The first of these trips to go beyond the county I live in, Dunboyne lies just over the border from both Kildare and Dublin in to Meath. It is accessible by Dublin Bus or Irish Rail, and is within the commuter fare zones, unlike some of the extremities of County Dublin!
With a 7,155 population in 2022, Dunboyne is notionally smaller than Kilcock; but supports four pubs (and a hotel) unlike Kilcock's two.
I started in Brady's, specifically in the bar, which I suspect would have people raving about if it it was in Dublin. A plain, traditional bar with no TVs, this provides precisely what you'd want from a traditional pub. Further in, they do have TVs, but it is still very traditional. This is apparently CMAT's local too.
Slevins was up next, and sort of unfortunately I don't have a lot to write about it - because its absolutely fine. There was just nothing that particularly jumped out to me.
O'Dwyers, basically next door, ticked a lot more boxes for me. It has a more coherent layout, despite still being split up in to many areas, and its outdoor areas step out from a sort-of conservatory to some coherent outdoor seating bays that somehow make you forget that they're actually in a car park. There was also a bouncy castle for kids today, but I suspect that's not a permanent feature.
Across the square from both of these was Mulvanys Fingal House, which I just didn't quite warm to. Repeated signs inside the bar about photos and videos being banned raised massive questions, and the pub just didn't feel great for me. However, it was busy enough, and there was also signage about needing to book tables (despite them not doing food); so presumably it has a large regular crowd.
I didn't drop in to the bar of the Dunboyne Castle Hotel, not because it was particularly awkward to do so (it isn't), but because I'd already been there. This mid 2000s hotel was built around a former mother and baby home, itself a Georgian manor house; and as a good place to have a wedding relatively close to where I live, I have already attended a wedding here. Plenty of pints were purchased there, so I don't need to return to tick it off!
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