RetroReviews: S0119 Against the Grain

There couldn't really be a worse time to do a writeup for a pub first visited a few months before the blog (January 2016), and visited many times since - having just recently been sold from the Galway Bay Brewing chain and rebranded as "Teach Tábhairne" (yes, they've called a pub Pub, basically); it is unlikely to be anything like it was before.

Like a lot of the GBB pubs, this premises had more names than you should care to remember in the ~10 years or so before GBB took it over - they were a stabilising force in the pre private equity ownership days; and it ran as their Dublin flagship for many years. S0083 Beer Temple now realistically holds that role, being a bigger and more central premises.

The similar elements of the non-hotel GBB bars were all here - the bockety furniture, the stickers, no TVs except maybe during free-to-air games; and a huge difference from every other pub on 'the strip', as I've seen some people hideously attempt to call the Georges-Aungier-Redmonds Hill-Wexford-Aungier Street alignment.

It's immediately clear that it won't be like this now - one of the first social media posts from the new operators was listing multiple GAA and rugby matches that they would be showing over the weekend.

RetroReviews: 1017068 Rascals Brewery

Back during the horrors of 2020/1, I padded out the months between getting any new ticks - or indeed any pints that weren't drunk outside of the one pub in my suburb still serving takeout - by writing up reviews of pubs I had visited before starting this massive consumer of time "journey" in August 2016.

I got, on the licence register of the day, through all the numeric licences, all the N licences and the start of the S licences before pubs reopened. But I really need to finish the S licences; and catch anything that was missed from that page or otherwise snuck under the radar. So here starts an occasional revisit to the RetroReviews series.

And this premises is one that snuck under - I had first visited it (and had pints there) when it held a Special Restaurant Licence, so when it appeared with a Publicans (Ordinary) licence, I just ticked it off - and it doesn't appear on the pre-2016 list, as that first visit was in 2019. 

But it appeared on last months Revisited list, with no post to link to - so it's time to rectify that. I'm going to do posts for any pub that appears on Revisited; as a start towards finishing the list and actually having a post for everywhere I visited.

Anyway - on to the pub. This is the only 'traditional' tap room in Dublin, being a large industrial space in front of Rascal's actual brewery, and with a few of some elements of the brewery. Tours are offered; but you can come in here for beer, for pizza or to get takeout, or any combo of those - the wonders of having a Publicans licence. The music is generally curated to a high standard - Rascals marketing manager being an long term radio professional.

The beer's good - although the tap list can vary significantly depending on what guest and specials are tapped at any given time - and the pizza's good too. I would recommend a booking unless coming here on a weeknight - I have been here on some very busy nights, but also on some much quieter ones during the week.

Revisited Pubs, April 2024

1017068 Rascals Brewery Inchicore - for Christina Wade's book launch

1013315 Button Factory / Crowbar Curved Street - for a gig I'd rather prefer not to have gone to

S0083 Beer Temple Dame Street- just checking it's still there, with everything going on in GBB

1003309 Hogs & Heifers Airside - just food, but there for long enough (note that H&H is now in the former TGI Fridays unit. I also visited its original unit while it was in the Wright Venue; but before the licences were split. This is a very confusing, short bit of history)

DG0485 The Milestone

While nowhere close to the Irish Pub Company 'standards' of the 90s, this is almost what you might get if you ordered "small town Irish pub" from a catalogue. Dark wood, dark patterned fabrics, glass, uncomfortable chairs and a general feeling that there's a food service time and a drinking time to the operating hours.

I arrived to drink during food-time; and initially sat at a table that, after a quick visit to use the facilities, had a table with young children beside it. I moved to another area and found that I was, again, beside kids - somewhat older this time though. At least I was only staying for one.

This pub is owned by the same group as the pub directly across the road (and the previously visited Balscadden Inn); both of which feature a 1923 construction date prominently on the facade. Without doing any proper research in to this, I'm going to guess they are both replacement buildings from after the Sack of Balbriggan in 1920.

(no number yet) The Morris

Yet another tick that doesn't register, initially - The Morris opened in December but is yet to grace a published licence register. I could probably just ask them for their licence number, considering I've had a conversation going with whoever does their Instagram for a while now.

Not to blag - I don't lower myself to that - but to find out when they are open; as the pub has fairly limited, fairly late opening hours; and I had attempted to go in on a Saturday afternoon before when it was not yet open.

These later hours don't seem to be affecting trade, though; as I arrived within 30mins of opening and the place was rammed. Not rammed beyond being able to get a seat; but that would come shortly after.

The shopfront here - preserved in part from the Morris Wallpaper Stores that gives the pub its name - has a central door, but you actual enter through a smaller door to the left. This does not make someone approaching the place after a few pints and trying the main door look the most competent, and may help the door staff in decisions; but I was let in regardless.

There's a mix of craft and macro taps here; and pizza on offer - I suspect from an external source, but I didn't dig in to it. An interesting new addition to the range of pubs on Talbot Street and quite different from the rest of them.

1012141 Holiday Inn Express

This hotel, a conversion of the former Eircom HQ, has had a public bar licence for quite some time now - but despite briefly looking at it, I never noticed where the bar was. I suspect I was paying too much attention to the coffee shop on the corner, thinking it might be in there.

It isn't - its in the overall reception area. I noticed it when passing on foot and decided to dive in.

There is a small bar with a small range of taps; and it really isn't set up for outside customers - but they do allow them. You need to be buzzed in to the toilets by the reception desk for instance, due to not having a room key and them not having some dummy jacks-only cards at the bar like other places sometimes do.

Anyway, the mission was to tick the place off, and that's done. I don't need to come back here and see if they do get to destroy the outdoor area of the Living Room.

