223) The Harbour Bar / Harkin’s of Echlin Street, D8
Tucked away and nestled on a subtle crescent of homes on Echlin Street and Grand Canal Place sits this charming little boozing shed. Less than a three-minute walk makes Harkin’s the closest pub in Dublin to the Guinness Brewery. Not far then to travel for the heavy liquid, in theory the barrels could be rolled over the road with a dull thud. It’s overlooked by the towering brewery walls of old which loom high in the sky and one can faintly see into the new 360 degree Gravity Bar from the windows of the pub. The exterior walls of the pub are ornamented with plaques bearing historical information about the bar and its most famous imbiber. Back when it was formerly called The Harbour Lights Bar / Broggy’s it was a favourite of the Borstal Boy himself, and indeed it was here where Brendan Behan finally fell. He took his last (public) drink in the bar and collapsed - eventually leading to his death in 1964.
Drunk Brendan Behan tells long rambling boring story to pissed-off Captain Shotover type who’s heard it several times before
You’ll be lucky to win a stool at the bar such is the limited amount of space. We arrived too dark in the day and all coveted seats were taken. One such seat was warmed by the bar’s very own Captain Shotover - old, whitebearded, behatted, grubby, gummy. Modernity has been introduced upstairs in the form of a bistro for tourists but downstairs has remained traditional and full of character which is to be applauded. The draught Guinness is certainly very toothsome as one would expect, and the bar staff are obliging. Unfortunately there’s a telly too many as we had to suffer to sit underneath one in full blare. Even still, we were fond of it and vowed to return. Naturally, one wants to take one’s pint outside to savour the smell of the brewing process wafting away whilst sipping the stuff in the presence of the great gothamesque edifice, but the neighbours mustn’t be irked.
Next door is the longstanding newsagents ‘Maureen’s’ which is now sadly closed and up for sale. Could the Harbour Bar be expanding? A Beamish Bonder?
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