However there were times when some people got bored with cards and a game of Pitch and Toss ensued.  Now it was against the rules of the club to have this game played – for it was primarily a gambling game.

The players had to be careful when the halfpennies landed, for the sound would re-echo in the room below.   Someone was designated to stamp his foot as the coins hit the floor. It was hoped that this would deaden the sound so that the caretaker, who was usually in the bar situated under the band room, could not guess what was going on.

On this particular Sunday afternoon ‘the toss’ was well attended and everything was going to plan.   Two gentlemen from Dromalane had the halfpennies and had their last £8 covered by other gamblers.  Two heads uppermost when the coins came to rest would return them £16 and guarantee a great night at the bar. 

The halfpennies were tossed and fell. As they hit the floor the foot was stamped.  One of the halfpennies landed ‘heads’ but unfortunately the other landed on its edge and proceeded to roll slowly and noisily across the room.  At that precise moment down below there was an uncharacteristic lull in the craic around the bar.  As all heads turned upward, the halfpenny could be heard rolling across the floor. 

Paddy ‘Dollar’ Duffy, the caretaker, looked up at the ceiling, let out an expletive and raced up the stairs.   At the same time Eugene Markey was getting a drink at the bar, having just come down from the toss.  The wily Eugene tried to offset the inevitable. He followed Dollar up the stairs and before the caretaker had time to say anything, Markey shouted “ Heads a Dollar.”

The pun on Paddy the Caretaker's name was deliberate, but his call could also be interpreted as 'I'm betting five shillings that the coins will come up two heads' !

Instead of clearing, covering their tracks and acting like innocents, the toss school started to laugh! They were quickly stopped when Dollar raised his hand, pointed to them, and said the dreaded words that meant debarment from the club:

“Count the lights.”

But after a suitable length of time (probably a week) they were all back in and everything quickly returned to normal!