Raymond Snoddy

Born in Larne, Co Antrim, Raymond was educated at Queen’s University. A freelance journalist who writes regularly for The Independent, he was Media Editor of The Times for seven years. Before moving to The Times, he was a reporter on the Financial Times for 19 years, mainly writing on media and communication issues. He has presented various television series on the media, including Hard News on Channel 4 and Media Monthly on Sky News. He is currently the presenter of Newswatch, the BBC News 24 accountability programme. His books include ‘The Good, The Bad and the Unacceptable’ and ‘Greenfinger’.            

The City Hall is impressive and Queen’s University is interesting but there’s nothing really to beat a proper pub crawl around the historic pubs of Belfast. To do the job properly you need to set aside a day, ideally starting at Bittles Bar in Victoria Square as close to opening time as possible. Then it’s round the corner to McHugh’s in Queen’s Square before cutting across to Kelly’s Cellars in Bank Street. There’s just time for one in the Morning Star in Pottinger’s Entry before lunch, a quick taxi ride away to either Cayenne or RainCity.

After lunch, a visit to the Crown Liquor Saloon in Great Victoria Street (proprietors, the National Trust) is essential. Linger a while in its wonderful snugs before a late afternoon trip to see a film in the Odyssey for a bit of a breather. A perfect day out in Belfast can then be rounded off with a visit to the Northern Whig - not exactly an historic bar but an historic newspaper premises that have been put to an entirely appropriate use. And the really great news is that there’s more than enough historic bars in Belfast still left for another day out.