Day 84 #100DaysOfOldDays
People would ask, “Are there many going to your 21st?”
The reply would be, “Only about 300.”
A 21st birthday party was a big event in the 80’s & 90’s. If you forgot to invite someone known to you, you were off their Christmas card list forever.
A normal pub was no use for a 21st because it was just too small. It had to be a big venue, like the Bailie Hotel, the White Horse in Cootehill, The Lavey Inn, and maybe The Royal Breffini or The Hideout. The Jolly Old Cross in Cormeen was another good venue for parties—I was at a few good hooleys there.
After sending out invitations to just about everyone you knew (and their cousins), you hired a band for the night. If you had good friends, they helped you with the food for your guests; sandwiches and salads followed by tea and dessert. If you had a healthy budget, you let the venue provide the catering.
My 21st party was in the Bailie Hotel. It was December 1988. There was quite a big crowd plus a few gate crashers; just people who rambled in after the pubs had closed. The more the merrier was our motto, so the gate crashers were welcome as long as they behaved. Dessie Connors was my video man for the night. (The video still exists but we don’t have a video player!)
With the help of my friends and family, I organised the food and the Bailie provided the tea and coffee. Of course, there was a cake with twenty one candles on it, which was cut on the night and passed around. We didn’t have champagne or anything fancy like that; just normal drinks.
I hired Medicine Jar from Cavan to play; a popular band in their day. They were good at interacting with the crowd and getting people out to dance.
The night really took off when a local band called Absolute Bedlam took to the stage. The crowd went crazy, dancing and cheering up at the lads. The roof nearly lifted off the place! It may as well have been Pink Floyd on the stage; the carry-on of us all!
The band members were Charles Clarke (known as DJ Lawless), Philip Clarke, Dennis Brady, Paul O’Dowd and Enda Halpin. They didn’t make it to the charts but they were a big hit on the night of my 21st and helped to make it a night to remember!
Gloria McBreen 