No 5 O’Donoghue’s,
So here are my top 5 pub recommendations if you’re coming to Dublin, in reverse order, so I’m starting with this one in Merrion row, the famous O’Donoghues is pub number 5. This is a lively pub, and I’ve filmed it in the evening too because I felt you needed to see an Irish pub going full pelt.
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This is actually quite a famous music bar – well known on Dublin’s traditional music scene. In fact the Irish folk group The Dubliners is alleged to have been formed here, and the pub has hosted many other big names in Irish music over the years – many of whom adorn the walls in the portraits that you see.
You really do have to push your way through the crowd to get to the toilets and getting served at the bar on a busy night like this can be difficult if you’re not assertive. But this is what it’s about – lots of people sharing the same space and enjoying themselves.
No 4 John Kehoe’s
Time to calm things down a bit now as we pay a daytime visit to John Kehoe’s pub in Anne Street South, just off Grafton Street. Immediately on entry you can see what was the grocery part of the pub, with its mahogany drawers which would once have been full of tea, coffee or snuff. You could say it’s a bit of a time capsule, since it’s interior hasn’t significantly changed since its origin in Victorian times at the end of the 19th Century. In fact the pub was fist licensed in 1803
No 3 James Toner’s
Now the amazing pub in 3rd position is James Toner's on the corner of Lower Baggot Street and Roger’s lane.
The inscription above the door reads, “Oh Ireland my first and only love, where Christ and Caesar are hand in glove” a quote from James Joyce’s poem Gas from a burner.
The pub’s not long open so there’s just a few regulars in at the moment. In some ways these bars are better during the day, where you can enjoy a pint in peace and read a book or the paper.
The interior is all original and has all the patina that you would expect from a 19th Century pub. Brilliant to be able to sit here and have a pint and watch Dublin go by – there are so many pubs where it’s not possible to do that.
We can see the original bar here with it’s beautiful mahogany drawers
The places’ close proximity to the Dáil Éireann (which is the Irish parliament in nearby Leinster house in Kildare Street) means that it’s not unheard of for the odd politician to frequent the pub and of course media people too. If we stick around we might see the Taoiseach come in for his pint..
No 2 The Long Hall
At the number 2 spot we visit the welcoming Long Hall in South Great George Street. This is a magnificent pub, full of atmosphere. There’s no big sports screen or uncomfortably loud music. Instead we get a sumptuous Victorian interior, all in red with gorgeous lighting, red carpet and leather stools, stained glass and tasteful fittings.
The pub, as it is now, opened in the 1860s and, as you can see, still retains its Victorian charm. Prior to that it was a drinking establishment dating back as far as 1766.
The pub backs on to Dublin Castle and was a local haunt for the fenians, a secret republican organisation in the late 19th and early 20th Century. This bar was where the failed fenian rising of 1867 was concocted and that led, in fact, to the bar being infiltrated with British Agents and eventually closed.
It was also frequented by Irish writer Brendan Behan, rock musician Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott (who’s also a Dublin legend) and even Bruce Springsteen, when he’s in town.
No 1 Grogan’s
So here we are on William Street South looking at the striking red painted building of Groagan’s bar also called the Castle Lounge. This is my number one choice, and probably a controversial choice, because it’s so ordinary in many ways.
This seems to be one of the last bars to resist the call of the big franchises. Instead it maintains its individuality, peculiarity even, and consequently is an original drinking experience. The wall’s strewn with artworks of all types which are all for sale and the pub takes no commission on this. Periodically the artworks are changed so that there’s always something of interest.
Having no music and no sports TV ensures it’s the best place for a pint and a chat. I would describe this place as one of Dublin’s literary pubs, a place with a history of being frequented since the 1970s by Irish writers such as Flan O’Brien, Patrick Kavanagh, J.P. Dunleavy and Liam O’Flaherty.
It also does and old-fashioned bar toasted sandwich, which was a form of catering that I thought had been consigned to history. The terrace heating ensures you can now take your pint of Guinness and your toastie and sit outside if you prefer and watch Dublin go by.
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