It only dawned on me recently how many versions of The Auld Triangle I have in my collection. By ‘my collection’, I mean Windows Media Player. Anyway, I thought a few were worth posting in case you haven’t heard them. I love some of these.
Cat Power: No doubt inspired by Bob Dylan, this cover from Cat Power is more than decent. I enjoy her cover records as much as her own material in all truth.
Jeff Tweedy from Wilco has covered the song live, and it is one of my favourite versions. This sounds excellent.
Christy Moore recorded an excellent rendition of the song, which can be heard on his Box Set.
This Pogues version comes from a Peel Session.
All great, and this is before taking other versions like Ewan MacColl’s into account, not to mention the numerous versions of bands like The Dubliners and The Clancy Brothers. Enjoy.
The song was of course written by Brendan Behan and features in The Quare Fellow, a play currently running at The New Theatre on Essex Street, at the back of Connolly Books.
A half price Sunday at Pygmalion/ 59 South William Street.
I am now part of the furniture here.
Amazingly, I spot the same faces every Sunday. Saying that, maybe it’s not that amazing at all. Half-price drinks are exactly what they say on the tin, and by 6pm there is never a seat in the house. Yesterday, a mishmash of heartbroken Dubs, a scattering on grinning Corkonians,city-slickers, hip kids and wise punters who followed the sign outside to half price paradise ignored a rainy Sunday for something better.
Pygmalion is normally a tad expensive for my liking. By a tad, I mean a good bit. A good-sized bottle of lager might cost €2.80 or €3 on a Sunday, so in my head I’m almost thinking ‘imagine that on a Monday’. Sticking to the taps but, and it is an absolute steal.
It seems the place to head to here is actually……outside. Almost every week large chunks of my time here is spent in the smoking area, where I’ve bumped into all sorts of old faces. Coppinger Row is a bit of a nightmare on occasion with beggars, much as I hate to say it. I will, every Sunday, pay the lad with the brass instrument to knock out When The Saints Go Marching In however.
Are there downsides to a pub like this on a Sunday? It doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to work out that you’ll spend quite a lot of time waiting at the bar. It’s a small price to pay. While Pygmalion do a great selection of cocktails (two thumbs up for the Number Five) come late evening the option is more or less gone out the window, a packed bar and super-busy staff basically ruling it out. The staff are friendly, and if you get here early in the day I can’t over-sell the Number Five cocktail, which I’m sure they’ll whip up for you providing the bar doesn’t resemble the waiting line for a famine ship like it can come darkness.
The DJ’s in Pygmalion are well capable of keeping the night going, a mix of classic staples, indie/hip hop of old and new and generally danceable stuff. We can all dance on half price drinks, of course, and some awful gobshitery has been spotted.
South William Street may be the coolest street in the city apparently, but Dublin was never all that cool. This is, of course, a good thing. What is it then? Well, fun. Nowhere is more fun at 11.20pm on a Sunday night than this place. Plus, any tip of the hat in the direction of Shaw is most welcome.
Friends had just left Ireland for excursions abroad, and others have just moved homes. All events worthy of celebration. I hadn’t seen eight full hours of sleep in a few days, and everyone else invited to the crawl was much the same. Still, this is like Christmas mass at this stage. The pub crawl is a sacred thing, and many sore heads were evident at Connolly Station before departure.
Cleary's, credit to thatman1 on Flickr.
I’ve frequently gone past Cleary’s, or the ‘pub under the bridge’ with my father in the car. We’ve both meant to venture in, but never have, perhaps owing to the fact I’d drink a bit nearer to the bus stop (You know what I mean). Like many of the great Dublin boozers, Cleary’s has been in the hands of the one family for generations. On first entering, I’m struck by the interior, a beautiful bar which feels a bit like Ryan’s on Parkgate Street and a handful of others which don’t seem to have aged at the same pace as other pubs in the city. The bar is busy, and seems to have plenty of locals, impressive on a ‘GAA day’ in itself. Thinking we’re screwed for seats, the very likeable barman tells us to pop down the back. A huge lounge is there, most welcoming and plenty of room for an ever-growing group. Soldiers are coming back from the wars of the weekend, slowly dripping in to the group. Sam notes a snap of the Irish Citizen Army on the wall of the bar, always a thumbs up. The pints are perfectly fine, in fact a step above the norm. All in all, I’m off to a flyer.
