163) Kavanagh’s of Aughrim Street, Stoneybatter, D7

A traditional and comfortable pub on the triangle of Aughrim, Manor and Prussia streets. Established in 1777 and is currently owned by the Peacocks who have their name stained in glass. The exterior boasts a truncated round tower of red brick hue. Inside is widely irradiated and warm with old wooden partitions sectioning the bar. The best pew in the whole house is in the false snug by the front window, drenched in light when the sun is spilling, partially private and within whistling distance to the barkeep. There’s a most unusual and striking style of art that runs along the length of the bar directly overhead. It appears to depict safari animals in vivid colour, not too dissimilar to the Lion King cartoon. The lounge has less light and striking blood red tiles set the tone.

Mine own nuncle and well-practiced pintman (and part-time historian) Richard O’Carroll fondly recommended Kavanagh’s, and as the crow flies, so the Beamish flows. At only €4.00 a pint the more you drink the more you save. A curious old phone box that stands directly outside has been rehabilitated to house a defibrillator. With this in mind, patrons with a weak heart may drink heartily. A framed newspaper article has the gobsmacking headline: 'REAL DUBLIN PUB WITH REAL LOCALS'. You don't say? Loo Rules state: ‘Gentlemen: stand closer, it is shorter than you think. Ladies: Please remain seated for the entire performance [1].’

Update as of May 2022: We must sadly report that Kavanagh’s no longer serves Beamish. When we quizzed the barkeep about this sorrowful matter she said simply: ‘There isn’t the same hunger for it as there once was.’ We disagree, for we were starving having walked all the way in the hope for a pair of pints. Why doesn’t she ask Wetherspoons how many kegs of Beamish they turn over in a week and then talk to us about a lack of hunger! She went on to inform us that the word on the street was that Heineken are looking to wind down the stout altogether. We pray this is not the case. A fine pub is Kavanagh’s, but if you’re looking for a decent stout in this neck of the woods, we recommend you go up to Walshe’s for a Beamo, or better yet to Tommy O’Gara’s who serves a wonderful Beamo - just a fiver a pint. Poor Kavanagh’s - what a shame!

FOOTNOTE

[1] This amusing sign has also been spotted turning up in the picturesque town of Roundwood, County Wicklow, adorning the walls of Kavanagh's Vartry House (which boasts of being the highest pub in Ireland, though this is a title much disputed – Johnny Fox's, for one, would beg to disagree...).

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