Trainee priests turned away from Cardiff pub after being mistaken for stag party

Mistaken identity: the priests said such mix-ups are not uncommon
PA
Tom Powell1 August 2017

A group of trainee priests were turned away from a pub after staff mistook them for a stag do.

The seven Roman Catholic seminarians were initially barred from the City Arms in Cardiff on Saturday despite insisting their clothes were not fancy dress.

But they managed to get their celebratory pints on the house after the bar manager realised they were genuine.

Father Michael Doyle said the group went to the pub to celebrate the ordination of Father Peter McLaren at Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral.

He added that the City Arms was a favourite of his colleagues including the Archbishop of Cardiff, George Stack.

The City Arms in Cardiff is a favourite of priests
PA

Fr Doyle said: "They arrived at the City Arms and they were dressed wearing the clerical collar.

"The doorman basically said something along the lines of, 'sorry gents, we have a policy of no fancy dress and no stag dos'."

The students had started to leave when they were approached by the bar manager.

"He basically said, 'you're real, aren't you?'," said Fr Doyle.

"He invited them back in and when they walked back in the entire pub burst into a round of applause, and they had a free round off the City Arms."

Fr Doyle said the group stayed in the pub most of the afternoon chatting to locals.

City Arms assistant manager Matt Morgan said: "At first one of our staff members thought the group were a stag party in fancy dress and suggested they might want to try another pub, as we generally have a quieter crowd of drinkers than others nearby.

"When we realised our mistake we quickly apologised to the priests and thankfully they were all great sports and saw the funny side of the situation.

"It's not every day you have a group of priests drinking in the pub and they would be welcome back any time."

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