Or so it seemed.
Harbor Master, credit to flickr user jellyshots
The Harbour Master really takes you back when you step inside. A beautiful restaurant/bar, the decoration is top class. It is telling that one of our company, who works in design, is impressed by the attention to detail in the presentation of the premises. Everything here looks wonderful, food included. Everything, down to the Guinness.
One of the lads complains of a one-pour pint. I’m ever the optimist however, and proceed to tuck into my own. It dawns on me, and everyone else at the table, that these are rubbish. If you read my pub crawls, or Random Drop Inn’s, you’ll know I’m not in the business of slating pubs. I’ll leave this one by saying on leaving the premises, two or three half full pints littered a table of seven. A disappointing one.
Never mind that, we’re on a boat now.
Quay 16, credit to Flickr user infomatique
This is great. Perhaps our most unusual one to date, the MV Cill Airne ship rests on the River Liffey and provides excellent views of NAMA buildings, The Point and the docklands in general. The dreaded price list turned out to be not so scary at all, in fact I was taken aback that a Guinness on board was in the same price range as one in any city centre pub today. We rest on the deck enjoying the views of the city, and lose track of time completely here. In all truth, I could have abandoned the tour (abandon ship seemed weak) here and been content for the night. Alas, crawls don’t work that way.
I don’t doubt they would frown on large groups of lads treating this one as a ‘pub’ as such (It is definitely a restaurant first) but a visit to the MV Cill Airne should be on your agenda. Without sounding my young age, it is…pretty cool?
I move the pub crawl on, in the direction of Pearse Street. The pub I wanted to visit next seems closed, not closed as in “we’re not open yet”, but closed as in “we’re not going to be open again”. panicking, I push on for Cassidy’s on Westmoreland Street.
Cassidy’s seems closed. Not closed as in “we’re not open yet”, but closed as in “we’re not going to be open again”. I think on my feet, and opt for Fitzgeralds on Aston Quay. I’ve never even gone in here to use the toilet, and this is a real gamble. All I know of this pub is that a ‘ghost sign’ now stands out front, from the time this was the Daniel O’ Connell.
Straight away, I cop the sight of t-shirts behind the bar. Normally, this is a bad sign. There are a few exceptions (Kavanagh’s, Mulligan’s) but generally a pub shifting t-shirts is a bit shamrocky for my liking. I’m pleasantly surprised by Fitzgerald’s but, and as The Shins come on the radio I realise I’m doing ok today. Against the odds, this pub crawl is working out.
The smoking area is excellent, I first mistook it for some sort of quiet room, decorated with a few old Guinness murals and with plenty of room for a reasonable crowd, it’s only a tiny drop of rain that makes me look up and realise where we are standing. One of the lads opts for a bowl of soup, always a safe bet, and returns content fifteen minutes later, insisting it was great. With its location, it’s hard to imagine a pub like this having any ‘locals’ as such, but it is a most decent effort. In short, it’s fine. I’m glad it was there today, and I’d probably drop in again.
By now, it is obviously Sunday night. I want to go to a pub that is, at most, six minutes walk away, but people are having none of it. Everyone is hungry, apparently. A flexible fellow, I decide perhaps Madigans on O’ Connell Street will do. There are, as some of you will know, three Madigans within a stones-throw of one another around O’ Connell Street. It remains an ambition of mine to one day do a pub crawl of Dublin that will consist only of visiting pubs called Madigans. I think it will be a nightmare for people to read. This one, is the one with a sizeable snap of Jack Daniels in the window. Up by The Gresham.
Maidgans, credit to flickr user susan crawford. I love this snap actually.
