Entertainment in Dublin
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Oval
This is a great little pub, where young and old come together in conversation and rich, creamy pints go down a treat. The Tardis effect is evident once you walk through the door: it is much bigger than it looks from the outside, spreading over three floors.
reviewed
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Shelbourne FC
Premier League champions in 2006, Shels was ignominiously booted out of the top division straight afterwards for financial irregularities, lost all its good players and spent the last four years struggling in Division 1 – which is really the second division.
reviewed
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Focus Theatre
The small Focus Theatre is committed to showcasing the work of new Irish playwrights, which is thoroughly laudable even if the quality of the work isn’t always top notch. Still, the company offers challenging work and is well worth checking out.
reviewed
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Village
Packed to overflowing every weekend, this large modern bar is where the lovely lads and gorgeous gals show off their plumage in a fun-time courting ritual that has the rest of them queuing up at the door to join in. There are live bands and excellent DJs nightly, and Sunday night's Songs of Praise is the city's best karaoke night. The nightclub bit of the venue opens Thursday to Saturday.
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Laughter Lounge
Dublin’s only specially designated comedy theatre is where you’ll find those comics too famous for the smaller pub stages but not famous enough to sell out the city’s bigger venues. Think comedians on the way up (or on the way down).
reviewed
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New Theatre
This small theatre's location above a left-wing bookshop should be a guide to the kind of thinking that informs most of the performances taking place on its small stage. It's all about having a social conscience, whether by promoting new work by emerging playwrights or putting on established works that highlight society's injustices.
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Mezz
Dark, sweaty and loud: it’s the way music venues used to be in those heady days before standard lamps and leather sofas became, well, standard. Old-school rock, electronic, funk and garage bands belt it out most nights to a young up-for-it crowd.
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Sackville Lounge
This tiny 19th-century, one-room, wood-panelled bar lies just off O’Connell St and is popular with actors from the nearby Abbey and Peacock theatres, as well as a disproportionate number of elderly drinkers. It’s a good pub for a solitary pint.
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Panti Bar
The northside’s most outrageous gay bar is almost always packed – they come for the floor shows both on and off the stage. Panti offers a different theme every night, from Monday night crafts to Sunday night loungin’ around.
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Neary's
One of a string of off–Grafton St, classic Victorian boozers once patronised by Dublin's legless literati, Neary's is a perfect stop-off day or night. It combines great service, a bohemian atmosphere and attractively worn furnishings, and is popular with actors from the nearby Gaiety Theatre.
reviewed
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Bewley's Café Theatre
Fancy a bowl of soup and a sandwich with your theatre ticket? This marvellous space puts on interesting, experimental work by Irish playwrights in a suitably bohemian atmosphere. Mind your slurping.
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O’Donoghue’s
Once the most renowned traditional music bar in all Dublin, this is where the world- famous folk group the Dubliners refined their raspish brand of trad in the 1960s. On summer evenings a young, international crowd spills out into the courtyard beside the pub. It’s also a famous rugby pub and the Dublin HQ for many Irish and visiting fans.
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St Patrick's Athletic
Four league titles in the 1990s, and one since the turn of the century…the Saints are an accomplished club whose ground is slangily known as the Stadium of Lights, in tribute to the infinitely more impressive ground once played on by Benfica.
reviewed
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Ryan’s
Near Phoenix Park, this is one of only a handful of city pubs that has retained its Victorian décor virtually intact, complete with ornate bar and snugs. An institution among Dublin’s public houses, this is truly worth the trip.
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Devitt’s
Devitt’s – aka the Cussak Stand – is one of the favourite places for the city’s talented musicians to display their wares, with sessions as good as any you’ll hear in the city centre. Highly recommended.
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Nealon’s
The warm and cosy decor of this traditional pub is matched by the exceptionally friendly staff. It’s a bit of old Dublin on a street getting ready to take off, so catch it while you can. There’s live jazz on Sunday.
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Twisted Pepper
Dublin’s coolest new venue comes in four parts: the basement is where you can hear some of the best DJs in town, the stage is for live acts, the mezzanine is a secluded bar area above the stage and the cafe is where you can get an Irish breakfast all day. All run by the Bodytonic crew, one of the most exciting music and production crowds in town. What more could you want?
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Project Arts Centre
This is the city's most interesting venue for challenging new work – be it drama, dance, live art or film. Three separate spaces, none with a restricting proscenium arch, allow for maximum versatility. You never know what to expect, which makes it all that more fun: we've seen some awful rubbish here, but we've also seen some of the best shows in town.
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South William
Its star doesn't shine quite as brightly as it did a couple of years ago when it opened, but this remains one of the hippest bars in town – which means that it caters primarily to the under-30s crowd. Behind the glass frontage you'll get top-class music, great DJs and a downstairs club.
reviewed
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Doheny & Nesbitt’s
A standout, even in a city of wonderful pubs, Nesbitt’s is equipped with antique snugs and is a favourite place for high-powered gossip among politicians and journalists; Leinster House is only a short stroll away.
reviewed
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Bia Bar
This trendy watering hole is as popular with the after-work crowd as it is with young hipsters who come for the excellent music policy, which has brought some of the city's best DJs to ply their craft on the decks. It goes 'til late Thursday through Saturday, when the dance floor gets pretty packed – and there's no admission charge!
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UCD
The Students have been yo-yoing up and down the league but in 2010 found themselves respectively mid-table in the Premier Division. They play in the lovely Belfield stadium, part of the University College Dublin (UCD) campus.
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Shelbourne Greyhound Stadium
All the comforts, including a restaurant overlooking the track, make going to the dogs one of the best nights out around. Table service (including betting) means that you don’t even have to get out of your seat.
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Helix
The Helix, Dublin City University's new theatre venue in Glasnevin, has already established its reputation as a serious theatre with its mix of accessible and challenging productions. To get here, take bus 11, 13, 13A or 19A from O'Connell St.
reviewed
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JJ Smyth's
The best place in Dublin to hear good jazz is at this pub, located in an upstairs lounge where the stage is almost on top of the punters. Sunday's Pendulum Club, run by the Improvised Music Company, is a consistently good night. The intimacy of the place, coupled with the generally high standard of musicians performing here, make this a definite must for any fans of the genre.
reviewed