Hotel Country Keepin 'er Country

In rural Ireland, country music has never been so popular.

A host of new country stars have tempted a generation to

turn their back on the nightclub...

don their Stetsons and jive the night away,

from Ballymena to Ballydehob.

This week we're on the road to Bundoran, County Donegal.

A holiday town for 250 years and now Ireland's country music capital.

People call it the Nashville of country music here in Ireland.

We're checking into the Allingham Arms Hotel, that has been

a beacon for fans of the music for over 20 years.

The August bank holiday is the highlight of the hotel's

annual country calendar.

I'm afraid I don't have anything available on Saturday night.

Last year, more than 2,000 country fans

descended for a weekend of headline acts and all things country.

-We're here for the dancing.

-Very good.

On the Sunday alone, they served over 800 dinners.

This year promises to be even bigger.

One last final push for this weekend.

So, owner Peter and his staff have got their work cut

out as they welcome fans travelling from north and south.

Pressure's always on, it's the Allingham.

Welcome to the uplifting world of Irish country music.

This weekend it's a fun-filled weekend of country music, dancing...

Peter McIntyre took over the reins of the hotel in 1994.

When he decided to hang his hat, cowboy of course,

on live country music to try and breathe new life into the business.

Tickets are selling fast so be early to avoid disappointment.

-RECORDING:

-Doors open 10.30.

With an advertising strategy he's used for years...

VOICE FROM TANNOY

..Peter makes sure Bundoran visitors

and locals alike know about his country nights.

I started about 15 years ago, the Dictaphone,

and I find it's a great job for promoting.

People come to Bundoran and they don't know what's on in the town

and I find it's an old-fashioned way of doing it but I find it works.

Facebook, forget it, let me tell you.

Peter goes around with the old megaphone, as they used to say.

You'd think it was a circus coming to town, to be honest.

-TANNOY:

-The brilliant Mike Denver.

And the man himself, Ireland's most popular country star Jimmy Buckley.

I've seen years ago people say,

"What are you doing with that van up that town?"

I used to say, that's the van that built the Allingham.

Over the years Peter's van has helped him

double the hotel's capacity as the popularity

and demand for country music has increased in the town.

# Thanks

# Oh, thanks a lot

# I got a broken heart... #

This weekend the hotel has booked some of the biggest

stars in Irish country music.

-What's the story of the weekend?

-Very busy.

Fully booked on Saturday night. No rooms left.

Are you checking the reservations to see if there are any cancellations?

We have to ring round. We have a cancellation list there.

# It's many years ago now since I left my Mayo home... #

One country fan with a reservation for the bank holiday is

accomplished dancer Sandra from County Mayo.

I'm just packing now because myself

and my good friend Aoiffe are heading up to the Allingham tonight.

We're going to try to get a good night's jiving in.

It's all about the dance for us.

We want to take a road trip up north and see what's happening up there.

In fact, she is so into the country music dancing that she has

become something of an authority on it.

I suppose I have a big passion for country music.

And I took this passion just one step further

and I've actually wrote a thesis on country music.

So... I studied Irish music and dance in college, it was my degree.

And I decided to focus in on country music for my final project,

my thesis.

One of the things I talked about was how up the north, the jive is one of

the predominant dances,

whereas down the south we're more into our waltz, foxtrot, quick-step.

We still do the jive

but as you travel north in the country, the jive gets a lot

faster, a lot quicker and there's a lot more tricks going on in it.

So that was one of the things that I zoned in on.

It's not unusual for Sandra and friend Aoiffe to travel

hundreds of miles in search of a good country night out.

And this weekend's trip to Bundoran is all about getting a jive

with those legendary fast northern dancers.

For me, it's really exciting to be part of all this.

Five, six years ago people wouldn't have thought that this was

the way it would be.

Some of my friends still think it's mad that young people go to these things.

-Don't forget your handbag.

-I think that's everything now.

I love going every weekend, it's part of me at this stage.

I'm always at country music things and talking country music

and it's just so enjoyable and I'm just so glad to be

part of this generation that is going to country dances.

With a full house of country fans like Sandra and Aoiffe expected,

Peter gathers his team to ensure the weekend runs smoothly.

I know it's coming to the end of the season, guys,

and we had a massive summer and we're all tired at this stage.

But one last final push for this weekend.

What's the story? How's it going today?

I'm going to need a few more staff in if that's OK?

That's all checked out.

And I'm going to have to up this order a wee bit.

Kevin, this is Peter Mac here. How's it going?