Once again, I’ve never been in here. One of my locals, The Hop House, is too close to justify it. I like this one but. The Guinness is great, the bar man a really nice character, and the pub homely, far larger that it appears from outside. It’s one of those pubs you’re at a loss to describe in too much depth, but also would be hard pushed to fault. It’s by no means as exciting as the MV Cill Airne, but it is a nice conclusion to an enjoyable pub crawl.
With that, we were done. Another five down. Another Sunday evening complete, and everyone returned home. Quite the weekend.
I’m just back in the door from the land of Irn Bru and battered Mars Bars (lots of dog walking ahead….) and have heaps of LOI fanzines to upload here on Come Here To Me soon, as I’d like to get them back to people. Still, I thought this was worth getting up in its own right.
From ‘The Dalymount Roar’ (Issue 7, Jan/Feb 1993) comes this excellent guide to the home of Bohemian F.C, Dalymount Park. Examples of areas of note include the area “where the four St. Pats fans stand”, the “Segregation area which has remained since Rangers game in 1984” and the “Crown Paints sign which fell down two years ago”.
If you’re interested in football fanzines, we’ve got Only Fools and Horses, Hoops Upside Your Head and Osam Is Doubtful up already. As with last time, thanks here go to Kevin Brannigan for getting this to me, and the owner Neil Mulvey.
Oh when the Saints…. That ‘No Future’ image has been there for yonks now, by The Clarence.
This is up by Dublin Castle, excellent.
One of my favourite progressive figures in Irish history, Liam Mellows, is appearing all over the city at the minute in a propaganda poster. “It would be folloy to destroy English tyranny in order to erect a domestic tyranny that would need another revolution to free the people”
In Temple Bar, this is excellent stuff from Karma. How long was it there before I noticed?
As well as an impressive collection of old union stickers, I found this Irish Clerical Workers’ Union membership card from 1918 in the Irish Labour History Museum last week.
Info on the union from the Historical Directory of Trade Unions (2006)
It appears to have been the possession of a Thomas Maguire who lived at 11 Derrynane Hll (sp?) off the North Circular Road. Thanks to some helpful friends on facebook, I’ve been able to track down a Derrynane Parade (which is indeed off the NCR) but have found no reference to a Derrynane Hill or a Derrynane Hall. Perhaps the street was renamed or his address was written in by someone who misheard him.
for passing this on)”]
The 1911 census shows that there are no Maguires living at Derrynane Parade. There are approximately 53 Thomas Maguires living in Dublin that year. Discounting anyone under the age of 17 and 60, that leaves us with 21 Thomas Maguires. I’m going through them now to find any possible match i.e. someone working in a clerical job.
Tune into RTÉ Radio 1 at 2.02pm tomorrow to hear Don’t Go Far . . . Your Dinner’s Nearly Ready, the story of two young Dublin boys made headlines around the world in 1985 when they hopped on a Dart and ended up in New York.
Not the best of evenings to go for a pint to be honest, with the future of the team I’m about to go shout for hanging severely in the balance. But still, pre- match pints are part of the ritual of going to games, and where better for five supporters to mourn and lament about Bohemian FC than in the heartland of Stoneybatter, half way between the clubs birthplace in the Phoenix Park and its current residence in Phibsboro.
Mulligan's of Stoneybatter, from The Tale of Ale Blog.
Mulligan’s of Stoneybatter is certainly not to be confused with Mulligan’s of Poolbeg Street fame. Whereas the latter has been discussed about in length around these parts, having one of the best pints in Dublin, you can’t get a pint of Guinness in the former. A pub in Dublin without Guinness? Yes, even though this place is a stone’s throw away from the Guinness brewery, it’s a “brewery pub” in the line of the Porterhouse. And yet what did I stump up for? A pint of… Becks. All the fancy lagers and stout on show and I went for the drink only there to service the plebians…
Apparently one time the haunt of those who couldn’t get served anywhere else in the locality, the proprietors did well to clean the place up and present drinkers with a nicely laid out bar area, stretching way back with nooks and crannies in which a solitary drinker can hide. The bar staff, well presented in pinstripe aprons and with a colossal knowledge of the wares they ply from behind a bar that harks back to the establishments past as a green grocers store. While the pint of Becks was, admittedly great (icy cold, with a head that kept to the bottom of the glass- something you don’t get much in Dublin pubs…) there was not much the staff could tell me about it. But when one of our Bohs comrades bought a fancy bottle of 7% stout, served to him in what looked like a trifle dish, the barman was able to tell him what temperature it should be stored at and what angle it should be poured at… Mad stuff.
