N0869 Donaghmede Inn

The Donaghmede Shopping Centre is a bit of an oddity. It hasn't had much more than a lick of paint on the outside since it was built; but has had multiple internal refits - the late 90s red marble and gold look from last time I was there had been replaced by a light colours and stripped pine look. It has large independent stores serving the roles usually done by chains - book shop, sports store, toy shop. It has generally managed to hold on to a decent range and number of retailers - even though there are some empty stores - when some other outer suburbs have had their original 60s/70s shopping centres demolished due to dereliction. Gay Byrne does their radio ads, decades after he stopped being a mainstream radio personality - though this is possibly due to the connection to Mike Murphy via the centres owners Harcourt.

One part of that oddity is that is still has a pub accessible from the main mall. The main way in to the Donaghmede Inn is via its outside doors though. These are covered in branded contravision currently, and generally make it quite hard to tell if the pub is open or not.

Inside, on the main floor, there is one huge space with a single central bar area. There's various different types of seating areas, including a zone laid out ever so vaguely like a school science lab -  tall tables, stools on one side - in front of the big screen. I think there's a downstairs music bar also, but there doesn't seem to be anything recent about its operation

In what were the outer suburbs at the time of their construction, its normal for bars to be Really Very Large, and this is no exception. This is the only pub in Donaghmede, with significant distances in any direction to the next nearest (due North, although not covering particularly populated areas, has no pubs for nearly four miles!), and its location means there wouldn't be much passing or outside trade at any stage. It isn't the most appealing place to go for a pint; but if you've no other choice...

S0083 The Oak

My sister insists I'd been here before. She can even name a date - Friday August 10, 2007 - that it apparently was.

She doesn't normally keep this level of detailed memories; but that was the day that Tony Wilson, founder of Factory Records, died so it's at least a bit more memorable. And I do think we went out that night, but to S0994 Bruxelles.

If I was actually here that night, it was in the modern side of the pub, then called Thomas Reads, more recently briefly The Ivy; and not the beautiful old bar constructed from oak timbers of the RMS Mauretania. This was The Oak the entire time; but this name is now used for the entire premises. The Ivy had to change its name due to a threat of legal action from the owners of The Ivy restaurant chain, which has since opened a branch on Dawson Street (1014544 The Ivy)

Anyway, I hadn't recorded it as visited simply because I couldn't remember actually being here. And aptly enough I was meeting my sister to go to a gig in The Olympia and had some time to kill, which lead me here for a few pints.

The surroundings are both relatively standard early 20th Century pub, and yet almost unique due to the source of the wood panelling - a bar in Bristol was kitted out with some; but as this has recently been a nightclub I don't know what if anything remains.

I could have stayed for longer, but the temptation of the much greater range of beers in Underdog got too much. I'll remember this trip anyway, and probably won't leave it 12 years before coming back.

S4304 Number Twenty Two

This is one of those rare premises that is entirely underground - I can see a listicle on pubs that are entirely under or above ground except for their entrance doors coming on some time I'm short of content - and has a very long and storied history

This was the site of the famed music venue McGonagles, of which much has been written elsewhere; and before that it was the Crystal Ballroom. If you look at the lists of artists which have played there in either incarnation - McGonagles being in the era of better memories so has a decent Setlists.fm entry, with the Crystal having hosted Johnny Cash amongst others - you get a run down of many of the international acts who bothered to grace Dublin with their presence in the days before it became an essential touring stop.

During this period I do not believe it had a full pub licence, but as much of it was before I was born I'll willingly take correction on that!

In the 1990s, the site hosted The System nightclub, which was one of the venues in the early days of the dance music scene in Dublin.

But its days of importance had to come to an end, and the site was physically redeveloped in the early 2000s by Paddy McKillen (Senior, not the Press Up son!), with the basement space used for "Venu Brasserie", backed by Michelin-star winning chef Patrick Guildbaud. This closed in 2011.