In the front bar, how are you fixed?

We have all our stock, got everything ordered.

Got everything coming in.

There will be no problem having everything stocked, ready to go.

When we get this weekend over, when we come to Tuesday, guys,

we'll have a good shindig.

-And the drinks are on you?

-I don't mind.

LAUGHTER

I'll be glad. The pressure's off then.

One person who knows the town better than most is Lauren Savage.

She combines her busy PR job at Belfast International Airport

with her love of country music.

-Where are you at this weekend?

-I'm heading to the Allingham Arms.

-What's on there?

-Country music, Mark.

-OK.

-It's the home of country music.

-You're all into your country music.

-Aye.

-You're a bid Daniel O'Donnell fan, aren't you?

No, Johnny Brady I'm into.

Younger crowd, Johnny Brady, Mike Denver, Nathan Carter,

that sort of crowd.

-Who's all going there with you?

-There's 21 of us going, actually.

Friends or what?

No, family - Granny, Grandad, aunties, uncles, Mummy,

Daddy, cousins.

-Is your family all into country?

-The whole family.

# Cos I got my baby

# My baby's back. #

For over 20 years, Lauren

and her family have been regulars at the hotel.

And they never miss the big August bank holiday weekend.

It's time to spend together, enjoy the music and, of course,

all of them like a jive.

Well, there is one exception.

Yous all get up and dance now?

I can't dance now but I'm going to have to learn.

Cos everybody does it

and I feel a bit out of place just sitting on the sideline.

I guess I don't jive because I just feel a bit intimidated that

some of the dancers are so good. My auntie and uncle are fantastic.

They learned to jive years ago.

They met at the Allingham and now they're married.

And my brother, he's jiving. My wee brother,

he's only 17 and he's into it.

So I suppose I just need to learn, catch up with them.

She's given herself the bank holiday weekend to get her dancing

skills up to scratch.

Definitely as I get older, I do feel like I'm missing

out on some of the experience. Dancing is a big part of it.

You know, you go there and everyone else is dancing.

I do want to get up and dance.

I want to be part of that.

# Cos I got my baby back, yeah! #

# Yeah, Las Vegas and the hills of Donegal... #

Long before the Savage family started jiving in Bundoran it

was a town where the Irish loved to let their hair down.

52 years ago I came here on my honeymoon.

Bed and breakfast, four-course dinner

and evening meal was 60 cents.

In 1777 the first holiday home was built in the beautiful

Donegal seaside town and then came a rush of hotels and holiday-makers.

Since then the town has been a favourite coastal

destination for visitors of all ages, from north and south.

Along with its beaches, the town quickly became known

as a place to find a good dance from the ballrooms to the seafront.

The Allingham Arms has been receiving guests

since the 1900s but with the country music revival it has become

one of the town's best-known dancing destinations.

Someone who has heard of the hotel's reputation is veteran dancer

Pat Fern from County Armagh.

This 71-year-old is coming to Bundoran for the first time

this weekend.

I love dancing.

And I particularly love dancing with my partner, sort of...

We've been together 30-odd years

and it's a common ground we've had for all that time

and when things aren't going too well, a night's dancing

builds a lot of bridges that might be in the process of falling down.

# Hey, baby, let's go for a ride

# Let's take the Chevy to the countryside... #

Pat's partner Ruth lives in England but that doesn't stop

the couple dancing at venues throughout Ireland.

So when it came to a present, she knew exactly what to buy him.

These are a pair of boots that Ruth bought for me.

They're made by the last bootmaker in Ireland in Belfast.

And the main thing about them is they have leather soles.

It's the leather sole on the part of your foot that

comes in contact with the dance floor that's important to

have right in dancing boots.

# Dancing in the moonlight... #

But Pat doesn't have to wait

until Saturday night to get his dancing shoes on.

He's built his own dance floor based on one of his favourites.

The best dance floor I ever danced on and reputedly the best

dance floor in Ireland was the City Hall, Armagh.

That was a sprung dance floor.

The building has since gone but with a bit of clever home

engineering, Pat has been able to recreate the experience.

The thrill that I get out of this is the feeling you get of

dancing on a fully sprung floor.

The thing about the dance floor is the energy and the rhythm.

You get the dance floor dancing with you and it's dancing back with you.

And it's lifting you.

Whoo!

And if you're dancing with a partner,

lifting her at the same time.

Lifting the two of yous together and what could be better than that?

More fun than you can have with your clothes on anywhere else.

