The Dublin Community Blog

All this good weather seems to have given the city an extra spring in its step – the streets seem even busier in the evenings with people taking advantage of the last of the sun. With the skies staying bright until 8:30 at least, it’s the perfect time of year for enjoying a few drinks outdoors. These are some of my favourite beer gardens in town:

Porterhouse North, Phibsboro
Located beside the Cross Guns bridge on the north side of Phibsboro, the Porterhouse North stocks the same vast range of beers as its sister pub in the city centre (and serves an even bigger range of food). It has a large beer garden at the back of the pub, which is sheltered but still gets the sun.

Dicey Reillys, Harcourt Street
A Dublin staple! Right in the city centre too – which means it’s usually buzzing with people.

Fitzsimons, Temple Bar
Yes, it may be in the centre of thronged Temple Bar, but Fitzsimons’ beer garden has the unique advantage of being on its roof, which means lovely city views. Worth it for a short stop.

The Hole In The Wall, Blackhorse Avenue
Arguably the biggest beer garden in Europe! The Hole In The Wall still carries on a century-old tradition of serving great pints and passing them through – yep, a hole in the wall – to the Phoenix Park. Genius.

What have I missed? Suggestions welcome in the comments…

This year, I will actually be away for Paddy’s Day but wanted to share things that I have learned from previous Paddy’s Days experiences:

• If going to the parade, I would suggest getting there about two hours before it starts if you don’t want to be trying to see around lots of people.  Take some warm beverage with you as well since it gets cold standing around for two hours.   If you are standing near the barricades for the parade, children and  adults will try to push their way in so they can see better.
• Dress in layers.  The weather is every changing here in Dublin.  You need the warmth when outside, but not inside. 
• Bring rain and sun gear.  You’ll probably need both.
• Face painting, dressing in all green, or other forms of costumes makes it more likely that your picture will be taken many times, maybe even published on a blog. 
• After watching the parade, duck into an out of the way little cafe for lunch.  Most places along the parade line will be packed but if you go off the parade line, you can frequently find a little place to eat. Or just go to the pub (also probably very busy) and get lunch there.
• Go to the pub!!!!  Our first Paddy’s Day, we ended up at Cafe En Sein because it is a nicer place and wasn’t packed full of people.  We were rewarded with a Ceili band.
• A lot of places will have traditional music during Paddy’s Day weekend.  Check them out.  Just duck into a pub or two to feel the atmosphere and then move onto another if you don’t like the one you’re in (Dublin has enough pubs that you are sure to find one you like)
• Just wander around and see what you see.  Many of the windows in Temple Bar are decorated for the Six Nations and Paddy’s Day.  Have a wander around and you just may learn something while being entertained. 

Other people have posted about the official events.  I would highly recommend the Ceili Mor in Earlsfort Terrace.  It was fun last year to see people jumping around and dancing to the songs, even if you don’t know how to dance, it is still good fun!

The ever-popular Porterhouse microbrewery and bar is currently holding its annual Stout Festival, nicely timed to coincide with the St. Patrick’s festivities. Their city centre bars on Nassau Street and Parliament Street, as well as Porterhouse North in Phibsboro, are all taking part, and full details can be found here.

The various Porterhouses will also be showing the final round of Six Nations matches, which includes England vs Ireland in Twickenham at 3pm. Not a bad way to get the party started!

 

If you are wondering what is on the picture the answer is very Dublinish: Guinness!!

Michael Davidson of Florida University makes beer photos using microscope. What to say more? Check his beer website. 

Friday will see another edition of the Hoot night at the Sugar Club on Leeson Street. Hoot Nights are an opportunity for local bands to take the stage and perform slightly different stuff than they normaly would…. On a Hoot Night, two major artists or bands are the ‘Theme of the Eve’ and each performing local band will be playing one song of each artist.

This Friday the battle is on between the songs of Kylie and R.E.M. and 12 bands will be having their way with anything from ‘Can’t get you out of my head’ to ‘Nightswimming’

The fun starts at 7.45 sharp, entrance is €10 and location is The Sugar Club on 8 Lwr Leeson street.

Over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I had the chance to visit a new restaurant and pub here in South Dublin (new to me anyway), both of which I can highly recommend.

On Friday night, my wife and I stopped in for dinner at La Dolce Vita, in the heart of Sandyford Village directly across from the Sandyford House pub, just south of the M50.  It’s a small, quaint little Italian restaurant that seats approximately 25 people.  The owners have done a decent job with the décor, including some interesting art work, and lighting that makes for a subdued, but classy atmosphere.  We both enjoyed our food and thought it was a good value overall.  My wife had a pizza, which she found far more tasty and less greasy than “fast food� pizza.  I had the Pollo Pesto and would probably give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.  (CLICK HERE to view the menu.)  It will definitely be a place we go back to in the future.

On Monday evening, we met some friends at the Wishing Well pub in Blackrock to round off our St. Patrick’s Day weekend.  It’s located just up the street from the TGI Friday’s on Newtown Park Road.  It’s a larger pub with modern décor and several flat screen TVs for the GAA and Premiership football fans.  There’s a back room that can be reserved for private functions and has more of a traditional look and feel to it.  Every Monday evening, a group of musicians convene in this back room for a traditional music session.  I was surprised at how many musicians were actually there, including a pair of accordions, banjos, and acoustic guitars, along with a fiddle, and a bodhrán.  Given the fact that there were so many of them in a relatively small back room, they seemed skilled and experienced enough to compliment one another and provide a good mix without making the guests wish they could turn the volume down.

Continuing on my Dublin pubs series of posts, I present the Brazen Head. It is one of the many pubs that claim the oldest pub in Ireland title. But it is a lovely pub with great atmosphere and is popular not only with Dubliners but also tourists.

As always there are more pics on Flickr and in our Dublin Blog Flickr group.

I said I would post more pics from O’Donoghue’s and here you go. This should be, and will from me, be an ongoing project for other great Dublin pubs. Maybe the other authors will show us their favourite pubs