Stag in Carlow, any advice?

patsyrockem

Hi all, i've been given the job of organising a stag night later in the year. A few of the mates have mentioned Carlow (i've never been) Is it a good option for a group of 20+ 35-45 year olds. We are'nt looking for any activities, a few games of pool with pints early before hitting the hotspots for more pints and craic. Is carlow stag friendly and would it be easy to find accomodation. A few lates bars would prob suit us better than any clubs, would really appreciate any advice or suggestions. We have a good crowd going and the main man is the last batchelor in the group so want to make it a special couple of days.

marky spark

lad carlow is great spot!! went there a few years ago with friends and like you i was considered a tourist to the place.

we went quad biking in borris:

http://www.countryquads.net/

twas good craic and no experience is required, most of us were farmers so we were used of it.

wheres me jumpa

To be honest, I would recommend getting out in to the Carlow country side. Some great towns and villages where better craic would be had.

TaosHum

I'm not sure of too many places that have pool tables in Carlow Town. Two I can definetly think of are The Workmans (which is pretty much centre of town) and The Loft (on Graigue bridge).

If you're looking to avoid a nightclub and stay in a late bar, then the Med Bar and Teach Dolmen would be the two I would recommend. Scraggs is another option.

Accomdation wise, there are loads of BnB's around/near town centre, with Ewings, the Red Setter, Dinn Ri, Barrowville to name a few. Hotel wise the Seven Oaks would be the only one in walking distance. The Dolmen and the Talbot would require a Taxi.

Real Life

O Loughlins on dublin st has pool tables, not many other around the town with them. After that you could go to scraggs but generally that would have a younger crowd so maybe the med bar or the barracks. Depends on what night of the week it is.

Michael Weston

Leverrette ande Frye have a great little front bar holds about sixty comfortably has a pool table and nice smoking area plays decent tunes too.

Nothin too wild but great craic if you are with the right crowd.

Taffy Kat

Whilst Carlow does have a few ok bars, The Irishman's and O'Loughlin's for example, if I'm being honest, for a night as important as a lad's stag there are better places you could go to. Kilkenny has a lot more to offer for a stag party.

Frynge

There is also the Courthouse Hotel on dublin st (disclaimer: i work there), around the corner there is ewing's with a pool table in the smoking are which imo is second only to med bar's smoking area. O'Loughlins have three (i think) pool tables down stairs, and leverett & fry have the one in the front bar.

as said already the med bar and teach dolmen have late bars, but the barracks also has a late bar on saturday nights now with a dj off one of the radio stations.

Kilkenny is a great spot for nights out but one thing that always seems to be important to stags and isn't readily available in Kilkenny is the residence bar.
All hotels in carlow will have this facility (i think) and some B&B's that are attached to pubs

Also there is the foundry nightclub which would most likely have a lot of hens on a sat night

Hope that helps

patsyrockem

It finally looks as tho we've settled on Carlow. The next thing is where to stay, the Talbot looks ok and would probably cater for our group of 20+ gentlemen. Is it walkable into town from there? A residents bar is probably essential for a nightcap for those still standing. Any bars we should not miss? A late bar will probably do us, too old now for the club scene. Thanks for all the help so far.

Brokentime

If Scraggs Alley is still there on Tullow Street?, I'd vote for that. Great pub, great memories of it when I used to go to college there (college in Carlow, not the pub, obviously )

StupidLikeAFox

The Talbot is not really walking distance. The Seven Oaks would be a good shout as it has a residents bar and is close enough to town. Although a taxi to either the Talbot or the Dolmen would be cheap (~€10) if there was a group

Near the Seven Oaks you would have a bar called Carpe Diem which is pretty cool, chilled out and a nice place to start off. Its right next to the Irishmans which is an "oul mans pub", a decent place. Somewhere in the same vein, which does decent food if you are looking for grub without wanting something too formal, is Teach Dolmen, well worth a look.

Don't think any of those are late bars - for that try the Med Bar which is very popular, or Scraggs which is also a good spot. The Barracks is also a safe bet.