Pat's nimble footwork has graced many dance floors

but he has realised there's one he still hasn't tried out.

Ruth and I have danced up and down the east coast.

Some place we have never tried out on the Irish scene,

we haven't been down the west coast.

The first test I'm going to have to pass, is it a good dance floor?

It's the Friday of the big weekend and the dance floor is ready.

The staff are making last-minute preparations for the weekend's

full house.

I'm afraid I don't actually have anything available

-on Saturday night.

-Pressure's always on, it's the Allingham.

I'm coming in for the weekend.

Over at Belfast International Airport, Pat has arrived to

collect his partner Ruth who is flying in from England

especially for their dancing voyage of discovery up the west coast.

I'm set, ready to go.

I know that she's set because I hear she's arriving with a new

dress especially for the occasion.

When a woman buys a new dress, you know she's interested

because she's committed. I'm looking forward to seeing that.

I hear it's a black one so we'll see, little black dress.

For Pat and Ruth, dancing has always been central to their relationship.

We met at a dance and dancing has always been important to us

and Saturday night dancing was the thing that held us

together for as long as it did.

We've been going out with each other from around about the early '80s.

Ruth arrives and Pat is keen to get her,

and her new black dress, on their way.

This weekend we're going to have a full weekend's dancing.

If we can manage it. We're not even going to stop off on the way home.

We're gong straight up to Bundoran

and the weekend starts here, yep.

Sandra and Aoiffe are on the road from Mayo

and hope that among the hundreds of hotel guests expected over

the big weekend, they'll find some quick, young dance partners.

-I'm getting excited now.

-And my favourite song.

Do you ever drive the car, one handed drive?

MUSIC: Dreamer and Believers by Derek Ryan

# Another night of playing in the boondocks

# Another night of crying in our beer. #

At reception the staff are kept busy as guests check in.

There are new faces, like Pat and Ruth, who have

arrived from the airport.

You're with us for two nights, bed and breakfast.

Yes, we're here for the dance.

# Down the ol' white line to fame and fortune... #

We're really mad, mad busy. Everyone's coming in to reception.

And the phone is ringing off the hook.

And there are hotel regulars like Lauren's family, the Savages...

all 21 of them.

-There's Danny now.

-He's having a ride.

-I thought you weren't coming.

Did you break down?

# Another night of so-called tour engagements... #

-Might be two engagements tonight.

-Huh?

Might be two engagements tonight. We might get proposed to.

# Half the band don't talk to one another... #

Last but not least, Johnny Brady,

one headline act playing this weekend is setting up.

I just love going out to gigs. I love being in a band.

We love playing the country music.

The dancers come and say that they love dancing and it's all ages

and we're happy to be involved in it.

We can't believe it's went to that level.

I'm getting excited now, actually.

Yep, definitely.

# Don't ask me what it is or what it means. #

One of the first stops for many guests is the bar, where

barmen Dave and Kamel will be looking after them during the weekend.

Bottle of Bud and a glass of wine. White or red?

What's it like working here? It's pretty good... Oh, and messy sometimes!

Really busy, you know? All the time, busy. All the time, busy.

They'll have their hands full this weekend keeping the drinks

flowing and the customers happy.

-Here you are.

-How are you? Good to see you again.

Kamel knows every name of every person that comes here. Ever.

Tonight we'll be serving here in the front bar around 500, 550.

Kamel settled in Ireland from Tunisia 12 years ago.

Before becoming an Irishman, country music did not figure large

in his life.

When I started here I had never heard of country music.

And I never knew anything about country music.

But after years in the Irish capital of country,

the music has worked its magic.

What's that favourite one of yours by Nathan Carter?

BOTH: # Rock me, Mama, like a wagon wheel

# Rock me, Mama, any way you feel

# Hey, mama, rock me

# Rock me, Mama, like the wind and the rain... #

In the restaurant, Lauren and the Savage family are grabbing

a bite to eat.

Over the long weekend, Lauren has set herself

the challenge of dancing for the very first time.

Who better than family to set her on her way?

I've been asking you for years if you would teach me.

Two of us will teach you. We'll get you up on the floor tonight.

-Maybe see if Peter will let us in on the dance floor earlier?

-Yeah.

-Get a wee practice.

-That would be good.

I'm sure he will.

Lauren's Auntie Natalie and her husband Gerard met at the hotel four

years ago and now, one wedding, a baby

and many jives later, they dance together at competition level.

She's hoping if she can dance, she can meet the right man too.

I won't be able to get one if I can't dance.