There is something illegible on the door in the 2014 Google Streeview pases, and for the few years before reopening as Number Twenty Two it was doing annual service as an "adults Christmas grotto" for a few years and I believe sitting idle in between.

We're now back to a more sensible/sustainable use; and as Number Twenty Two it's open as a decently sized performance space, with a double height stage area with floor and balcony seating and bars.

I was there at a company arranged event so I can only say it was absolutely perfect in every way! Bit is actually decent enough. There aren't many spaces like this left in the city; and any addition should be welcomed.

October 2019 licence update

This is the end of the licencing year list; and in theory every current licence should be on it. Things don't work out that nicely, but we do have 994 licences on it which is close enough - and the highest year in since I've been keeping records.

New additions:
1015498 Penny Lane, Great Strand Street - sister pub to N0191 Pantibar. Already visited.
1015550 The Hendrick Hotel, Hendrick Street. Already visited.
1015607 Roe & Co Distillery Visitor Centre, James Street
1015814 Doolally, South Richmond Street - new Press Up restaurant with a full licence

Reappearances:
N0230 Hanlons Corner
S1427 The Hub, Crumlin - think this is still closed

Removals:
S1268 Rathfarnham House. This reappeared last year but never traded - it's been converted to a creche! Suspect licence was reactivated to sale.


A number of pubs which are definitely, permanently closed - already converted to housing - reappeared on the list but I suspect this is an admin move before the licences are sold elsewhere.

1011267 Zozimus

One of the limited number of pubs in Dublin named after someone who isn't the owner or a former owner - Publin did a feature on these that strangely missed this one out - this pub is Built For Instagram. Or at least the outside of it is - having covered the end of Annes Lane with umbrellas in a manner that should be easy for anyone to photograph well. I didn't - I was trying to catch the rear entrances to the Dawson Street pubs that are now all opening out here; and the weather was abysmal.

The bar is table service driven, which is an absolutely turn off for me. I imagine this is to try best allocate seating for food, which is a core part of the offering here - and has been given both abysmal and glowing reviews by different reviewers. I'd already eaten.

The drinks menu pushes cocktails above all else; and the draught taps are unlabelled - meaning you do have to resort to the menu or ask the staff just to find out what pints are available.

This just isn't my kind of pub, basically.

S3271 Marys

This is another Press Up premises, and features a branch of their burger chain Wowburger in what I imagine used to be the dancefloor - for this is one of Dublins "lost nightclubs", something it served the city as under multiple rapidly changing names - in the five years before it became Marys it was  Basebar, then AKA, then briefly a gay bar called Wilde and then even more briefly Madison. 

But its now branded as a "Bar and Hardware Store", styled on the similar setups that were once extremely common across rural Ireland. This has bene the name above the door for more than five years now, providing a stability that the premises probably hasn't seen since the days when there was the Wicklow Hotel on the site.

The "Hardware Store" part of the name is backed up by a small but baffling range of hardware on the shelves - with an emphasis that it is all for sale, and indeed they are all tagged with Topline Hardware price tags. Presumably these are from wherever they bought them originally as the pub is not listed as an outlet on the Topline website!

The bulk of the pub here is underground - there is a bar and some seating upstairs, but significantly more seating and the large Wowburger area downstairs. It isn't quite the case that "if you've seen one Press Up venue, you've seen them all" - there are a few disparate styles, but this is so similar to some others you will probably feel quite at home.

1014482 Maldron Hotel Kevin Street

This was actually so forgettable I, well, forgot I'd been here - it was visited before the previous entry.

The bar here is advertised from outside the hotel, but does feel VERY strange to use as a non-guest. You must be buzzed in to the toilets by the reception desk (N2007 Academy Plaza Hotel has the same requirement), as they are accessed from the guest lift lobby.

You're across the road from 1011790 The Fourth Corner and also near to 1008283 Fallons so there's really not much point for a non-guest to drink here.