Dublin Off The Beaten Path Tips by Lochlainn

Small drinks. Dawson Lounge Review

There is a beautifully replanted 18th century garden adjoining the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham (Modern Art Gallery) that many visitors fail to spot, and many visitors to Dublin Zoo are blissfully unaware that the Peoples Garden is situated right next to it. Those traumatised by the incarcerated creatures in one can revive their sensibilities by feeding the freer varieties on view in the other - and without the distraction of too many of the humanoid variety disturbing the peace and solitude there.


On a rainy day (they do occur in Dublin!) and if one is tempted to sample refreshments of the alcoholic variety, one can amuse oneself by visiting the Dawson Lounge on Dawson Street - reputed to be Dublin's smallest pub. Locating it is difficult as it is accessed through what appears to be a 'normal' door sandwiched between two Georgian edifices (on your right as you approach the Green) and the pub itself is situated down a perilously steep stairs. The trick is to look up as you navigate the footpath along Dawson Street and locate the protruding advertisement for Heineken Lager. The door beneath is your man! One tip though - don't bring a coachload of colleagues with you, unless you're into sequential socialising! Another nice pub is Bowe's on Fleet Street - literally a minute from Temple Bar but a million miles away in terms of overpriced, overcrowded and overrated drinking establishments (and you might actually meet some Irish people there!). Nice staff - and that always means more than the decor in my book. Speaking of books - the Dublin Writers' Workshop have their meetings there too (members only may attend but at least it shows that the pub has its heart in the right place!)

In Summary ...

... Dublin is a city that still rewards more than most the adventurous traveller who is willing to deviate from the path chosen by the travel agents and commercial guide books. It pays to have a keen sense of history, but it is equally rewarding for those who merely crave an ambience found all too infrequently in capital cities; one where the individual still reigns, the point of life is to enjoy it while you still have it, and where the city is more than a backdrop to life's vicissitudes - it is as much a character in life's drama as you or I.

Books and Coffee

Bibliophiles and coffee lovers may appreciate the small cafe situated upstairs in The Winding Stairs bookshop on the quays, just up from Bachelors Walk where one can both browse and imbibe one's purchases simultaneously - just be sure you apply the correct activity to the appropriate purchase, paper is quite indigestible I find!

Little known parks

If you're into quiet oases of calm when visiting a bustling city Dublin has some lovely ones that many do not know about. Two public parks are even unknown to the majority of Dubliners but are well maintained and both right in the city centre! One, the Iveagh Gardens - once the site of a great trade exhibition in the 1800s - is situated at the rear of the old National University, now the National Concert Hall on Earlsort Terrace. Access to the park is off Harcourt Street. The other is situated at the rear of St Kevins Technical College and the adjoining church on Kevin Street. Both are literally 5 minutes walk from St Stephens Green, which on a warm summers' day can begin to resemble the Black Hole of Calcutta especially as the office workers descend from their eyries at lunchtime.