County Boundaries (Updated)

An Amazon delivery today left me with a copy of The Dublin Pubspotter's Guide from 2012, which has details of "over 900" pubs in County Dublin.

I'm happy to see someone who agrees with me on the number of pubs in Dublin (the LVA insists its under 750, presumably as not everyone is a member; and other people assume every pub uses a 7 day Publican licence; and is on the Revenue list in the given month they check and claim there's about 650). I'm slightly less happy to find a sticker on the back saying the author sells copies for a tenner as I bought it second hand (so he got nothing) for more!

Anyway, this book alerted me to Mhp0136 The Fox Inn in Ballymadun as a pub in Dublin. The odd licence number is because Revenue treat it as being in Meath due to an Ashbourne address - however, it certainly isn't. It has been added to the map.

There are - at least - four other premises in this situation of not appearing, or at least not always appearing, under their Dublin addresses. Another one only became apparent to me when verifying this. They are all in the outskirts of Leixlip, which itself is in Kildare.

1011787 The Salmon Leap is staring at Kildare out its front door - as the name suggests, it is adjacent to the Liffey which consists of the county boundary here. I haven't been here yet.

N1218 The Springfield Hotel is a bit further down the road. I've been here a few times... but never partaken in more than a cup of tea in a function room, which I don't consider as counting.

N1958 Becketts Hotel is also nearby, and I have validly been here. It was also off the register for a while, but as it now has an inaccurate Kildare address I missed it returning - this has been corrected on the map

Finally, 1008359 Weston Airport often has issues relating to planning due to its boundary-straddling. While the old entrance was in Kildare, the terminal building that contains the bar and the new entrance are entirely in Dublin. I've also had some enjoyable lunches here, so this is an addition to the list I don't resent for reducing my completion stats!

These additions more than cancel out the extinguishing of the licence at the Edenmore House that I became aware of during the week and maintain us at over 1000 licences active in the past 12 months. However, as Browns Barn will be extinguished imminently, we're going to hit 1000 exactly again.

Update August 2018:

The Blue Gardenia in Brittas has now reopened after a lengthy closure. As it was closed for so long I assumed it was on a Dublin-coded licence and had been delisted; however I decided to actually check the national register, and sure enough it is there as Arp0667 with an inaccurate Wicklow postal address - and has actually been on the register solidly since 2011, the oldest one I have. Map and target list have been updated.

S0162 Crowe's

Situated in a run of three pubs (two licenced premises as Mary Macs/Peader Kearneys are the same premises), this is the only pub in Ballsbridge I'd never been in - probably as I assumed it was the same licence as the lot originally!

Full of rugby memorabilia and historical elements relating to the owners, this was quiet enough inside for a Sunday but there wasn't a seat to be had out on the footpath with people sunning themselves.

S0209 O'Connells

This is the O'Connells on South Richmond Street - one of the more common names for a pub in Dublin.

An agreeable traditional Dublin pub - not a huge amount to say about it. Large selection of Irish whiskey with nearly every bottle tagged with the price for a measure, which is useful.

S0081 Dame Tavern

You take a step back in time going in here, although not as far as it may once have been going on other reviews claims that the walls were dark brown from pre-ban nicotine stains.

A very small one-room pub with a few seats and an area for trad musicians, the interior is at least as old as the watercolour painting they have of the bar itself at some point in the 1950s or 60s - everything is basically the same.

Was only one barman on and despite being relatively busy there were no problems with service. Decent alternative to some of the larger, louder pubs nearby.

S4095 The Bank

There aren't many pubs around with a stock ticker above the bar. There's almost certainly only one that has a stock ticker that's 6 weeks out of date.

Converted from an actual bank, something extremely common in the UK but significantly less so here (N2404 Grand Central and the Bottlers Bank in Rathgar are the only others I can think of), this pub has won awards for its food a number of times. I had plans to eat elsewhere though, so a swift pint - of Guinness's Citra IPA that tastes suspiciously like they're trying to eat Yellowbelly's market - was all I stopped for.

The pub is a lot smaller inside than you'd expect from outside, and in what could just be a nod to its former use, its probably one of the smallest pubs with an ATM!

N1620 Bo-Co

A rare enough case of a pub rebranding and changing course without me noticing at all. Formerly Bodkins, this was a DIT student pub for decades. With DIT slowly moving away, and Capel Street becoming ever more interesting (on what other street can you buy an angle grinder, 'hemp' seeds and a dildo?), it was an easy change to what it has become - a sort-of craft pub with a strong food element.

The bar has a good range of spirits as well as an extensive draught lineup, including such dated stereotypes as Pabst. Food options are primarily based around wood fired pizza, with a very genuinely wood fired pizza oven visible from the bar - the piles of fuel are stored nearby.

I quite liked this pub - its not in a location I'd be in often but its definitely worth a visit on its own.

July 2017 Licence Update

The monthly licence list arrived today, and despite there still being a few months for 2017 renewals to appear we're all of 12 licences below the final 2016 figure (964 vs 978). 3 additions and no other changes help that upward trend.

This also hits a very important milestone - there are now exactly 1000 premises which have had a licence in the last 12 months (and have not been deleted due to permanent closure).

Additions:

1012522 The Maple Tree, Saggart - this is a new pub in a new housing development. 

1012782 The Hideout, Campbells Row. This is a reopening after many years shut, which I have already visited.

1012792 Java, 1xx bus gates, Dublin Airport