A Place to Rest Your Weary Soul: Dublin Pubs
By V. Laherty Adams
There is nothing so welcoming and cozy as entering an Irish pub, and waiting for your Guinness to settle. It has been poured for you, unique, this one and only pour which in its uniqueness has never been poured exactly like this before and will never be poured exactly like this again. The moment arrives when you brave the white foam and take your first sip.
The walls, often wooden, have heard conversation that is unique in its perfect cadence, a thousand times over, not two of them alike. You look out the doors and windows to the world you have left behind for this moment, and you sigh with satisfaction. You have chosen this place, of all the places on earth, to spend your afternoon, and there is no better place on earth to be.
Here are Five Pubs to Consider:
McDaid’s 3 Harry St Dublin. South Inner City, just off Grafton St. by St. Stephen’s Green. One of the most iconic literary pubs in Dublin. Thanks in part to Brendan Behan and his frequent visits when he would regale from his brilliant repertoire. He was among many regular Irish writers: James Joyce, J.P Donleavy, and Liam O’Flaherty. It has been identified by Joycean scholars as the setting of Joyce’s story, Grace. One fact of note – this used to be the Dublin City Morgue, and was also once a Moravian chapel. Moravians are the oldest protestants, dating to the 1400s, 100 years before Lutherans.
McDaid’s has an impressive Victorian exterior. When you enter its chambers, you enter an old-style bar which has a high ceiling and gothic-style windows. Within its dimly lit interior, you find yourself in a classic Irish pub
The Brazen Head is purported to be Ireland’s oldest pub. There has in fact been a hostelry here since 1198. The present building was built in 1754 as a coaching inn. The Brazen Head appears in documents as far back as 1653. The Brazen Head is all about traditional music sessions. An advertisement from the 1750’s reads “Christopher Quinn of The Brazen Head in Bridge Street has fitted said house with neat accommodations and commodious cellars for said business”.
The Stag’s Head is also within the magical reach of Grafton Street. It is a traditional Irish pub that hosts traditional Irish music and food in the beautiful Dublin city center. Enjoy a breath of fresh air when visiting the Stag’s Head.. Here you will cross into a land with enchanted history. The Stag’s Head is a historical Dublin pub featured in Dublin Pub tours renowned for its hospitality and famous pint of Guinness. No two pours alike. Beside the pub is where the Father Matthew Bridge crosses the river Liffey. It was here that the original crossing of the river was located. Reed matting was positioned on the river bed which enabled travelers to cross safely at low tide.
From the Stag Head’s Website
Est 1770s
Great pub, great pints, great food, great craic. You truly capture a sense of the hidden Ireland when you accidentally stumble upon The Stag’s Head. Finding it is akin to discovering a rare treasure as it is concealed through a narrow passageway off Dame Street, although access can also be gained through Exchequer Street or Georges Street. When you enter inside this feeling of discovered booty is greatly intensified as a virtual paradise of culture and old-world values confronts you. This is probably Dublin’s best preserved Victorian pub – and everything here is of authentic Victorian origin. Take time to look around and savor the sumptuously carved Victorian mahogany fittings, the mosaic marble tiled floors and granite tabletops.
History
Though a tavern has existed on this site since the 1780’s, this premises first attained great fame in the 1830’s as ‘John Bull’s Albion Hotel and Tavern’. This was one of the most sought after premises of the age in close proximity to ‘Dublin’s Theatreland’ and the fashionable stores of Dame Street and College Green. A popular music hall business was developed on the site, a trend continued by proprietors Alica and Henry Murphy during the 1840’s. William Wormington succeeded them here in the 1860’s and James Kennedy took the reins in the 1880’s.
The Stag’s Head is a beautiful Victorian pub in Dublin. After a long hard day of fighting for the freedom of his country, Collins would enjoy a whiskey from “Mick’s Barrel,” which was kept especially for him.
Nearys Pub
Neary’s Pub is located in the heart of Dublin City centre, just off Grafton Street. Neary’s consists of the main bar plus an upstairs lounge. Food is served daily.
Neary’s is located on Chatham Street, just off Grafton Street and is within minute’s walk to Trinity College, St. Stephen’s Green, and the Gaiety Theatre. Due to this location, Neary’s pub has become a favorite with actors. The pub consists of the main bar downstairs and the upstairs lounge known as the Chatham Lounge.
Neary’s is a good example of late Victorian public house design. It has a fine brick exterior, down to the elegant cast iron arms holding up lamps at the main door. The pub is named after Leo Neary, who combined the running of the pub with the duties of Honorary Consul of the Republic of Guatemala.
Kehoes Bar was first licensed in 1803 when the winds of revolution permeated the Dublin air and now this authentic, unpretentious Victorian shrine is one of the last great heritage pubs of Dublin. The interior throughout Kehoes is the product of a Victorian-style renovation completed towards the end of the 19th century which has been preserved to the present day. Nowadays this old pub is the buzzing haunt of tourists, scholars, shoppers, and business people alike.
The Grocery and Snug Bar
Entering this pub lovers’ haven, you will be instantly confronted by the austerity and subdued colorings of the Victorian age. When visiting Kehoes take note of the original mahogany drawers, behind the low grocery counter, which once housed rice, tea, coffee, snuffs, and other provisions items. In its former existence, this area was frequented by shoppers of the age who could slip in and enjoy a triple in the snug while the proprietor prepared the provisions order. Everything here remains as it was 100 years ago, including the serving hatch and buzzer in the snug.
The Heritage Bar
Passing through the saloon-style stained glass mahogany doors, we enter the Heritage Bar – unspoiled, untouched, and wearing the patina of its years superbly. Today, we can capture it exactly as it was; only the faces have changed. Plenty of mahogany partitions to provide seclusion, comfort and privacy. All the advertising signs of yesteryear remain in place. While you are here, order yourself a Guinness and as you wait for it to settle, study the splendid Victorian black bar, sumptuously carved in solid dark-grained mahogany woods. Take note of the two little ante-rooms which are always occupied, and be sure to mind your head if you need to journey to the restrooms – Another lost charm of the older pubs.
“If Joyce was to return today, I’ll bet that he would regret missing out on this one. Writers found a more tolerant welcome here in the less quiet interludes of the morning when less inebriated and when accompanied by the acceptable faces of Dublin’s literati. The 40’s and 50’s were the great literary days at Kehoes.”