Reading you're description, all I can think is "I want to live in Ireland". That sounds like a cultural trait that should be treasured.
In Canada, the only time you might talk to a stranger at a bar is if you're trying to hit on them.
In Canada, the only time you might talk to a stranger at a bar is if you're trying to hit on them.
But at the older not-quite-dive bars, often attached to a motel and frequented by truckers, good conversation between strangers can still be had.
Unfortunately, those bars are disappearing rapidly. 25 years ago, I lived across the street from one, and there were another two nearby. Maybe five or six in my neighbourhood. Now there is only one left, and it is struggling to stay open.