1004974 Stephens Green Hotel

EIGHT EURO EIGHTY FOR A PINT.

Didn't like the place either.

RetroReview: S3718 Peader Kearneys

A very traditional Dublin pub, named after the author of the lyrics of our National Anthem, who once lived on the site - surely this is one of Dublin's older pubs?

Nope, its one of the newer ones - indeed it was the first pub in Dublin, possibly in Ireland, to have a licence moved in from outside its local area "at par" - one licence for one new pub, rather than requiring the extinguishment of multiple licences as was the norm for standalone pubs.

I think I visited here shortly enough before starting the blog, when I vaguely thought I'd like to try every pub - but I didn't take any notes. I think I had severe trouble getting a seat, though.

Revisted Pubs: October 2024

There's a bit of a bias towards places I used to go to when I worked in the city centre here; but that was not intentional.

However, from the November writeup, it probably will be. As of the time of writing, I'm (deliberately) between jobs, starting a new one in the city centre on Monday - expect to see plenty of the old regulars come back, and some of my more recent ones (Kealys, McGraths) drop away.

N0002 Madigans Connolly - long gap before the train to Rush, writeups from their to come

N0006 Brew Dock - hiding from the rugby crowds and waiting for a train

1015426 Rubys - dinner spot one night

S0077 Nearys - regular meeting location

S0035 Mulligans - to wash away the horrors of a newly visited place beforehand (writeup to come)

1003568 The Old Spot - I was rather (>45mins) early for the place I was intending to go to open

N1130 The Foxhunter - the only bus I could get out of the city that wasn't crammed was a C1 that doesn't go anywhere near my house, so I had to change buses at the last common stop. Which happens to be outside here...

S0083 Beer Temple - food and pints in a decent spot to get a seat in before a gig in...

1001292 The Olympia Theatre - never calling it that stupid name

1020149 Premier Inn Gloucester Street

A Premier Inn where I can see the damn bar from the window, something I'm not so blessed with at the Georges Street one, which is why I've still not visited it.

A very limited number of taps, an English barman who 'corrected' me to Smith-wicks, and I also suspect I might have been asked if I was a hotel guest if I wasn't wearing an expensive pile of Louis Copeland's finest (after an interview); but it's done now and I don't have to go back. And they did specifically get a public licence, so...

RetroReview: S3467 Vicar Street

I'm actually surprised I've not been back here since I started doing the revisited lists in 2019 - everywhere I have been back to is written up already, cause I did a sweep of that before.

Not sure what there is to say here. Avoid the front seats at a comedy gig unless you're up for being part of the show, I guess.

S0150 O'Connors

The history here may be more interesting than the current, in a few different ways.

Mainly, the name - O'Connors is a perfectly fine name for a pub. "Oil Can Harrys" is not.  I'm not sure where the name came from, but I believe it held that name for two decades under the O'Connors ownership before they decided to put their own name above the door instead. Everyone wants to drink in a pub named after an evil cat, I'm sure. (Seriously, I have no idea if this is what the name refers to, but it is the only obvious option)

Prior to that, it had the inexplicable-unless-explained name of "Peppers", a reference to the Pepper Canister Church nearby; but a really bad reference - cause its not obvious. This was, somehow, the winner of a competition in the Evening Herald to rename the pub!

Separately, I've a note saying it was damaged by the UDA in 1976 but now cannot find any reference to this. There was a significant UDA campaign in Dublin in 1976, primarily incendiary devices but also a bomb at the Shelbourne Hotel, and this makes finding stuff even harder. I need better notes.

Anyway, this is a nice enough pub I've just never really had any reason to go in to before now - its a little away from other pubs, so never neatly slotted in alongside others when going out specifically on trips; and isn't near anything I'd normally be doing.

RetroReview: S3452 The Camden

Is there much point giving you a writeup of my visits to the pool-hall-with-pints element of the old Camden Deluxe/Planet Murphys/etc setup here when every single element of it has changed, and its now a brewpub?

Probably not. I mean, last time I was in the Jimmy Rabbittes bar section of this place, it was half a hotel lobby, half a Belgian frites restaurant

But, it has been ticked regardless of what happened since.