It’s properly Halloween season, and that means we need to take in a pub with a better ghostlore pedigree…even if its other, more, er, brazen claims don’t really hold up. And so, to The Brazen Head. We’ll get the negatives out of the way first, because there is a properly historic pub hidden under here, and a surprisingly decent beer selection for such a touristy spot, but we’ll lead with that point – it is never, ever, not packed with tourists. Now, this is no bad thing from a business perspective, especially with how difficult it is to keep a hospitality business going (not that it’s been going since ‘1189,’ but we’ll come back to that) – fair play to the management for finding what works to bring in a steady stream of paying visitors. And no shade to those visitors themselves; I’ve been one of them, though it probably says something that I certainly stopped in The Brazen Head more frequently as a tourist versus once we moved to Dublin. On the one hand, it’s simply not that close to home, so it would never be my local, but really, it’s that the crush of tourists mean that it’s most frequently crowded and, well, loud; not really a spot to linger over a book with a pint. The atmosphere can feel much more ‘theme park’ than ‘pub,’ which is a reasonable thing if you’re on holiday, but I find it a lot less diverting in the everyday.
And so to the second issue – is it ‘Ireland’s oldest pub,’ here ‘since 1189?’ LOL, no. While Liam has done an excellent job of unpacking its more likely history, I’ll summarize a few points, though his work on The Brazen Head (and, really, everything to do with Irish beer history) is very much recommended reading. First, while the pub does sprawl over a few buildings, there’s most likely nothing here older than the 18th century, and much that is more recent.
Are there parts of the pub that ‘feel’ a bit more like a coaching inn? Sure! Like a medieval tavern? Not remotely, we simply don’t have any in Dublin, and, as ever, we can at least partially blame the Wide Streets Commission. What is perhaps a more interesting question is ‘when did The Brazen Head begin marketing itself this way?’ Presumably before the ersatz crenelations at the front (to be fair, while they look riduclous from across the road, they do make for a nice covered outdoor space, and a non-smoking one to boot, though the smoke/vape ick can drift over from the nearby covered smoking porch) were added; I’ve found references along these lines as far back as the 1960s, whereas press mentions in the late 19th century stuck to a more believable ‘oldest established hotel in the city’ – even if the name has possibly attached itself to a number of different local businesses since, say, the 18th century, there’s at least a bit of a throughline.
And this is the bit about the fake history that makes it especially annoying – first, that the various claims are repeated absolutely everywhere without the slightest bit of interrogation, but more than that, it obscures the actually very interesting – and more validated – history of The Brazen Head. There is a genuine association with Robert Emmet, and there are a number of literary connections as well. Obviously, this being a pub in Dublin, Brendan Behan made an appearance, and there’s the requisite Ulysses mention; it would be lovely to hear more about these aspects of the pub’s history instead of an entirely imaginary ancient foundation. That’s not to say that there were not previous buildings on the site, nor, indeed, that Winetavern Street does not come by its name honestly as having a long history of domestic brewing and, later, inn- and tavern-like business; there’s a lot of quite interesting archaeology nearby, as this was very close to the Viking site at Wood Quay. But also given its proximity to the Liffey, it’s not 100% clear that there *was* solid ground here prior to the 13th century – it may have been under water in ‘1189.’ One presumes that there was a committee somewhere that decided ‘1189’ was a precise-yet-vague enough date to be applied wherever a deep lineage is required – see also the similar-vintage Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem on the Neighbouring Island (and, of course, listen to our Beer Ladies Podcast episode on Historic Building Mythbusting with Dr. James Wright).
Happily – at least for a ghostlore collector like me – there are ghost stories, too – Emmet and his executioner are both meant to appear at various spots in the pub, though as ever with this kind of story, it’s not clear how we identify said executioner; at least Robert Emmet has his death mask in various places, including a short walk away at Arthur’s, close to the spot of his execution.
It’s not as though Dublin is short of pubs (though we know it’s a hard time for all hospitality businesses), and so it’s not necessarily a terrible thing that we seem to have given one over entirely to tourism. That said, there are relatively few pubs here that do date back to the 18th century – I’m not really willing to go further back than that on the available evidence, but hey, more than happy to be surprised – and it would be a nice thing to see that history more celebrated. The Gravediggers does a great job of appealing to tourists and locals alike, though that’s almost certainly helped by its location away from the immediate city centre, but they also celebrate their pub’s history, recently hosting an event as part of the Dublin Festival of History. More of this, please!
But The Brazen Head does have one up on The Gravediggers for me from a beer selection point of view – they always have some reliable Rye River taps – and that is also something to be celebrated, especially if overseas visitors may stumble across a local, independently-produced beer. And it’s well-located to kick off a pub crawl into The Liberties…get your tourist TikTok done, then head down Thomas Street.
But in any event, I’m willing to wager The Cat & Cage is older…and less full of tourists! If only we could get some details about their ghost story…
Where: 20 Lower Bridge St, Usher’s Quay, Dublin, D08 WC64
Access from the city centre: Buses 13. 26, 27, 37, 70, 77A, 83, 83A, 123, 145, 151, C1, C2, C3
Food: Tourist pub grub
Sport: All the usual big events are shown
TVs: Inside and outside
Music: Generic playlist by day, live sessions by night
Family-friendliness: A fair few jet-lagged kids always seem to be sitting outside looking grumpy
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Tailors Hall, The Lord Edward, The Bull & Castle, The Beer Temple/The Oak are all more or less in one direction, with The Thomas House, Love Tempo, Dudley's, Swift, Arthur's, Guinness Open Gate Brewery and other Liberties spots in the other
Local sites of note: Christchurch Cathedral, Dublinia, St Audoen's Church, St Michan’s Church, Guinness Storehouse, Vicar Street
Haunted: FINALLY. Proper ghostlore; more, please!
