1006700 Decies County Bar

The shutters were mostly down of this pub - the one over the door opened to head height and the rest still down. Not the most inviting; and the warning about bans for use of drugs on the premises also suggests foreboding; however the pubs actually quite nice inside.

Unlike the previous pub being very clear about what they did and didn't serve; the Decies had a Beamish tap head which was not on and indeed had not been on for some time - but they did have bottled Macardles; which more than suffices.

The "County" in the name here may seem slightly odd; as this is very much in an urban area, within the Dublin City Council area; but this is because the Colgan family chain of premises all had "County" in their names - N1194 West County Hotel, N1133 Lucan County Bar and some former premises making up another chain of similarly named pubs like JG Mooney's set.

RetroReview: S0323 Stillorgan Park Hotel

In a weird coincidence, the previous two RetroReviews were places I visited for family parties; and so is this

(Actually, its only a weird coincidence if you don't realise that the old S/N series licences were issued in a vague geographic order; and none of them have yet changed licence so they're all relatively nearby... but anyway)

This was the scene of, as far as I remember, a family reunion of some kind a few years *after* the 80th Birthday mentioned in another post. There's another southside hotel I ticked off for my grandmothers 90th, as it happens.

I don't remember much about it; and while I've been here and indeed eaten here more recently it was for work - they were a customer of a previous employer.

N1112 Ruby Finnegans

The second cash-only pub I've encountered since the start of the pandemic, and the first in an urban setting (N0269 Killians of Naul is in a village), this pub has a clear line taken on a recent scourge of pubs across Ireland

The pub that has this sign up also does not have a certain draught stout that I would have sort of expected it to sell. pic.twitter.com/k17AEFPZG5

— Cian Duffy (@cian_duffy) June 3, 2024

It does not sell the stout that starts with an F, possibly not surprisingly based on that sign... but it does do a decent pint of Beamish.

RetroReview: S0320 Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel

I attended my grandmothers 80th Birthday here when I was 19, and have the early digital camera photos to prove it.

I can't remember fuck all else about the night, though.

S4406 Hilton Kilmainham

For the second time in recent history, I walked past a sign I had clearly seen and read, with the expectation that its requirements would not be enforced.

The sign here was stating the hotel bar was for residents only; but with a very open and inviting looking bar terrace facing on to the road; I decided that this clearly only meant during gigs at IMMA. 

I didn't ask to find out if that was the case, but I was served beer and lunch - reasonable but not great, I wouldn't go here specifically for a meal anyway - without issue.

I'd probably just go to S1510 Patriots Inn across the road if I was in this area looking for a pint; but this is definitely an option, sometimes.

RetroReview: S0253 The Goat

Like the previous RetroReview, I have visited here due to my prior work in radio; but I had actually visited here for other reasons.

This was a semi-regular stopping point to grab dinner before going to see Harps games against UCD; but my most recent visits here didn't involve drinking, as they always related to getting breakfast at outside broadcasts arranged from outside the pub.

The ultimate hosts for those occasions, you'd never come away better fed from a broadcast than at The Goat; with four services of food delivered out to the broadcast vehicle during a full day. These would be slightly Hobbit like, with breakfast when the kitchens opened, Second Breakfast around the time of the show change at 10am; and lunch and dinner later on.

I can understand why, from an animal welfare perspective, the pub no longer has an actual goat in the carpark; but the website does reminisce about the days of Gertie and her kids that lived on-site prior to 1983. With The Clocks aviary having closed many years before the pub did; I'm not sure we have anything beyond a potential Pub Dog left as an animal mascot for a Dublin pub.

1019273 Big Mikes

This vast premises is the latest offshoot of the noted Michaels restaurant in Mount Merrion; and it is certainly aptly named - I don't know this centre well enough to know what was in this space before, but it is a multi-level space running from the inside of the centre out to a large terrace at the front.

There is a full pub licence in place here, and a conventional bar, and walk-ins for drinks only are welcome - assuming there are seats, I suspect that standing at the bar may not be that practical. 

There isn't a great tap list, though - some other pubstaraunt venues have a few craft taps even when they have a smaller bar - but its all macro and all quite boring here; although there were Kinnegar bottles.