Ex-county GAA star takes over pub

Darren Fay and Brian Smith have been best friends since childhood. Now in their 30s, they have schooled and footballed together, and have now set up in business together in their native Trim, in the Willow Oaks pub on Emmet Street. The Fay family is one long associated with business establishments in Trim, from the days when Darren's grandfather, Paddy, ran Fay's Hotel on the main street, to more recent years, when his father, Jimmy, ran the Emmet Tavern. Darren will be dividing his time between the pub and his fitted kitchen business. And, of course, the Fay name is one that has long been associated with Meath football. Darren's role as one of Meath's greatest ever full-backs cannot be disputed, and he wasn't even 10 years old when Jimmy was on Meath's Centenary Cup-winning team of 1984. Uncle Michael played a heroic role in Meath's Leinster final win of 1970 before going to London where he ran The Goat Public House near Enfield, later opening in Southampton. He has now returned to live in Trim. Despite his collection of All-Ireland, Leinster and many other medals, Darren is not one to make a big deal out of them, so much so that he hasn't put his name over the door, opting instead for something very personal to both himself and Brian in naming the pub in the shadow of the Wellington Monument as 'The Willow Oaks'. "We both grew up in Avondale, I was on Willow Avenue and he was on The Oaks, so it means something to both of us," he said. However, Darren hasn't entirely eschewed the GAA connection, as he knows the value of a good sporting debate in a pub, and has adorned the walls with images of Meath teams in action over the years. Brian Smith worked for a couple of years in The Goat, as well as working with a recruitment agency in London for six years, and Belfast for a year. The Trim clubman, who played at wing-back in a county final, also spent a year in Australia. The Willow Oaks opened at the weekend and attracted a good crowd of well-wishers.