Night’s out

Paul Fagan - Receptionist

I figure myself to be the adventurous sort; nights out are usually epic. Since I’ve been a student my wallet has discovered new depths of personal squalor. So my nights out are usually to cheap but cheerful places. This story begins in descending order from the last event of the night backwards to the first, so watch out for the next posts to see how it all happened.

The following is a mish-mash of both a classic quest to discover great nights out and to uncover the few pubs that surpass even the locals for character. To cause a little confusion, I will be telling my story in reverse order…

Doyle’s

After our decision to pace ourselves was wistfully drowned away in the early hours of our grand plan we set off on our tried and trusted ritual of dancing and singing boisterously; on to the last pub on the list then, Doyle’s.

Doyle’s is deceivingly large. Perched between College Street and D’Olier Street, it’s homely appearance blends seamlessly into the urban landscape of Dublin. However once you enter it sprawls onto three floors. Our plan was to stealthily enter Doyle’s in two’s and three’s, an almost certain way of getting groups of friends into pubs or clubs with bouncers who are “not particularly fond” of letting larger groups in. Once we had charmed the gate keepers we would victoriously dash upstairs to the first floor of the building. Following acceptance of the people ahead of us we slid up to the bouncers at the door. Swaying jovially surveying the building, “Hello sir…fine establishment…this” pointing ambiguously to the general building, we made our move. “Can I see your ID?”, The tallest of the two bouncers said. It was only a slight rebuke, common during weekends. “Of course sir” I said, slipping between anxieties and nonchalance while fumbling through my pockets to find ID. With a smooth sleight of hand the ID was delivered to the bouncer. All was going well, and I felt congratulations (for me) were in order; I fooled the beast into believing I was sober, and herein lies the key to success – Make sure the security are wholly unaware that any beverages, apart from water, perhaps a soft drink or two, have been drunk. It is also useful to note that smaller groups are much more likely to get into the pubs and clubs. If you are still in doubt, a nice shirt and shiny shoes should distract the authorities from drunkenness/other people/etc.

Once we found ourselves on the top floor we broke formation to grab pints and request music. Customary shouts of requests to the DJ were ignored, given the thumping bass. We settled down quite happily in a corner and conversed about such topics as “She’s gorgeous! Shall I go talk to her”. Then, as per usual, we broke off in search of new people to talk to. The punters who frequent Doyle’s are generally young, international and, more often than not, students. This is unsurprising considering the fact that the pub is right at the centre of Dublin’s educational hub, being mere minutes walk from Trinity College. There’s something incredibly exciting about speaking to people from other countries. Whether you’re desperate to meet someone and you’ve just found your “foot in the door” conversation- You’re from Nepal you say?! I hear you get a lot of soil creep…” or you just want a chance to speak with someone completely different from what you’re used to, the opportunity to do so can be found at Doyle’s. I have often found that people from different countries can be simultaneously identical and totally different. An added benefit of this clientele base means that your wallet won’t suffer too much after a night out; prices are kept on an acceptable level to cater for this market

After the night began to crescendo, and with 2.30am fast approaching, we found ourselves outside in the cold. There was a wonderful Dublin drizzle guaranteed to sober you up just enough to find the bus. After a burger found “somewhere” we hopped onto the night link and shared our anecdotes from the evening. One of the most enduring aspects of Dubliners is the ability to continue festivities even after the night’s climax. You might even get invited to a house party, but let’s save that story for another time…

Doyles
9 College Street,

Dublin 1.

Related posts:

1. Proverb of the Week - A Man is Know by the Company he Keeps
2. Teresa’s Weekley Travel Tips - Week 10: 3rd June
3. Social Programme : 19th July - 23rd July 2010

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.