this place has been around for ages, and was always an old geezer type place when i was growing up in the dundrum area (i went to primary school just up the street), never really embraced by the younger crowd like dundrum house at the other side of the dundrum crossroads. i believe my dad used to go here with the drinkers from his choir after mass on a sunday (though, looking back, he was in his late thirties/early forties then. hardly old geezer material on reflection, though there was always the flat cap brigade shuffling in and out too!)
like most old pubs you've got your bar area and the lounge area. the former is when all the regulars hang out - service is gruff, but i'm there for the pints, and the beamish was cold, wet and creamy on my recent visit there. the bar is also decorated with old grocery store bins (tapioca, sugar, flour, etc.) alluding the the olden days when pubs and grocery stores were often one and the same. a few years ago i snagged a guinness glass off one the bartenders (in the lounge area), a specific glass for one of the limited edition stouts they were making that year.
certainly a nice spot to visit to see what dundrum was like before they build the mall and all the cocktail lounges and upscale eateries moved in (which is not a bad thing. i'm just glad the old places didn't get chased out of town ...). read more