185) Nancy Hands of Parkgate Street, D8

Formerly the Deerpark Lounge, this is one of the last pubs before the entrance to the Phoenix Park. Once owned by the same McCaffery’s who now own The Hole In The Wall pub - which was formerly called Nancy Hands! Confused? - pour yourself another drink! The size is impressive and gargantuan. A unique copper frieze can be found over the entrance which surrounds a small clock as its centrepiece. It has four levels so there’s plenty of room to hide. There’s a well-tuned piano available for a sing along and it claims to have the ‘original staircase from Trinity College, trodden by Michael Caine featured in the film Educating Rita.’ Everything is wooden, including some of the barmen. There are open fires a plenty and a huge collection of ‘Guinntiques.’

The bar is a much smaller affair but equally as charismatic. We once gratefully warmed ourselves against the open fire late one night after an extensive trek through the Phoenix Park. Great amusement can be found by feeding the flames whilst the barman is distracted. We sacrificed all beer mats in our immediate surroundings, each one giving to the fire an intense but fleeting reignition which a neighbouring patron thoroughly encouraged. We proceeded to search our many pockets for old receipts and scraps and any paraphernalia we could find, even tearing out pages of notebooks to happily sacrifice for heat. Primitive simple males.

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