Remembering Old Bars and Clubs

The Don Arms Hotel in Castlerea, back in the late 80's/90's. Long since closed and now a nursing home.

Went to my first Dishco in there when I was 16 and got plastered after about 3 pints, (They were dodgy as I learned in later years). Remember the room started spinning as did my stomach. Decided I needed to go the the Toilets, but it being my first time in there I had no idea where the fcuk they were. After walking/stumbling around with my hands over my face for a few minutes I couldn't hold it in and I proceeded to projectile vomit. That was bad enough but there was collateral damage in that I sprayed the local nut bag's pristine white shirt with my stomach contents. Now normally this knuckle draggers first reaction to any situation was to punch first and keep punching. Mongo wasn't capable of asking questions later...

So when he pulled off his shirt and stood in front of me topless I was expecting to be battered to a bloody pulp (or raped). But much to my surprise he pulled out an English 20 pound note and told me to go to the bar and get him and his mates 3 pints. I knew better then to present an English 20 pound note from this guy to the bar staff so I paid for it with my own money, got the pints back to the topless lunatic, gave him my "his" change (Irish money) and legged it. Looked at the 20 pound note after and it was a blatant fake. Blatant as in it looked like he had drawn it himself with crayons and stuck on a picture of his granny instead of the Queen. But I still had all my teeth so I wasn't complaining.

Also honerable mention for The Warwick in Salthill. Laffeys bar first in town and then out to Salthill for some craic. Great music and a general Legend of a place on a Thursday night (moshing to Nirvana). Seen The Stunning's last every gig there in 94, Something happens played the same night with them.

Also the Alley Night Club off Eyre Square. A kip but damn it all, it was our kip. Still fondly remember everything shutting down, lights coming on so that we could eat a dodgy curry off paper plates. Dodgy curry as in it was made of food stuffs rejected by the the local dogs home, so they served it up to us p1ss heads instead. Feeding time at the zoo for 10 minutes, then lights went down, music on and everything kicked off again. Gut rot guaranteed the next day too. Good times, good times....

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

Ya the local Gardai came up with that one to sober people up and stop rows outside. Didn't last very long though.

Not true though it sounds good.

Many late venues circumvented the need for taking out bar extensions by taking out a special restaurant licence. Provided they served a "substantial meal", they were allowed to stay open a lot later hence meals of nuggets and chips or rice and mild curries being served. Occasionally venues would need to be reminded by the local cops of their legal obligations in this regards while the meal helped to sober up many drunk revellers.

Some great reading in this thread and lots of memories flooding back

i just wandered in here myself as I was racking my head trying to remember the name of a pub on Wicklow street. It is now called Mary’s but back in the late 90’s the bar was only downstairs, in the door and straight down a big wide staircase

anyone remember what it was called?

No. Eamonn Doran’s was in Temple Bar.

I don’t remember it being called Caspers, I think that was a few years earlier but same bar alright.

Charlie's was over on Aungier Street, real dark bar. They got a good deal on black paint (maybe orange/red in the name?) Was a rocker bar? Then maybe early 2000’s it merged with shop on the corner to open out into a bigger bar and renamed Capitol. Might have been called something different in between?

Yeah, Eamonn Doran's was on Crown Alley in Temple Bar, where The Old Storehouse is now. It was also The Rock Garden before that. This was in the first half of the 90s when I was in college (in Trinity around the corner).

And Charlie's was a rocker bar on Aungier Street, and yeah, it was red and black.

Yeah it popped up a lot in the recent thread on the Dublin City forum for closed nightclubs.

A maze...

Edit - this is the thread

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058307696/famous-dublin-and-surrounding-areas-nightclubs-that-are-no-more/p1

Not that long ago but used allways get a few pints in the sunset house on the way to croke park for games. Interesting spot.

There was some brilliant clubs in town when the dance scene was in its prime. Sides,Ormond mm, temple of sound, columbia mills, switch, temple theater, system, red box - jesus they were the days., lived for the weekend. Used to drive the length of the country for a good one Henry's, Roxy, the castle in salthill I think was another one. Ye would see the same heads at them, great times .

Was it Boomerang? It was in temple bar underneath Buskers.

Probably looking for a "menage a troi ". 😀 Probably not the places to go on a date. I haven't read through the whole thread but I have hope the institution that was The Harp got some mentions.

I was in the Lemon and Duke a few weeks ago and I was thinking this use to Cocoon back in the day. I remember it was owned by Eddie Irvine at the time.

That was deadly

I think it became AKA afterwards

so still wondering what it was called in around 2000 🤷‍♂️

I think it was Casper & Giambini and then Just Casper's in the 90s.

That reminds me, I worked in Clare's around 1991. Was in the basement of a hotel near Merrion Square. Would be opposite the Davenport Hotel now.

Loved the mention of The Harp earlier, only place I ever got involved in a scrap.

Hollywood Nights in Stillorgan.

Streets bar in Rathmines, it became Roddy Bolands after that.

Howl of the Moon night club.

There was a night club in Ranelagh about 93/94, can't remember the name.

Riva's in Donegal town, became Neros around 1992, still there I think.

Scorpios Letterkenny.

The Ivy Rooms Hotel on Parnell Street, Dublin (now Fibber Magees)

I saw some great local rock bands there in the 1980's while working for the pirate radio station in the attic (Radio Annabel).

good pub Monday to Wednesday / Thursday, otherwise it was rammed and zero comfort …. Not saying it was illegally packed just no comfort in it.

Also some of the more casual staff were pure crap, just firing drinks out at whomever…. No logic to who got served first with them..

full time lot were grand…..one of the best barmen I’ve encountered anywhere and by what I’m seeing on social media he is still working there.

Next time I’m free of an afternoon in the city I might pop in for a look see. Wonder if Louis Fitzgerald and co. have changed much about it since the takeover.

Probably my favorite pub in Dublin back around 2004 to 2007, weekends could get busy but always had a good mixed crowd and good music. Then you walk around the corner to Nassau street and the price of a pint jumped by a euro, horrible places (apart from the small Ron Blacks).

Went there regularly in early 00s, snooker tables were in the back not upstairs (maybe there was upstairs as well? but I thought that was the nightclub part) but yes you could phone in a pint. They had a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire quiz machine which didn't last long, I always made a substantial profit on it 😁

I remember those machines. Think there was one in Cassidys on Camden Street… up that area somewhere anyway which I also made profits on 😎

They had snooker tables with the biggest holes in Dublin. You could make great breaks, but it always felt like cheating.