Dublin After Dark - Dublin - page 134

furnishings, antiques and curios on the shelves, and walls lined with
old paintings and 19th-century newspaper clippings. On Sunday
there is usually a midday session of traditional Irish music; everyone
is invited to bring an instrument and join in. On many nights there
is traditional music on an informal basis or in a concert setting
upstairs. Back Lane, Dublin 8. & 01/453-8306. No cover except for concerts.
O'Donoghue's Tucked between St. Stephen's Green
and Merrion Street, this much-touristed, smoke-filled enclave is
widely heralded as the granddaddy of traditional music pubs. A
spontaneous session is likely to erupt at almost any time of the day
or night. 15 Merrion Row, Dublin 2. & 01/676-2807.
Oliver St. John Gogarty Situated in the heart of Temple Bar
and named for one of Ireland's literary greats, this pub has an invit-
ing old-world atmosphere, with shelves of empty bottles, stacks of
dusty books, a horseshoe-shaped bar, and old barrels for seats. There
are traditional-music sessions most every night from 9 to 11pm, as
well as Saturday at 4:30pm, and Sunday from noon to 2pm. 57-58
Fleet St., Dublin 2. & 01/671-1822.
LATE-NIGHT PUBS
If you're still going strong when the pubs shut down (11pm in win-
ter, 11:30pm in summer), you might want to crawl to a “late-night
pub”—one with a loophole allowing it to remain open after hours,
perhaps 3am or thereabouts. Late-nighters for the 18-to-25 set
include The Capital, 2 Aungier St., Dublin 2 ( & 01/475-7166 ),
Hogans, 35 S. Great George's St., Dublin 2 ( & 01/677-5904 ), and
the Club Mono (see “Smaller Concert Venues,” later in this chap-
ter). After-hours pubs that attract the young and hip but are still
congenial for those over 25 include Whelans, 25 Wexford St.,

Overrated

Beware: Late-Night Crime
Crime in Dublin--and most specifically late-night crime--has
been on the ascent in recent years. What's most alarming
about these aggressions are the random, senseless acts of vio-
lence that can occur on any street in Dublin after dark. These
attacks are often booze-fueled and happen on streets that are
perfectly safe during the day. Be especially on your guard in
the areas around O'Connell Street and Grafton Street after
pubs' closing time (see above). Never walk back to your hotel
alone after this hour.