S0181 The 51

I had skipped here on a previous work-through of the area, as despite actually entering the pub, I couldn't find any space to reasonably drink a pint in. 

However, on the Sunday of a weekend without a match in mid-January, there was no trouble finding a perch at the end of the bar; and I could probably have found a nice table if I'd bothered looking.

But perch at the end of the bar I did, and finish the paper I'd started on the train as well as the supplied copy of NewsFour, and the bars absolutely huge whiskey menu.

Spirits - whiskey and gin - are the draw of the bar here, but they did have a single Irish micro tap; and odd choice for Dublin at that - Wicklow HopKnut, which I'm very willing to drink.

The pub calls itself a Sports Bar (see website title - also see the very cheap specials on show, those photos are old); and has a reputation as being a rugby pub, but the crowd in when I visited were locals and the food offering was clearly the main draw.

As an aside - this was my first visit of my first pub-ticking trip in quite a while; having been taken ill with the hideous flu variant that was going around at Christmas which left me massively sub-par for actual weeks rather than the few days that even COVID got me for; and while weekend trips before the traditional January payday were a thing for me in pre-pandemic years, it was very good to be back doing normal things - much of 2022 was still very abnormal!

1018000 Beckett Locke

Unlike its sister hotel, 1017192 Zanzibar Locke, it doesn't feel like the bar here is particularly intended for outsiders. It only opens quite late in the day, and on the night I visited, was fully booked out for an event - albeit one that didn't come close to filling it. 

We were however accommodated in the sandwich bar area of the overall dining/bar/lobby setup; and provided with table service (only).

The bar is quite limited, its quite expensive and they probably don't really care for outsiders coming in - but they won't stop you. There are plenty of other pubs nearby - unless some are closed, which is how we ended up here. And its sister hotel's bar is better.

1016072 Jacobs Inn

While this is not the first backpackers hostel with a full pub licence, it isn't a particularly common thing in Dublin - and the bar here is significantly smaller than at 1002655 Generator both in physical space and product offering.

However, there is still a proportionally solid selection of Irish craft beer on tap and in bottle; and as its not somewhere that most people would think of as being "a pub", there may be space here at times when other pubs nearby are busy.

S1491 Coopers Corner

This pub has been on the licence register but closed for most of the time I've been doing this project (6 and a half years, roughly) - mostly as Murrays, the former name; but it has been recorded as Coopers Corner for a while now.

This pub is a ~15 year old build, on the ground floor of an apartment block; but replaced a much older Murrays which was on this site for decades if not centuries prior. And while the building wasn't particularly old, it has been nearly fully refit for its new incarnation - although its not always easy to excise all the old branding!

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For a 'new' pub - open only a few days when I visited - it felt very well run, with experienced staff. As far as I can tell, there is an ownership/management connection to S1994 Killinarden House (although I may be mistaken).

The location here is going to make it a goldmine on concert days in the Royal Hospital, and there's plenty of offices around for lunch trade - and the various previous Murrays did OK with local customers also; so hopefully this incarnation lasts.

Revisited Pubs December 2022

N0006 Brew Dock - a relatively quiet spot before that evening's Christmas parties took over all the tables

1000012 Green Room - decamping to somewhere familiar, cheaper, and with a better tap lineup

S0119 Against the Grain - Beoir Christmas party

N0313 Kealys - work Christmas party

N0082 McGraths - train delay after said party!

January 2023 Register Update

New Year, New Pubs - well, one pub-straunt, one hotel and and one that's been on the register but closed for years and actually reopened a while ago

New licences:

1019160 Hampton by Hilton, Chancery Street

1019597 Hyde, Lemon Street - this opened late last year but had been pending opening for nearly half a decade!

Returning licences

1006937 Noosh Cafe Bar, Beacon Sandyford - this premises has been around before, as Pinot and Copper, but was closed for ages. It reopened in October as a bar section of a Zaytoon restaurant, with the full licence.

Removals:

S1594 Firhouse Inn - this has shut for redevelopment

S0294 Breffni Lounge

Probably the most traditional suburban pub of the lot in Blackrock, the sporadic activity (bursts of posts and then long gaps of many months) on this pub's social media emphasises that it is very much sports-driven. Racing, football and - obviously, for where it is - Leinster and Ireland Rugby fixtures make up the bulk of their posts.

This visit was now over three months ago - life has interfered with getting write-ups done and out the door - so I can't remember much else about the place. This was relatively rushed to get a pint in before a train departure (the pub is quite close to the train station) and maybe deserves a re-visit to get written up properly when I finally finish off Blackrock!