N1126 Kennys

I hadn't intended to drop in here the day I did, but I met a friend on the bus home, and his girlfriend lives in Lucan so we popped in for one. 

This is a standard large suburban pub built around an older village bar basically - the bar has a snug and an ancient video poker machine; with the lounge having a large food serving area and a vastly younger crowd. 

Didn't stay here too long as there was a bus to catch, and I haven't been in any of the other 3 pubs around the park in the village to compare to as yet, but I'd happily return here.

1000064 McNeills

McNeills is a little odd. It looks, and feels, a bit like drinking in someones grandmothers house. However, it hasn't been a pub for all that long at all.

Branded as "McNeills Music Select Bar and Music Shop", the music shop was the original business here and indeed manufactured some very famous instruments, but relocated in 2004. There was a more recent music shop on the premises but this, too, has closed. I believe the pub may have opened in 2008 but I'm open to correction on this as there's very little to suggest a firm date.

It's a nice pub. Has an auld lads bar feel even if it hasn't been there as long as others. TV was turned down to a low enough level when the match on ended, leaving it easy enough to have a conversation. It smelled somewhat like a Catholic church at Easter on the evening I went in - something smelled like incense, but I doubt that's a regular feature.

N1068 Slatterys

I had slight trepidation going in to Slatterys on Capel Street, as my older brother still occasionally tells a tale of the condition of the toilets here when attending a gig upstairs in the 1990s. It has changed quite a lot since then and the toilets are fine.

Making claims - everywhere, from signs outside to the receipts - about having the best pint of Guinness in the city I decided to get a Smithwicks instead. I don't think I can judge Guinness objectively enough to tell if the claim is true or not!

This is one of the few remaining early houses - capable of opening at 7am Monday through Saturday. This is due to its proximity to the wholesale fruit and vegetable markets where, in the past at least, there were large numbers of staff who would be finishing work early in the morning. I was there much closer to 7pm although I do intend to visit at least some of the early houses during the early period - its an oddity that I don't want to miss lest a future government remove them as was tried in the past.

N0084 The Black Sheep

This is another Galway Bay Brewery pub and quite similar to their other large premises - Against the Grain - on Wexford Street. Dropped in here for dinner and also had their new session ale which I have honestly (and not due to drink!) forgotten the name of.

Like many GBB premises, this has had quite a varied history prior to GBB coming in. The Bleu Note Jazz/Blues venue and Yello, a gay bar, have previously occupied this premises that I'm aware of. GBB seem to be a more stable operator than many of those they replace and has already been here for longer than the two previous bars put together

S0026 Lincoln's Inn

This was the final stop of the day - on the way back to Pearse for a train home. Nice Victorian-style boozer, decent selection of beer.

This pub briefly closed earlier this year, and it was still very quiet but I would imagine that daytime food business is more important than mid-evening Saturdays, what with the various offices, cultural destinations and Trinity College nearby.

S3699 South William

After dinner in the Ramen Bar in Kokoro on South William Street, further rain led us in to the South William next door. There isn't a vast amount to say about this place - it wouldn't really be to my tastes but the spirits collection is decent. Knocked off the list, anyway.

S3712 Dakota / Rag Trader

After JJs, and a look at the queue for 9a which was still as long, we headed to Hodges Figgis so I could get a copy of Peter Hook's book Substance. On the way back to find where we had intended to go for dinner with Himself's poor recollection of where it was, another blast of rain occurred and Rag Traders on Drury Street was as convenient a place as any to get out of the way.

This is the back of Dakota on South William Street, but is very different. Kitted out with probably the shopfitting contents of every salvage yard in the country, its name and interior are references to this area of the city and its former role in the clothing industry.

It's very, very dark inside. Beer selection is decent, prices are a bit high.