The Irish Pub & A Dirty Old Town...
For pub number 10, on a tour of Dublins best pubs I paid a visit to South William Street. @ishtar joined me to explore another Dublin classic, Grogans.
The Irish Pub is an institution. To this day it is very much part of Irish life. Every aspect of life's journey is celebrated here, from wetting the baby's head to waking the dead. In recent times it has been (in)famous as a place where brown paper envelopes have been exchanged but also much loved for; the lockins, the stories, the music and the great craic. A version of the Irish pub has been exported all over the world and from Mozambique to Shanghai you can visit a "Molly Malones" or "Murphys". Each incarnation will have an Irish sounding name and be distinguished by Celtic writing above the door but there is no substitute for the real thing.
Join me as I visit some of the great pubs of Dublin, discover some secret watering holes, and help me bring Steemit to the masses!
The first post in this series will fill you in on why I have started this journey, The Irish Pub & A Dirty Old Town
Grogans Castle Lounge
Established in 1899, Grogans, next to Grafton Street has a warm atmosphere and the feel of a local pub. It's normally very busy with standing room only but if you can find a seat inside or out you won't be moving for the evening.
A notable feature of Grogans is the Art hung all over the walls, which suggests a strong link with Art in Dublin.
It was in 1972 that Grogans became a favored meeting place for cutting-edge Irish writers of the time. Renowned barman Paddy O’Brian, formerly of McDaids pub, began working in Grogans bringing with him regular customers of McDaids including the likes of poet Patrick Kavanagh, Flann O’Brien, J.P. Donleavy, Liam O’Flaherty. Thus cementing Grogans popularity amongst the citys’ artistic avant-garde
The Bar
The Pub consists of a Bar area at the back and a lounge area at the front. There wasn't music playing, just the sound of chat. This pub is so traditional it didn't even accept card for payment. Little chance of getting them to accept Steem :(
Friendly Bar men make light work of pulling pints of porter
Art
From brightly coloured stained glass pictures
To more modern and traditional paintings, all the art is for sale.
Ham & Cheese Tosties
Irish pubs generally serve good food. In recent years many have become a restaurant during the day but usually stop serving food when it gets busy in the evening.
This pub is different.
It doesn't serve nouveau cuisine but rather Ham and Cheese Tosties. This is the traditional Irish Pub food, it used to be toasted in yellow plastic bags but I am glad to see this pub has modernised on the equipment. This is best served with a pot of tea.
How does the Beer taste
Slainte Steemit
Outdoors
On a sunny day the outside of this pub is always packed. Even today it was raining and there was no stopping the after work crowd.
The Verdict
I am going to give a rating to each pub in this series based on the Guinness. There is a scale of 1-4, 4 is exceptional, 3 is very good and 2 is acceptable, 1 is muck.
Grogans gets a 3.
Join me to talk about Steemit.
Each week I will be visiting a new pub in Dublin. I am inviting anyone that is in Dublin to join me. If your new to Steemit and you want to learn more about it bring your laptop and we will get you set up. If your free on a Monday evening send me a message @eroche on Steemit Chat and I will let you know where I will be.
On my journey I also am also hoping to get at least one bar in Dublin to try STEEM as payment. You never know they might develop a taste for it. :)
You are likely to meet anyone in a Dublin Pub. From John F Kennedy to Barak Obama there have been 7 American Presidents spotted in Dublin Pubs. I am unlikely to get to talk to President Trump if he visits but if I meet any other celebrities in my travels I will be sure to introduce them to Steemit and get a Selfie.
Can't wait till next Monday!
If there is an Irish Bar near you, send me the name or a photo of the outside and I will include Irish Pubs from around the world in a monthly roundup.
“It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody.”
― Brendan Behan
Thank you for reading this. I write on Steemit about Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Travel and lots of random topics.
Not a big Guinness drinker but me and my mates always went there for a pint during Arthur's day while it lasted.
Great write up, gave it a resteem
Thanks for that. I actually don't normally go here either, my reason because it's usually so busy but a Monday night seems to be a good time to visit. And it's a really nice traditional pub.
Nice article!
Thanks @rtdcs
Nice, I've not been to Grogan's before although I've walked past it I don't know how many times. It looks like my kind of spot, I think I'll have to go for a lunchtime pint the next time I'm in town.
I have only been in a few times. It's always so busy.
Hopefully it won't be too busy in the middle of the day, haha.
Nice post! I haven't been in Grogan's in years, but that brought back a few memories. It was the da's favourite watering-hole and 'tis many the night I was dispatched by the ma to peel him off the bar and drag him home.
Good memories. I bet there were some characters thorough this pub in your dads day.
Indeed there were. The trick was to extract the Da without the likes of Ructions, Barabas, Gifty or the Poet McNamee tagging along in his wake!
arts and beer, what a nice combination,lol. i love guiness.
What a combination :)
Great photos @eroche I loved hearing about your experience at this pub. I actually found the stained glass pictures to be interesting since it's the first time I have seen anyone do that with stained glass. It's different than the standard use of stained glass for churches.
Besides the ham and cheese tosties (sorry I am always curious about food), what are other examples of traditional Irish pub food?
They were usually just small snacks such as Pork Scratchings, Taytos (Potato Crisps) and Peanuts. But you could often get small sandwiches too such as ham and cheddar cheese in a sliced loaf.
Ah, I was curious to what people in other countries eat in their pubs/bars. Some things are the same like peanuts and potato crisps though I haven't had pork scratchings yet in one yet.
That Brendan Behan quote at the end is excellent. haha
Hey guys! I'm in challenge too : )
https://steemit.com/culturevulture/@cleemit/culture-vulture-challenge
i like your posts my friend
I'm no beer drinking, but there's so much character, culture, and heritage in your post, that I enjoyed the read :) great job @eroche!
Thanks so much @foodie.warrior There were some lovely ham and cheese toasties too :)
hehe cool invention by your hubby :)