A GROUP of Catholic priests were barred from a Cardiff pub because the landlord thought they were on a stag do.

The seven priests were refused service by staff at The City Arms, who thought they were just rowdy pals in fancy dress, reports WalesOnline.

In fact, they were planning to toast Father Peter McClaren, who had just been ordained at the nearby St David's Cathedral.

The priests said: “On arrival, the bartender informed them that it was policy not to grant entry to fancy dress parties or stag ‘dos’.

"Our initial impression was that this was a joke until it became clear that this was not the case and he was in fact serious.

"After insisting to no avail that they were in fact students for the priesthood, two of them having recently been ordained deacons, we turned to leave.

"A gentleman, whom they assumed to be the manager, then approached them at the door and reassured us that he did accept who they claimed to be and subsequently invited us back in.

"By way of apology, he then very graciously provided us with a round of drinks, at which point the group decided to stay, provoking an outburst of applause from the locals casually enjoying a pint.”

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Matt Morgan, assistant manager at The City Arms, 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.

“We offered them a free round of drinks and they were happy to stay and continue their evening in the pub."

Locals were delighted to realise one of the priests shared his name - Reverend James - with one of the boozer's most popular drinks.

Matt said: "Our Rev James ale is one of our most popular beers so it was great to have a real-life Reverend James and his fellow priests enjoying a pint or two.

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

The Archdiocese of Cardiff thanked the pub for being "good sports".

A spokesman added: "Please note a number of our clergy, including the Archbishop of Cardiff, frequent your bar so don’t turf any more out please.”

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