Don't rule out the Dinn Ri. Its main attraction is the Foundry which is a typical nightclub, but you can also just walk through to the Tower which would usually have a decent band playing. If its a big weekend they will have a band in the Cedar Square (another section which doubles up as a smoking area) and theres a cocktail section opens up too. Its a big open super-pub and theres always plenty of people milling around

Brokentime

Anyone remember a bar called Cobblers that used to be in Carlow?

almighty1

Brokentime wrote: »

Anyone remember a bar called Cobblers that used to be in Carlow?

Yes used to have a square bar in the middle of the pub. It used to sit behind some other pub, O Loughlins, The Little Owl?

Real Life

what night of the week will this be?

slimjimmc

patsyrockem wrote: »

It finally looks as tho we've settled on Carlow. The next thing is where to stay, the Talbot looks ok and would probably cater for our group of 20+ gentlemen. Is it walkable into town from there? A residents bar is probably essential for a nightcap for those still standing. Any bars we should not miss? A late bar will probably do us, too old now for the club scene. Thanks for all the help so far.

Most of the pubs are around Tullow St. The Talbot is 2km from the bottom of Tullow St and can be walked in about 25mins . I live 3km away and can walk it in 35mins, or call a taxi for roughly €8. A mini-bus taxi could take 10 people and wouldn't cost much more.

Owryan

Brokentime wrote: »

Anyone remember a bar called Cobblers that used to be in Carlow?

Yep, back of the little owl, used to bounce there

PaulKK

Frynge wrote: »

Kilkenny is a great spot for nights out but one thing that always seems to be important to stags and isn't readily available in Kilkenny is the residence bar.
All hotels in carlow will have this facility (i think) and some B&B's that are attached to pubs

Not sure what you are getting at here.. all the hotels in Kilkenny have residents bars.. I know this because I have a friend that has worked in a number of hotels in Kilkenny, and I've been in the residents bar of one or two others myself.

slimjimmc

I've stayed in a few hotels in KK over the years and yes they do have residents bars, but in some of those places the bar was closed when the groups start returning from the pubs/clubs. The night porter can't find the keys/the manager must have gone home with them/the lock's broken, I've heard quite a few excuses (understandable when you have 1 night porter on his own v's 10 lively lads).

patsyrockem

Carlow it is, thanks for all the help. All arranged now, looking forward to it. We will be coming off the m7 motorway at Portlaoise and looking for a pitstop enroute. Would Stradbally be an option for a few pints, I know the picnic is on but will that crowd not be staying in the forest. Moneygall has been mentioned but would like to get a bit farther up the road. Any other decent drinking spots on the road, a game of pool or a bit of sport on tv would keep us quiet for an hour or two???? Never been down that neck of the woods so any ideas appreciated. Thanks again for all the info so far.

tom traubert

patsyrockem wrote: »

Carlow it is, thanks for all the help. All arranged now, looking forward to it. We will be coming off the m7 motorway at Portlaoise and looking for a pitstop enroute. Would Stradbally be an option for a few pints, I know the picnic is on but will that crowd not be staying in the forest. Moneygall has been mentioned but would like to get a bit farther up the road. Any other decent drinking spots on the road, a game of pool or a bit of sport on tv would keep us quiet for an hour or two???? Never been down that neck of the woods so any ideas appreciated. Thanks again for all the info so far.

If travelling on Friday I wouldn't advise coming via Stradbally. Too much risk of traffic hold-ups, especially if the picnic car park entrances get boggy which is very possible. Even if travelling on Saturday you might be well advised to skip it altogether.

You could get off the motorway one junction before and stop in Morrisseys in Abbeyleix maybe. It's a fine old style bar and always worth a visit.

nomunnnofun

Couldn't agree more. Morrisseys in Abbeyleix well worth the stop if only to see one of the oldest pubs in Ireland. Another good stop is The Mall in killeshin just 5 mins outside Carlow town where there is pool/darts available if you want to get the ball rolling there.:)

tom traubert

I have a gra for the Mall myself however a word of caution. It often doesn't open til 7 or 8 in the evening nowadays, like so many other pubs nationwide.

Whether they'll be open in the afternoon will depend on whether there's a match worth opening for on the box. If I find our between now and the weekend I'll post because its a good suggestion.

patsyrockem

Any venues in Carlow on saturday night that would have live music. We don't get to hear much live bands anymore, it would be a nice treat. Any other bars worth a visit by a group of thirsty friendly blokes. Looking forward to my first visit.