Publin

Something happens when you have friends visiting who have never seen your city before. You see the city, the country and the culture in a slightly different way, a bit like looking at it with new eyes - even though your own only first laid themselves on it less than half a year ago. You want to present your beloved new world in the best way possible, want to convince others of the charms and the grandeur that made you fall for it, and, surely, you would like confirmation that your views aren't totally skewed by your own infatuation. You want them to see the best, to experience what really makes Dublin (or whatever city it is you (re)present) stand out. And so you take on the role of the enthusiastic guide and do a re-run of your favourite haunts of the last months.

When introducing Dublin to someone, taking them to the best pubs is maybe the main event. Pubs may be the be all and end all in this city, not only for the tempting flows of dark magic that pours out of the Guinness taps, but because much of the city soul lies in the darkened walls and worn-down wood of the multitude of public houses; it's where you find the people, the craic, the conversations, the music and the culture. So off we go on a pub round that takes us to a number of my "locals".

One thing I seem to have trouble with grasping, however, even after months of regular and rigorous attendance, is the opening and closing hours of the pubs here. Anywhere between 11pm and 01.30 seems to be the rule, more often than not relying on the mood of the bartenders and the atmosphere amongst the public. And it changes every night of the week - the pub that still serves you a pint at quarter past one in the morning on one night, may just as well blink its lights for last orders at 10.30pm the next. It confuses me, but does rarely stop me. Mostly I employ a guess-and-go attitude, seeming to remember that last time at this hour this and that pub was still serving. If I am proven wrong - which happens regularly, especially on weeknights! - the solution is rarely far away, as the abundance of pubs on the streets where I live generally mean that another one, within three minutes of walking, will welcome you with open arms and fresh pints.

Some places are harder to get to than others, though. Dublin's smallest pub, Ron Black's of Dawson Street, has been on my to-go-to-list for months, but every time I stumble across it, through the tiny and anonymous door down the stairs to the living-room-sized, overcrowded room, the bartender seems to have decided that the world has had enough just a minute or two before. So I've left it with unfinished business on about umphteen occasions the last six months, before finally reaching the holy grail this Thursday. (And I have to say, while they serve a decent enough pint and the whiskeys are OK, I probably won't be going back too often, as there is nothing really great about the place. Nice to finally have tried it, though)


But three days of taking friends around the city also included a number of my tried-and-tested and highly preferred places, such as: the Brazen Head (a bit touristy, but a really nice place, lovely fireplaces and nice music, and some of the best bangers&mash around), the Porter House of Temple Bar (great beer selection, a familiar micro brewery feeling that reminds me of Trondheim, although with slightly loud live music - and the must-try oyster stout and strawberry beer is a treat!), the upstairs of the Palace Bar (my first pub experience in Dublin, and an often-returned-to spot with great craic and very amicable bartenders - with an edge...), O'Donoghues (probably where I've been the most), Doheny & Nesbitt (suits, politicians, journalists - my kind of drinking crowd!), the School House Hotel (great fireplace-and-sofa kind of place, wonderful for Bailey's and pretentious discussions), Sinnott's (combine a drunk post-work crowd with atrocious dancing, and you've got a very unlikely winner), The Church (which is actually an old church made into a fancy bar serving nice lunch, free wine gums and enough drinks to keep the Sunday crowds going) and the Hairy Lemon, which has horrible music - horrible! - but is still a cool place to meet up for a loud pint on a Thursday or Friday.

And that's just a selection - there are many more that I will report on later, if I can just figure out if and when they are open...