Month: June 2025

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Old Royal Oak

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Outside the Old Royal OakAs a rule, I’m more of an urban-pub person than a rural-pub person. But while The Old Royal Oak describes itself as ‘a country pub in the city,’ its thoroughly welcoming atmosphere means this is all in the positive column. Tucked away on one of the slightly labyrinthine streets that make up Kilmainham, The Old Royal Oak very much gives the appearance of a building and streetscape that predates the car, and, before that, never even really welcomed the carriage. There are only so many parts of Dublin that the Wide Streets Commission didn’t ‘improve,’ but, happily, this is one of them.

The somewhat-peculiar siting of the pub (here since 1839, so indeed ‘old’ by most measures) at the crest of a hill means that it now has just enough outdoor space to create a lovely little beer garden. True, cars creep up the hill just centimetres away, but they can’t really go at a meaningful speed here, so they aren’t too distracting.

Inside The Old Royal OakInside, the look is all Old Man Pub, but with a more diverse clientele of all ages, genders and dog breeds. There’s also good support for local independent beer from Rye River, but they also get accolades a-plenty for the Guinness here. On our visit, the hurling was on (ironically, I was trying to get as far from Croke Park as possible to avoid the hurling crowds nearer my house), and friendly rivalries prevailed. There’s a tiny snug hidden away in the basement for a quieter session, and toasties at the ready.

In many ways, this may well be the Platonic ideal of an Irish pub, with none of the twee Paddywhackery you see in the more tourist-attracting parts of town – no shortage of Guinness, lots of regulars, an interior with plenty of sepia tones, some GAA jerseys and happy dogs.

It’s hard (well, for me) to get good pictures because of the crowds, but that’s a good sign. All told, an absolutely delightful spot.

Where: High Road, 11 Kilmainham Lane, Dublin, IE D08 DK2K
Access from the city centre: Buses C1/C2/C3/C4, 13, 60, 68A, 123, G1, G2, Luas Red Line, 40ish minute walk
Food: Toasties, crisps
Sport: GAA, footy
TVs: A few here and there
Music: A broad mix
Family-friendliness: All ages welcomed (and dogs, too)
Pub-crawl-ability: Low-medium…Urban8 is the closest, with a bit of a walk back toward the Phoenix Park-adjacent pubs, as well as one end of the Liberties with the Guinness Open Gate; or, hop the bus to The Saint and Rascals
Local sites of note: Kilmainham Gaol, Royal Kilmainham Hospital, IMMA, Richmond Barracks, Phoenix Park
Haunted: Seems a ghost would be welcome, as long as it were sound
Other notes: Interesting to see Asahi for the lager fans
Socials: Instagram, Facebook

Best Pubs for Croke Park

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Croke Park in the distance, seen from the Cherry Tomato BridgeIt’s that time of year when we begin to get the ‘where should I go before Croke Park?’ question. The answers will depend on whether you’re pre- or post-gaming an actual game (and, of course, which sort of actual game – the occasional rugby crowd isn’t necessarily the same as the more usual GAA crowd) or a concert. Fortunately, as a household within the ‘so close to Croke Park we get free tickets to things* from time to time’ radius, we’ve got some educated opinions on which pubs to hit up before, say, Oasis. (I was going to say ‘before Oasis hit each other,’ but it was too lazy, so it’s parenthetical instead).

Outside Gill's Pub: The GAA muralThere are a few ways to approach the Croke Park Pubs question: proximity, food/drink options and, well, vibes. If wanting to be in the closest possible pub is your key consideration – and on a day when it’s 70,000 plus in attendance, it’s not unreasonable – your best bets are Gill’s Corner House (if it’s open) or Phil Ryan’s The Hogan Stand. There’s Guinness a-plenty at both, though that’s true of nearly every pub in the country, but you can also snag a sneaky O’Hara’s bottle at Gill’s Corner House, or a Beamish at The Hogan Stand.

The bar at The Bald EagleIf combining food and drink is of paramount importance, casting a wider net can help, but you can still start quite close by. Juno/Hera has their gorgeous restaurant menu, but on big event days, they frequently fire up the grill for more quick-service options. You can also head further up the canal into Phibsborough, with The Bald Eagle and The Botanic House offering full meals (both are kid-friendly as well), or there’s excellent pizza from Vice now at Doyle’s Corner. The Boh has their combination Indian/pub grub menu, or there’s the little food market at The Bernard Shaw. And like The Bald Eagle, Hedigan’s The Brian Boru has a lovely beer garden, so it’s a pleasant place to relax with your pre-event meal and pint(s) if the weather cooperates. You could walk that little bit further down to The Back Page, too, if you’ve got the time. Or, away from Phibsborough, The Cat and Cage is just far enough away to avoid the worst of the crowds, but still close enough that it’s an easy stroll to Croke Park – it’s another family-friendly option with good craft beer choices and food for all. Fagan’s is on the way back toward the stadium, though still in Drumcondra, and on a busy day, the crowds spread into the park across the road or into Kennedy’s, just a few doors down (which, incidentally, is open for breakfast).

Heading back toward Croke Park, McGrath’s Pub also fills up on game days with the usual Guinness-and-Heineken offerings, but its handy off-license maintains a very nice selection of local craft beer, including options from Whiplash, Rascals and more. I’m not suggesting you might want to grab some cans to sip along the canal or in one of the nearby parks, I’ll just say you wouldn’t be alone in that sort of endeavour (but please don’t dump your empty cans in my front garden, we get enough of that on busy days). There is also The Big Tree, seemingly only open when something is on at Croke Park, but it seems to be catering more to the crowd staying in the attached Dublin One hotel for said events in most regards. We should not, of course, ignore the other end of Croke Park – Clonliffe House is another option for Guinness and a beer garden, and it gives one the chance to take in the Luke Kelly Bridge as well, if that’s of interest.

And from the vibes perspective, you can choose a spot like The Hut (also in Phibsborough) or Gill’s Corner House if it’s an Old Man Pub you’re after. For families, we’d suggest The Cat & Cage or The Bald Eagle, or if you’re looking for great music, good beer and a cosy setting, perhaps Juno or Doyle’s Corner is your scene. But in any case, if it’s a table and possibly food you seek, do book in advance, and keep an eye on the socials of pubs you might want to check out for specials or other big-day changes.

But for us locals, the email that comes ahead of Croke Park events, giving advance notice of crowd sizes, street closings and so forth is handy not just as a reminder of what time to run out to buy essentials before the visitors descend, it’s also a good excuse to wander to pubs slightly further afield. It’s worth knowing that Underdog is far enough away to be a safe bet, even on the most hectic concert days…

 

*To answer the obvious questions: 1) no, you can’t sell the tickets on for vast sums and 2) sometimes it’s something you’d never dream of seeing, like Garth Brooks, and you simply politely decline.