Alike all the great cities in the world, dear Dublin of ours is one that is often defined by its most famed thoroughfares. We may not have avenues that garner attention on par with that afforded to the Champs-Élysées or Broadway, but there can be little doubt that our little metropolis is oft-characterized by the […]
We used to live like lords. We’d roam freely from bar to bar, marching to the beat of the filthy change that jingled about in our arse pockets. We’d wade through packed pub gangways searching for seats that weren’t available. We’d cling to the bar and press the flesh with any hand, outstretched in our […]
In the midst of our new normal lockdown status, we stumbled upon an instagram page called Creatives Against COVID-19. Their premise was fairly straightforward: Have people send in images, illustrations, photos, sketches, whatever you’re having yourself, under the the one brief: ‘Soon’. Create and sell prints of the submitted artwork Donate the money to Womens […]
A great number of writers are synonymous with a great number of things for different reasons. And a great number of writers are synonymous with the city of Dublin. But when it comes to levels of synonymy with this city of ours, there’s little arguing that Joyce is its foremost considered literary son. Joyce knew […]
Consider, if you will, the following couplet. “There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in” Taken from Canadian crooner, Leonard Cohen’s back catalogue – these much quoted and poignant lines have many different meanings to many different people. Some think redemption, and some reckon resurrection are the abiding themes to which […]
Though there’s no smoky haze or abundance of black faces, and still without the bourbon stink or distant cricket hiss you can still close your eyes and immerse into the hollering and the bawling of man and instrument. And in the rhythm of that juke joint rattle you can cast the Liffey as your Mississippi, […]
“This old pub standeth on sacred ground, surrounded by the high walls of the Royal Kilmainham Hospital, by the ancient cemetary of Bully’s Acre and the dungeons of Kilmainham Jail. The Patriot’s Inn has been closer to the pulse of Irish history than any other contemporary pub.” So says the signage sitting at the entrance […]
In the usual January reeling from all of December’s excesses, I have come to find comfort and solace in the near constant scrolling through the volumes of reviews that people have published on Google Maps relating to Dublin’s pubs. Common complaints tend to relate to food, service and toilet facilities, but amongst all these there […]