Dublin, Ireland – May 1999

If you’ve only got a couple of days in Dublin, the Traditional

Music Pub Crawl which starts in the St. John Gogarty’s Pub

in the Temple Bar is a winner, as is the Whiskey Tour at

the Old Jameson Distillery near The Four Courts on the North

Side of the Liffey.

If you like whiskey follow this tip: The tour starts in

an auditorium and the guide will say a few words and then

ask for four volunteers. As soon as the guide finishes saying

“Volunteer” jump out of your seat and furiously wave your

hands.

You will then be one of the four people selected for the

Whiskey tasting at the end of the tour. Not only will you

get your dram of Jameson like all the other tourists, but

you’ll also get a set of 8 or 10 wee cups of different whiskeys,

Glenlivet, Jim Beam, Paddy Power, and Johnny Walker Red

to name but a few.

A really good stop for those interested in the roots of

Irish Dancing and Music is “Ceol” which is an interactive

museum just opened at Smithfield Market.

Smithfield Market is a well known spot just West of the

Old Jameson Distillery. The West side of the plaza still

houses wholesale vegetable and fruit markets (the potato

warehouse is chock full of spuds). On the Northside is a

pub that is acquiring a name for good trad sessions amongst

the locals (the name escapes me now). The East side of the

plaza is a modern looking building, half devoted to new

(and pricey) apartments, and the other half houses “Ceol”,

Chief O’Neills bar, and a traditional music shop.

The “Ceol” exhibit features interactive video presentation

booths of the different periods in Irish Musical History,

individual listening booths where you can hear excerpts

of some of the best players of all instruments in Irish

music, from the bones to the Uileann (pronounced “Illin”)

pipes.

The second floor has a very good display of tap dancing

that runs on video monitors suspended from the ceiling just

above your head. The footage is taken from a under a plexiglass

stage so it appears as the dancer is dancing on top of you

and you can see the foot movements very well.

Behind that is a small dance floor with mirrors on two

sides and two projection screens. You select a dance and

the dancers appear on the screens and you can follow along

(great fun for a couple or a group of 4.

The last stop should be the auditorium which features a

very informative 18-minute presentation on Irish Musical

Heritage. Cost is about 6 Punt.

Doable day trips from Dublin include Newgrange

neolithic grave site to the North (near Drogheda) and Glendalough

(prounounced “Glendalock”) to the South.

Glendalough has the better scenery (two lakes in a valley

carved by glaciers) as well as some good hiking. If you

are interested in hiking, the Wicklow Way meanders for 120km

along the Wicklow mountains from Marley Park to Aghavannah.

There are numerous day hikes that one can do along the way,

and the Tourist Offices sell maps and guidebooks.

If you have a car, a visit to Johnnie

Fox’s in Glencullen is a good spot for a pint. It claims

to be the highest pub in Ireland and was established in

1798 and served as a meeting place for Irish revolutionaries

throughout the centuries.

Evenings sometimes feature a “hooley”, but the place can

get packed with tourists. To see it with just the locals

around, get there before 2 or 3 PM, they have excellent

seafood and on sunny days the view from the outdoor patio

is great.

The oldest pub in Dublin is the

href="http://www.hoi.ie/dubguide/entert/brazen.htm">Brazen Head at 20 Lower

Bridge Street, although the actual date is a subject for

debate.

If you like a bit of physical fitness with your beer, try

giving the

href="http://www.angelfire.com/ak/DublinHHH/">local chapter of the

href="http://www.gthhh.com/">Hash House Harriers a call. The HHH is commonly

referred to as “A Drinking Club with a Running Problem”

and exists in over 184 countries with over 100,000 members.

More HHH stuff at this site in Odds’n'Ends.

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