We’ll say up front that we are very much not night owls.
And perhaps that’s the major reason that we didn’t really ‘vibe’ with McGowan’s, which brands itself as a late-night establishment, beautiful frontage notwithstanding. But let’s give the spot a fair shot, with a bit of context and the usual descriptions.
We’d just come from watching Ireland’s astonishing last-minute victory over Hungary in their World Cup qualification campaign, and Doyle’s Corner was packed for the occasion, as were most other pubs in the immediate area. Yet when we got to McGowan’s – a spot we’d long meant to check out, but had never managed to, despite its proximity to many usual haunts – it was nearly empty.
And it’s an enormous pub; with its (very attractive) Christmas lights, it seems to take up a fair chunk of the neighbourhood, and inside, the huge u-shaped bar serves a ground floor with multiple spaces, as well as further areas upstairs, plus a covered outdoor space (though more on that in a moment).
Alas, there’s no interesting beer; just the usual Guinness and Heineken options. And while the pub is kept very tidy, with the wood highly polished and the seating in good order, there are a few oddities in the décor, at least, from our perspective. Framed Rolling Stone covers and old American license plates give the place a very 1980s feel (even if many of those magazine covers were from the 1990s); the neon sign outside proclaiming, ‘say hello to my little friend’ also adds to that impression. It is peculiar, and in some ways, not so different from being in an ‘Irish’ bar in the US midwest.
It’s once again worth stating, though, that it’s entirely possible that we’re not the target demographic, and that the real action begins after, say, 9 pm…by which point, we’re generally in pajamas. In this particular instance, we wanted to continue to celebrate the footy win, and so hopped back across the street to The Back Page, which was still full of fans in Ireland jerseys (and a reliable Sierra Nevada tap, among others).
There is no shortage of pubs in Phibsborough, though, and it’s safe to say that there are a few catering to nearly every taste and segment. This one may not be for us, but it mostly likely has a strong constituency of its own.
Where: 16-18 Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin
Access from the city centre: Buses 4, 9, 46A, 140, 155, Luas Green Line, 25ish minute walk
Food: Pub grub
Sport: All of them, per the website
TVs: Many all around the pub
Music: Generic rock
Family-friendliness: Didn’t have that vibe
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Back Page, Doyle's Corner, The Boh, The Hut, The Bald Eagle and The Bernard Shaw are all within a short walk
Local sites of note: Dalymount Park, Mater Hospital, Blessington Street Basin, Mountjoy Prison, TUD Grangegorman, King’s Inns
Haunted: Not overtly
Other notes: A pub since at least the 1840s, and with a long family history; would be nice to see more focus on that
Socials: Instagram, Facebook
What happens when your favourite pub closes?
Covid lockdowns notwithstanding (and even then, there were occasions where it was possible to pop in to pick up some cans), I have never known an Underdog-free Dublin. Yes, that’s a reminder of my blow-in status, but it was one of the first local pubs I ever visited, long before moving here, as well as the last before lockdown started, just after we arrived permanently. In those days, Underdog was in the basement of Brogan’s; the damp from neighbouring Dublin Castle’s moat made things moist at times. But there were good memories from that location, most notably, the working beer engine on Fridays, and incredibly friendly regulars. The beer was a fantastic mix of interesting beers from all across Ireland, as well as choices from the UK, the US and elsewhere in Europe. The bottles and cans were just as diverse as the options on tap, and the knowledgeable crowd would happily make recommendations to visitors or newbies. I quickly got to know Paddy, the owner and all-around legend, and always felt warmly welcomed.
We still have no firm answer to that question, but it’s fair to say we made the most of the last few weeks of business; there would be no kegs left for any potential new owners to have to worry about. We brought in bottles and cans from all over the world to share as the taps ran out, and made sure that we put in extra orders at the excellent Boco Pizza across the street. From leftover Mexican-ish lager to Westvleteren 12 (and everything in between), it was all shared and, mostly, enjoyed. There were hugs, some tears and a lot of laughter on the final night.
There’s a definite chill in the air, and a quick search on any platform will turn up a number of lists for cosy 
Our absolute favourites, though, are almost hidden gems when it comes to a roaring fire, and are well worth seeking out. 
We’ve not always been fair to 
The first point in its favour – for us, anyway – is its support for local independent beer: there are multiple 
While it’s true that when in this general direction we are more often to be found at 
While 
And it is, perhaps, fitting that Neary’s is a pub that attracts this kind of lore; its beautifully-maintained interior hearkens back to the 1880s – well, at least in the main bar downstairs – while upstairs, it’s a slightly more updated restaurant feel, but still elegantly understated. The 
On our perambulations around Dublin this week, we visit what feels like a proper dive bar…that is, assuming proper dive bars all have a few good local taps and a killer playlist. If so, then Anseo is, indeed, in that category. But its slightly-scrubby-yet-cheerful interior doesn’t entirely hide the building’s history: this is a mid-18th century house, complete with a few extant interior features, that’s been repurposed as a pub since the mid-19th century. If you 
You are most likely to be visiting Anseo to catch a gig from an up-and-coming band or artist, or, perhaps, seeing some stand-up comedy upstairs; you may also be doing a 
As regular readers know, we are always on the lookout for 
While the ‘since 1793’ date is a little shaky, given the current building’s construction 
So, ghosts aside, what is the pub like? Well…most definitely not creepy. If anything, it’s a bit too polished to feel at all like a liminal space. There are several very different sections of the pub with their own character, but none are especially dark or gloomy. The front is much more ‘pubby’ and the rear more of a restaurant or hotel bar vibe (the many large TV screens are part of what gives that impression), though it’s worth knowing that the back bar is where the sole local-craft-beer representative is; there’s a Rye River tap if you know where to look. Indeed, the food was very good – a step up from a lot of pub food, though the enormous portions are perhaps created more for tourists than locals. There’s also the usual Guinness – and Murphy’s – plus some Warsteiner.
There’s a covered outdoor space too, more 
Perhaps surprisingly to some (certainly, to us), Dublin pubs do not contain a wealth of ghostlore. There are, of course, 
We’re less inclined toward the flashy, big-name haunting at 
But we also want to shine the spectral spotlight on another pub whose apparitional associations are often overlooked: 
The 1884 is so called after 
And like many pubs in the more suburban parts of Dublin, it’s absolutely enormous inside – indeed, somewhat barn-like. But it’s all very tidy, and there’s plenty of space to spread out. There are much-appreciated coat hooks under the bar, which really should be standard everywhere, but here we are. Only a few years ago, this pub was known as Grainger’s, and it had, well, a 
And while the beer selection is mostly the usual Guinness-and-Heineken-and-so-so-much-Rockshore (despite being listed as a stockist of Hope, brewed just a bit further north), there is also the lesser-spotted Kilkenny, which has been popping up here and there of late, and it’s a nice alternative. The real hidden gem of The 1884, though, is the enormous 
While it does have a theoretically reasonably interesting drinks lineup, like its fellow Bodytonic-managed bar, 
It is, of course, entirely possible that it’s simply aiming for a younger/cooler demographic, which is fair enough…though it does beg the question as to why there’s a mural of Peter Fonda on one side of the building…it’s not something that resonates with GenXers like us…are the younger Millennials into Easy Rider? We’ve been told it’s a ‘no’ from Gen Z: ‘…it’s no Taxi Driver.’