And with that, we were off to witness arguably the worst Bohs game I’ve been to in my time. A 2-0 loss to a Galway Utd. reduced to nine men. I wish I could say the couple of beers stifled the blow, but, as nice as they were, they didn’t!
Hidden at the wall by Nassau Street by the (sometimes open) gate to the street above, is this excellent plaque.
Another gem few Dubs, including Trinity students, seem aware of. Of course Trinity College Dublin played a central role in the supression of the rebellion of 1916, with the Sinn Féin Rebellion Handbook (A PDF of which we recently linked to here) noting that
On Saturday, 5th August 1916, in the Provost’s gardens of Trinity College, a presentation from the citizens of Dublin to commemorate the gallant conduct of the Officers Training Corps during the rebellion was made.
“AC Smith (Hexbridge)” is listed among Hussars killed during the rebellion, or as a result of wounds sustained during the Rising.
Jack Wills, just off Grafton Street. They dress the gentry, apparently.
Not exactly breaking news, but there’s not a whole lot of original thought going on in Irish telly-making land apparently, and it was only a matter of time until this happened.
Ireland’s take on the hit MTV show The Hills, entitled Fade Street, has been one of the best-kept secrets in the television world for the past year — but the Herald can exclusively reveal the stars of the upcoming programme.
RTE are describing the show as ‘constructed reality’, which I presume means real people in very unreal situations, involving scripts and large doses of nonsense.
The “Cross-Platform Sponsorship Opportunity” PDF can be read over here, and is a great way to kill three minutes.
The Look
The drama takes place in the heart of Fade Street. The name is taken from the Dublin 2 Street… its bars and
shops represent the essence of the show. Dublin and Ireland will be shown at its gritty cinematic best using
locations that are cosmopolitan as well as traditional, portraying a vibrant location with a great sense of history and aspirational future.
Special intimate Dublin show announced!
Weds 15th September in The Workman’s Club to celebrate the opening of this great new venue. Tickets go onsale on Friday 20th August at http://www.ticketmaster.ie. Support from Eoin Glackin.
My thanks to Dodge for passing on both issues of Osam Is Doubtful to me last Friday in Bray. Something good can come out of the worst away trips.
Anyway, Osam Is Doubtful. One of two Pats fanzines I remember following the club as a youngster, with When The Saints Go Marching In being the other. Both efforts were well written, and much more appealing to me growing up than the official effort, a feeling common among my mates at the time. I suppose, the official programme has always had to “Welcome Shelbourne Football Club, their players and supporters to Richmond Park tonight….”while the fanzines could be a little more honest.
The name of this one was a nod towards a Saints legend, Paul Osam. Issue 1 noted that “The name comes from that part of the preview of every single Pats game since the great man came to the club where he’s announced as doubtful”.
32 pages in length, I intend to get issue 1 up to, opting for this one purely on the back of several ‘laugh out loud’ moments on first read. Highlights include a great piece on going to see the national team in Lansdowne Road (“I’m not joking when I say it was the worst atmosphere I’ve ever experienced and I’ve been to Pats vs. Bray in Belfield on a Tuesday night”), a nice piece on Martin Russell (free kick specialist) and a good rant at the jokeshop moniker ‘Stadium of Light’, which Pats fans never really took to thankfully.
Enjoy, and expect the other issue in the nearish future.
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Come Here To Me! 