We'll make sure you learn how to dance.

I only need the basics so as long as I have the basics.

-That's all you need.

-We'll look after you.

-Definite.

Preparation is the key to success so straight after lunch, Lauren

and her willing teachers head to the ballroom for her first ever lesson.

Time to learn a few moves now, Lauren.

-Hold on. Get these off.

-Relax now, Lauren.

We're going to show what me and my partner does here

-and then we'd better do it with you.

-OK.

You're doing well, Lauren, well done!

-Take a while.

-I'm a natural.

It only gets harder now.

Lauren gets stuck in and seems to take to the moves well.

Maybe after all this time, she just had to find her dancing feet.

-I'll be lucky tonight, anyway.

-You'll get that man, Lauren.

I've been begging them for ages to give me some lessons

and finally they did tonight and it's easier than I thought.

I love it now. I'm just going to take the shoes off.

I think that's what it was before.

She's got the moves

and now she'll have to pick her moment to try them

on the dance floor.

Keen to get dancing, fans are queuing two hours before tonight's

live show.

Upstairs, Sandra and Aoiffe are getting ready and like Lauren,

have given some thought to their footwear.

I dance in heels and Aoiffe dances in flats.

That's just a preference, I suppose.

I'm an Irish dancer so I'm

so used to being up on my toes anyway that I always wear heels.

It's only their second time in Bundoran

but they are likely to run into some familiar faces.

We've made friends from Donegal and everywhere just from country music.

In dancing you get to know those younger people

and then the contact starts. "Are you going to this dance?

"Are you going to this dance?"

And you get to know so many people that way.

And they are in no doubt they're in the right place to

up their game at jiving.

I think in the north they're learning different moves

and different tricks, if you want to call them that.

It's always a bit more challenging to try new dance moves.

Keen to learn those new dance moves, Sandra and Aoiffe

join the queue downstairs. But with only a few minutes to go

until doors open, Pat has sneaked his way into the dance

hall during the sound check to get a feel for the floor.

It's a great dance floor but it's not a great sprung floor.

It's a non-sprung floor but I'll tell you what, it's a lovely space.

I think Ruth will really like this.

MUSIC: Give Me One More Chance by Johnny Brady

# Won't you give me just one more chance?

# Maybe we can make a little romance

# No reason why you and me can't get it back together like we used to be

# Gimme, gimme, gimme just another try

# Can't have you, I'm going to die

# Give me one more chance

# Give me one more chance

# Do you remember...? #

Leading country artist Johnny Brady is headlining Saturday night

and the crowd are quick to fill the floor.

# You were my confidant... #

Sandra and Aoiffe start the night dancing with each other

but soon they're on the lookout for northern lads with some new moves.

-Some really good jivers.

-Really good jivers.

He was at the championships before.

And the northern lads aren't backward in coming forward.

-Like to dance?

-Hello. How are you?

-Do you want to dance?

-OK.

# Won't you give me just one more chance?

# Maybe we can make a little romance

# No reason why you and me can't get it back together like we used to be

# Gimme, gimme, gimme just another try

# Can't have you... #

On the other side of the dance floor, Aoiffe has also bagged

an accomplished mover all of her own.

# Get down on the bank of that river

# Bank of that river that's what I want to do

# Go round and round on the bank of that river

# You loving on me Me loving on you. #

The girls from County Mayo have soon made new friends on

and off the dance floor.

It's judgment time on the northern jivers.

-All the lads were really good jivers.

-They really were.

-Really fast jives.

-We enjoyed dancing with them all.

-It was really good.

-Really good.

-Jiving.

-Waltz, foxtrot.

-You did foxtrot.

-I did a quick-step.

More jives.

-We did five or six...

-A bit of everything.

Everything there is to do with country music, we kind of did.

-We did do it all.

-But mostly jives.

And what do the northern jivers think of their dance partners?

I thought I'd never dance with a girl from Mayo

but I'm glad I started to dance with them.

Can't wait for them to come back. Two good jivers, I have to say.

As I said, "Aoiffe, you're the first woman from Mayo that made me sweat."

The two of them made me sweat, in fairness.

# Hillbilly bone-ba-bone-ba-bone-bone

# Hillbilly bone-ba-bone-ba-bone-bone. #

A crowded dance floor

and bar is always a welcome sight for hotel owner Peter.

He knows how to keep his customers happy.

# I got a friend in New York City... #

There are even some free drinks going around too.

They're all regulars of mine.

They've been coming here for 24, 25 years.

