318) The Sackville Lounge of Sackville Place, D1
A modestly proportioned spot hidden in plain sight, which could seat perhaps fifty at a squeeze, with the customary caricatures of Ronnie Drew and Luke Kelly by the toilets, a large display of the 1916 patriots airbrushed onto the mirrors, as well as a small corner plaque enshrining the writers Behan, Joyce, O'Casey and Beckett. It was previously owned by barwoman Mollie Kenny, who famously refused [1] none other than Con Houlihan a drink, not knowing who he was, because he looked ‘worse for wear.’ Nowadays the place is nothing special, but infinitely preferable to the monstrous bars to be found just round the corner on O'Connell Street.
It shut in 2017 only to be reopened in September 2019, having undergone some unobtrusive revamping and refurbishment, and its rebirth was the subject of much online anticipation. Inspired by an exterior photo in which the Beamish logo was prominent, we made haste in expectation of a tasty cup from Cork. To our disappointment, only Guinness was served, and perhaps we should not have been surprised – ripping out the less popular taps is common with renovations. Andrew Stephens (he of the hyperfine nostrils, as much of a curse as a blessing, if not more so) was put off by a fetid old man's aroma he detected in the pungent air, likely testicular in origin, about which he later changed his mind, believing it instead to be the disinfectant aftereffects of the newly cleansed and freshly scoured pipes.
UPDATE AS OF AUGUST 2020: Alas, less than a year after reopening, it fell victim to Covid19, and made headlines by shutting - rumoured to be unlikely reopening again, subsequently declared that it will in fact reopen. Who’s to know? Time will tell.
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