Jackie entered the licensed trade in 1969 when he purchased an old premises that had been closed for some time in Kilgarvan. By this time he was well established in the plant hire business, so owning a pub offered a new challenge. This was also the time when the pub trade was changing quite rapidly. People were looking for new forms of entertainment in the so-called swinging sixties and women were also starting to go into pubs which have previously been the domain of men. It was also the era of the "singing pub" and Jackie soon opened a lounge in the premises for musical entertainment. The lounge drew huge crowds. Some of the acts that performed there were known nationally including Dermot O’Brien and the Clubmen, the Dublin City Ramblers and Maisie McDaniel. The family pub in Kilgarvan has changed little over the years and is now run by Jackie’s son, Danny, and his wife, Eileen. Jackie himself can still be found here regularly and constituents come in to meet him. Having clear beer lines and glasses 100 per cent clean is the secret of success in the pub trade, according to Jackie. "If your pint isn’t good the customers won’t be long going some other place and you might as well close your door then," he says.