get back behind the bar pulling the pints.”
McCoy’s has featured in some of the most memorable and dramatic scenes in the long-running drama. In March 2017 an all-female episode to mark International Women’s Day was filmed entirely in the watering hole.
Maclean Burke, who plays Damien Halpin, described it as the “epicentre” of the action. He said: “At McCoys there have been some very public reckonings. “I’ve really missed it and it’s one of those sets where you get to catch up with fellow actors.”
Fair City continues on RTE One at 8pm tonight.
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