Quick – I’m in the pub and I need the recipe for Irish stew in a hurry! But, this being O’Neill’s, it’s printed on the wall. Phew!

Quite a lot is printed here – the doors and walls are emblazoned with the sort of curvy Celtic script that’s reminiscent of souvenir shops, the Blarney Stone and leprechauns.

There’s something tongue-in-cheek about this chain, one of the many Mitchells and Butlers brands, with its incessant references to ‘the craic’ and its Emerald Isle credentials.

When my friend and I visited, it was indeed quite buzzy. To one side a group of blokes, in suits and sporting a few grey hairs, were gathered around the football on the telly; behind us, young folk nattered over Guinness and text messages.

A member of staff strolled to and fro with food, mostly burgers – no doubt featuring the Irish tomato relish referred to on the menu, as well as Irish beef.

But we chose seabass fillets and the seafood ‘crockpot’ respectively; my friend enjoyed his two fillets of fish with seasoned fat crispy wedges and peas, but thought it was a tad expensive at £11.75.

For a fiver less, I got a good bargain with my piping hot crockpot, a deep dish of salmon, smoked haddock, prawns, mussels and colcannon, topped with Irish cheddar cheese and served with thick wedges of soda bread.

Our puds – apple tart and custard for me, a whopping slab of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream (the proper stuff, too, not just a scoop of sweet yellow snow) for my friend – were filling and excellent.

It’s a shame the beer selection was limited, with Guinness, the un-Irish-sounding Smethwick’s ale, Caffreys (yes, it’s still going) and Guinness Red (a brown version of the old ‘Liffey Water’) dominating the pumps.

But, then, this is an Irish pub – did I mention that?