Revisit? 20 years on: N1194 West County Hotel

I've been here quite a lot before, as I mentioned in the tiny RetroReview writeup. But on mature recollection, I'm not sure I'd ever actually drunk here.

With a now deceased elderly relative having been a long term resident of the sheltered accommodation, and then care home, a bit down the road; I was certainly here for plenty of carvery dinners, and even a funeral afters. But I don't think I drank at any of those - they moved there when I was a teenager, so the earlier ones were underage (and with my parents!) and the latter ones were driving. 

What better time to make absolutely sure than go back for a pint now?

The hotel bar is basically the local pub for this end of Chapelizod, and possibly even some of Ballyfermot but those willing to deal with the hill on the way back; but is very much set up as a carvery serving venue rather than a more pub-like setup like some other suburban hotels. It hasn't changed much since my last visit either. The drink selection is quite poor, even for a hotel bar really.

It serves its purposes, basically.

Revisit 20 years on: N0144 Kennedys

My writeup of my ~20 years ago trip here was terse, and this one won't be much longer.

A single (large) room pub of a type common enough in inner suburbs, but not really similar to any others near it, and with an exterior that wouldn't look out of place in London (green tiles); Kennedys is also a guesthouse. And there isn't a huge amount to say about it.

It was somewhat busier than Fagans on the day I visited both of them, and with more drinkers than diners - the reverse of Fagans crowds - but it was a dreary afternoon early in the year.

Revisit 20 years on: N0145 Fagans

When I last visited here, in ~2006ish, there were some oddities with staff attitudes - rather than telling us they simply didn't want to show a lower league football game that was on Sky, they claimed their satellite setup was broken. We returned after watching it in the adjacent pub (which I also revisited on the same day for its 20 years on go), and everything was miraculously working for the Premier League game that was on instead. 

There were some oddities again, with staff seeming disinterested in servicing the bar; and also being oddly protective of tables as if some hordes were about to arrive for food service.

I wasn't asking to see a Brighton game, and indeed they are no longer lower league anyway, so there's far less chance of being lied to about faulty kit (or just told no, or having the channel changed half way through), but I do wonder if something would have come up as a problem if I had!

I don't think much else has changed here in the intervening 20 years, either, except possibly a slight increase in the range of drinks on offer.

February 2026 Revenue register update

One new entry and one renumber this month, and a change of licence details that's worth mentioning

New:

1022775 Díon, Dame Street - pubstaurant that currently requires bookings, or else I'd have ticked it off by now. 

Renumber:

1022738 The Globe - formerly S0138 and also once S4542 as a theatre licence on top of this. The adjoining Hoxton Hotel has not yet been re-licenced from its old number but I expect this to happen.

Change of Details

N0197 Soup2 / Taproom47 - licence holder changed to a company connected to the Bambino pizza operation. They had previously been slated to take over the (also connected ownership) original location of Token, but this is now known not to be happening. 

Revisited pubs, January 2026

A month of being mostly sick, or mildly injured; or sick *and* mildly injured resulted in less visits than most Januaries. 

 

Zero new and a handful of old made up this months trips; which were also very heavily laden to the end of the month.

S0018 Bowes - twice in three months after a 20 year gap!

N0213 Frank Ryans - only 15 years or so

N0192 Bonobo - overdue a written post for here, as my initial visit was when this was a very different pub, The Richmond

N0084 Black Sheep

N0191 Pantibar

N1129 Ball Alley House 

N0020 Juno - another pub where the writeup is a previous, very different, incarnation

N0145 Fagans

N0144 Kennedys - these two were visited as it is 20 or more years since I was last in them. There may or may not be a revisit writeup for them, as neither had really changed or has much to write about! 

N0082 McGraths