So they come most Saturday nights.

Go around Saturday night and try to meet them all.

The country fans are dancing the night away...

and in the thick of it Pat and Ruth are getting stuck in.

While they didn't find the sprung dance floor Pat wanted,

after 30 years of dancing together the growing popularity

of country music has given their nights out a new lease of life.

It's Saturday night. It's a social get-together.

You dance with your partner, you dance with your friends

and neighbours, you dance with the community.

# Got a hillbilly bone down deep inside... #

The worst thing is to go somewhere where nobody dances.

-The fact that everybody's dancing...

-That's what social dancing is about.

Get together and get together on the dance floor.

What brings them together on the dance floor is good music.

That's what you had there tonight. I enjoyed that.

Their first night dancing in Bundoran has been a great

success for Pat and Ruth.

-So far.

-I've enjoyed it that much that I'm wrecked.

I have to get home and get into my...

-Sorry?

-I'm wrecked, Ruth.

-Really?

-Did you not notice?

-No. I'm not, so that's...

-I know.

# Hillbilly bone-ba-bone-ba-bone-bone

# Hillbilly bone-ba-bone-ba-bone-bone. #

It's the morning after the night before and

while some are taking in the sea air on the Atlantic seafront...

-Good night.

-That was a great night. It was a good night.

-Seriously.

Yeah. And now I can contemplate the sea.

..in the kitchen things are hotting up for another busy day.

# I'm going to be a hard act to follow

# If you keep coming a-coming on. #

Saturday night was a great success for the hotel team.

Ahead lies the legendary Sunday feasting with 800 mouths to be fed.

This weekend 90% of them are country music fans.

These guys, they want good, hearty food.

Roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork, stuffed turkey and ham.

Roast chicken breast, keep it nice and simple.

They want to keep coming back. That's what country fans want.

If they're not going to get it they'll not be long telling us,

I tell you that.

Order for table 14, two turkey and ham, one beef and gravy away,

please.

Getting all that food to the hungry country fans needs a family

team effort and Peter's son Sean is out front serving.

I just help Dad with the food, you know?

And I have girls there taking orders. Yeah, we're flat out.

It's the best way to be.

Once the music starts, the kitchen staff can relax.

# I keep a close watch on this heart of mine

# I keep my eyes wide open all the time... #

In the packed ballroom, Mike Denver rolls out his country hits

and the Savages are enjoying themselves on the floor too.

But will Lauren finally have the confidence to join them?

With Auntie Natalie

and Uncle Gerard's encouragement, Lauren takes to the dance floor.

I love this song.

# Some girls won't

# Some girls need a lot of loving

# And some girls don't

# But I know I've got the fever

# But I don't know why

# Some say they will and some girls lie. #

After years of sitting out the jive, Lauren is dancing at a country

music gig for the very first time.

Hey!

That was brilliant.

I'm puffed.

It's good!

The first hurdle out of the way, Lauren's fear of the dance

floor has been overcome with a little help from her family.

But she isn't ready to leave the dance floor now.

She's having too much fun.

So the next question is, can she take it to the next level

and dance with a complete stranger?

MUSIC: I've Got A Funny Feeling by George Strait

# Well, my baby's wearing a permanent smile... #

Go easy on me.

# I ain't had no raise, fulfilled any dreams... #

But despite being in at the deep end,

Lauren seems to be keeping up well.

# I got a funny feeling

# Somebody's stealing my honey. #

It's taken off for the girl from the airport.

Lauren's new life as a bona fide country dancer is properly underway.

I have a lot to learn.

As the Allingham's summer season draws to an end, the packed

bank holiday weekend is proof that Peter was

right about the draw of country music.

I struggled for years and years and years here

to build it up and we got to meet people and it's all about people

and, you know, you can't do nothing unless you have punters coming in.

We try to look after them, new and old.

The guests certainly appear to be grateful for the gamble Peter

took 21 years ago to create his Hotel Country.

# Like Coca-Cola and Hollywood

# Mickey Mouse and Johnny B Goode

# Like dear old Glory

# And my Chevrolet

# Hey, you and me, baby

# We're here to stay... #

And it turns out that hotel regular Lauren isn't the only one

who has been shy of the dance floor in the past.

In those 21 seasons of running country dance nights, Peter

too has managed to stay off the floor.

But there seems to be something in the air tonight.

Peter takes to his own dance floor for the very first time.

# Hey, you and me, baby, we're here to stay

# You and me, baby, we're here to stay. #