Other notes: Temple Bar prices outside Temple Bar
Socials: Instagram, Facebook
The Bleeding Horse gets the usual James Joyce namecheck in Ulysses, complete with a stone at the door to remind the visitor, but I’m personally more interested in the 
A 17th century ale-house would have been somewhat akin to our modern ‘wet pub’ (yes, it’s a terrible phrase), with drink on offer, but little else, while an inn would have offered accommodation as well as refreshment. And although ‘public houses’ 
But I love having an excuse to go to Arthur’s during the 
But back to the pub itself: The Bull & Castle is very much ‘sleek steakhouse with taxidermy and statuary’ downstairs, and if you’re simply looking for the bar, you need to head up the stairs. But before you do, it’s worth noting that the steak is top-notch; it’s part of the FX Buckley family, and if you are a meat-eater who hasn’t had their steak, well…you should probably get on that, whether at The Bull & Castle or one of their other locations around Dublin. Upstairs, there is also excellent food, but also a more pub-like atmosphere. There are a variety of local craft beer options: on my most recent visit, some Trouble, lots of O’Hara’s choices (also in bottles downstairs), including the house pale ale, The White Hag and others, plus a wider selection of ciders than you typically find in most places around town. It can feel a bit hidden, since you don't enter into the main bar right from the street as in so many other pubs, but that can add to the charm as well.
And, of course, there’s the aforementioned literary connection and ghost story. Poet 
A mid-October 2024 update:
Bill Clinton wuz here. And you’re not likely to forget it, as he seems to be on every wall in Fagan’s, somewhere.
We’re back in the ‘my sort of Dublin pub’ category: one with great craft beer – and a good variety, not simply one or two taps – there are 28 in total at Dudley’s, which is one of my favourite spots in The Liberties. But it’s not just the beer and the deep, rich colours that make this one of my go-to places when I’m in this part of town; it’s that it’s always welcoming and feels like a part of the fabric of the community – a pub for many different occasions. As with some of the other locations that make up the always-excellent 
Dudley’s opened in 2021 when the previous pub on the spot closed during the Covid shutdown. Its name now commemorates 
In short, even though it’s not one of my locals, Dudley’s is always a must-visit when I’m over in that direction; it’s great for a chilled-out solo pint, a pause on the 
This week’s Weirdo Dublin Pub is properly a little bit weird, in the best possible ways; we’re heading back to Stoneybatter for 
But back to the dogs – they are very much catered for here, with their own little snugs and corners, photo wall (there is much to be said for a pet-focused feature wall vs a human-centred ‘Instagram wall’ in a pub) and even a little bed tucked away within some of the seating, for the sleepier or simply more retiring Good Pupper. On my recent visit, all the canine customers were very well-behaved indeed – and the same went for their human counterparts.
I’d been told by a regular that 
But it retains a strong musical tradition, from the instruments in the window to the nightly-ish trad sessions in the main bar, and the wealth of photographs of well-known musicians throughout the pub. While the entrance and front bar are rather small, the pubs winds its way back in slightly eccentric fashion, with a series of not-quite-snugs (you may decide for yourself whether our seating area pictured here, with your own fair author deep under the stairs, counts as a snug) to a cozy back room with another fireplace, as well as a heated outdoor area, which on our visit was rather smoky, as outdoor areas tend to be, but given how central this is, it’s rare to have much of an outdoor offering at all.
We didn’t stay for the session, as it happens, but it did look like it was going to be a good one; plenty of regulars were arriving for it just as we were leaving, which is always a good sign.
Where: J. McNeill’s Pub, 140 Capel St, North City, Dublin, D01 F9R2
Welcome to the new home for Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs! If you’re a regular visitor, you’ll notice we’ve spun off to a new, stand-alone site, just in time for the first anniversary of this series, and we’ll be adding some new features and categories as we go. With that bit of housekeeping out of the way, we’re back to normal service with another Northside pub – 
My perception of The Ivy House before this visit was that is was more restaurant than pub; the larger main section is sleeky and modern – there’s a lot of dark blue – with many booths and tall tables, though there is a fireplace toward the back, albeit a large open and, again, very modern one. It’s less cozy and more efficient, with a large menu suiting most tastes (including my still-rather-picky younger offspring). Indeed, they always seem to be doing a roaring brunch trade at the weekends, and when I’m out and about for a solo pint, I frequently stop at The Cat & Cage, rather than The Ivy House, simply out of habit, but also because on those occasions I’m looking more for a nice spot to sit and relax, rather than go for a full meal.
But as I happened to be in the area and wanted to get inside as soon as possible, I finally stopped in to the Carthy’s Bar side of The Ivy House, and ‘side’ is the key word here – it has an entirely separate entrance around the corner, complete with its own frontage. And, once inside, it’s quite the contrast from the other side of The Ivy House – it’s every bit the old-man-pub, complete with the aforementioned fireplace – not a woodburner, but lovely an warm. On my afternoon visit, there were at least 3 different sports on – possibly one for each person in the pub at that moment – but nothing was too loud or distracting. And as the bar serves both sides of the pub, it’s easy to order one of the local craft options – they always seem to have Hope Hop-on on tap – or a Guinness or Beamish from either spot.