Licence register update, May 2024

Big licence file change list to process this month, with a lot of late renewals (for whatever reason) needing to be filtered out of the results

Additions:

1020980 The Glasshouse, Point Square

1021092 Clink, Upper Abbey Street - Ireland's biggest tourist hostel and the third hostel with a full bar licence in Dublin

Renumbering:

1020988 Wild Duck, Sycamore Street - formerly 1014978. Currently closed and for sale.

1021081 Blackbanks Bar & Grill, Kilbarrack Shopping Centre - formerly N1352.

Licence type change:

(Normally,  all licence type changes cause a new number to be generated; but this specific type does not appear to, and has happened before)

N2771 Metro Hotel, Ballymun - conversion to Publican Ordinary (Hotel) Public Bar from a Residents Bar type. This now means the public can be served alcohol without restrictions beyond that that applies to a pub.

N0716 The Village Inn (Finglas)

Urgh, more fruit machines. At least they were shoved in to a corner here and I could sit well away from them.

This pub is possibly still better known by its long-standing previous name, the Jolly Toper - a toper being a consumer of alcohol. Indeed, on leaving the pub and heading towards the bus to the next premises, I was called over by a woman who had pulled in in her car to ask me where the Jolly Toper was. I did consider answering "2006", but considering the last pub I did consider whether I was skirting the edge of a time continuum failure and could actually be in 2006!

Why did the pub change its name? Well, someone was shot there; an event that almost always leads to a name change or the pub closing for good; and indeed the name was changed by the first Streetview pass the year after.

Other than it taking a bit longer than I'd expect in a quiet pub to get served at the bar; there was nothing else negative to note here. The pub was a good bit quieter than the other three in Finglas village, which may be useful at a busier time.

1000933 Bottom of the Hill

It takes quite a talent to renovate a pub after a fire and make it look like it hasn't been modernised since the Celtic Tiger; but they managed it here. Or possibly they just fixed the roof and reopened a bit that wasn't as badly damaged.

The Bottom of the Hill was gutted by fire in 2018 - it is notable that the section shown here is not the section I was in - but was quickly repaired and reopened in 2019. However, the owners have long-term plans that involve demolition; so I suspect the renovations may have extended to weatherproofing and cleaning up the bar that I was in to let it reopen...

So, going back to 2006 - but with two decades of wear and tear on top - I was greeted with a cash only bar; my second since the pandemic but first in an urban area. I was also greeted with many of the taps being off, including Smithwicks - forcing me to have a Guinness. Which was fine.

The pub has multiple fruit machines - both questionably legal and not that common a sight in Ireland - to add to its wonderful atmosphere. Thankfully there's other choices of pub in Finglas village.

N1312 O'Riordans / Drogheda Lodge / Full Shilling

A pub with three names. Or only one name; going on its external signage.

The street frontage of this pub says O'Riordans, a name I didn't have recorded and had to rapidly resort to google to verify that I was in the right place; but once inside the fixtures and fittings had Drogheda Lodge on them. Going back on Streetview shows that in 2014, the frontage said Drogheda Lodge but with O'Riordans visible on the lower section; by 2017 it was just O'Riordans - so this isn't a recent change. 

The Full Shilling name is emblazoned on the *back* of the pub, but to an area only accessible via one of two laneways. The entrance to one of these laneways used to be branded for it (and even further back used to feature a pub clock, the remains of which are in this image), but no longer is and indeed I believe was locked up when I visited.

Despite this, the Full Shilling name is still used for part of the premises, with it being the only name still active on social media, advertising their nightclub.

The main bar section of the three-named pub also has TVs with two purposes - there were specific TVs with "RACING TV" or "FOOTBALL TV" on placards beneath them, presumably pre-empting arguments that have happened before and would again without them.

It also has USB chargers everywhere, which proved quite handy after the bunker-like construction of the last two pubs - and this one - hammering my phone battery to a ridiculous extent.

Shamrock Lodge

"Lounge to be vacated by 6pm, ticketed after 6pm" said the signs on the door - and I forgot to ask why; assuming I'd find it out online afterwards. It turns out that all I can find online is the special food menu that was offer for Good Friday here; not that it was easy to miss - the pub stank of fish.

The barman apologised for this without prompting - the chowder was specifically blamed - and I sat in the then still free to access lounge to have my Beamish.

This pub has a signed members/regulars only section, a pool room in this case - something I've only ever seen once before; and which I now believe to be gone, in N0199 Delaneys in Smithfield. It is a room between the bar and the lounge here, whereas in Delaneys it was the front bar of the pub.

I should probably have had food here - the regular menu was on offer for non-Catholics, so I didn't have to eat the chowder I'd already smelled too much of - but I assumed there'd be another pub doing food in Finglas village. There wasn't; but I survived.

N0624 Abbey Tavern (Finglas)

Don't judge a book by its cover a pub by its history. In this case, the pub has a former operator that many would rather forget ever held the keys to the premises - Catherine Nevin (who I had forgotten was actually dead) - and a series of shootings, one fatal. 

Back in the 1980s, this premises - as the Barry House - was the first pub that Catherine & Tom Nevin ran, before moving on to Jack Whites, where he was murdered at her behest in 1996.

A pub with a chequered history beyond that, and has been the scene of a number of shootings, each it seems under a different name best forgotten - including the Cappagh House, Cappagh Nua and the Finglas Inn (not connected to other pubs of this name).

After a fairly lengthy closure, and a full refit - including a new traditional pub shopfront to stop it looking like an oversized breeze block - the pub reopened in 2018 and has not hit the headlines since, thankfully. 

What's here now is a fairly normal suburban pub, welcoming and open to all. There was a single craft tap on offer - my local Farringtons - but there were issues with the keg, so I had to slum it with a (bottled - I believe keg has finished) Macardles; what a terrible pity.