370) Noctor’s of Sheriff Street Lower, North Dock, D1
Reputedly the roughest bar in Dublin - a simple internet search [1] will conjure up a catalogue of horrors. Stabbings and shootings galore have happened outside, the epicentre of many a gangland feud and bystanders caught in the crossfire. From Amiens Street we walked underneath the foreboding train-track bridge onto Sheriff Street Lower to eventually have this pub reveal itself to us. Only liquid courage from our previous early house expeditions (as well as a desire for comprehensiveness) emboldened us to go in, circa 1pm of a Monday in the middle of December 2021. The shutters were down and the place might have been shut, save for the occasional surreptitious smoker (drinking cans, not pints) who slid outside to keep an eyeball out for the fuzz and the filth. The windows above the pub were smashed and the circular Guinness sign above the bar had been robbed.
Obviously we were expecting the worst, but inside was surprisingly fitted out like a decent little bar. The barman was reasonably friendly, and didn’t bother to check both our Covid certs - ‘Ah, I’ll take your word for it!’ - revealing a gentle laxity as regards rules that could get very bent indeed the knottier the plot is knit. A very large and enthusiastic dog came in at one point, and clambered all over us in response to a finger’s click - perhaps another signal from his owner would have turned him rabid and roaring and aiming for the throats of the enemies. We stayed for two rounds of cheap (€4.50) and foul-tasting Guinness, delighting in the illusion of steel balls and certain we would never return so make the most of the moment while it lasts. And no doubt as the place steadily filled up, the array of suspicious looks and muttered asides would have mounted with the pressure - we left before it got too sticky.
On our exit we turned right and saw the steeple of St. Laurence O`Toole church which we gladly drunkenly followed. Our prayers had been answered in that we needed no doctors post Noctor’s, so we stumbled over the Liffey into a new pub called Dockers, which is shockers - all in a day in the life of a Dublin Publopedian.
FOOTNOTE
[1] Just two sad links among a miserable many: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/flowers-and-photograph-mark-spot-where-great-friend-to-have-shot-dead-1.2612427
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