Seamus Ennis Sings- Mrs. McGrath

There was a great reaction to Mise An Fear Ceoil, a recent post I did on Seamus Ennis, the great piper of the Naul, North Dublin. Recently, we stumbled across The World Jukebox website, which collects international folk and traditional music. Here, from the World Library of Folk and Primitive Music vol.1:Ireland, we hear his [...]

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Living for the weekend

This Friday sees the fifth installment of the Punky Reggae Party. Starting its life in Belfield, the night moved to Seomra Spraoi in December for more room, later opening hours and an enticing BYOB policy. This month sees Traycee up on the decks spinning a classic mix of Jamaican ska and rocksteady and Antrophe selecting [...]

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You Know I’m No Good…

Spotted in the window of Rorys Fishing Shop, Temple Bar. How long is that there? I must walk past the place twice a week at least on the way to the Westmoreland Street bus-stop. Still, not as bemusing as the restaurant a tiny bit further up with a sign in the window boasting of ( [...]

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A Random Drop Inn: The Flowing Tide & Sin É

“Come on; stall down here, we’ll get cans in, head to a pub, and then hit Dancehall Styles,” I say. “Grand, but meet me up in The Flowing Tide for one first” he says. Do we make it to Dancehall Styles? Not a chance. The Flowing Tide on Abbey Street has the ability to put [...]

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A nice rarity: Guinness Guidebook (1939)

VISITORS Presenting a suitable letter of introduction are conducted through the Breweries on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 11 a.m and 3 p.m in parties of 20, starting at intervals of not less than a quarter of an hour. On Saturdays between 11.am and 12 mid-day. Children under 12 cannot [...]

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The Lament for Ciarán Bourke

It’s just three days shy of the 75th anniversary of the birth of one of the best musicians and characters this country has ever seen; Ciarán Bourke of The Dubliners, and I’m reminded of this video, filmed not a year before he died, having suffered a number of strokes. If this clip of Bourke reciting [...]

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1916 Walking Tour This Saturday

Citizen Army men and women gathered at Liberty Hall on Easter Sunday for the final mobilisation before the Rising. Here Connolly gave each a last opportunity of drawing back. No one availed themselves of this chance. ‘I never doubted ye!’ Connolly told them, his face shining R.M Fox- From ‘Dublins Fighting Story’ This may well [...]

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A Random Drop Inn: The Patriots Inn

The Patriots Inn 760 South Circular Road Kilmainham Dublin 8. The wise ones, we park at Kilmainham Jail. Match day. I remember a time you’d want to be arriving almost an hour before kick off to park your car before heading to see Saint Pats, ‘Dolan-mania’ it was. Those days are well and truly over. [...]

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A Man Young and Old

Hxci’s fantastic post on things to do in Dublin other than sitting on a highstool getting wrecked is one of our most popular pieces, and people tend to stumble across it through a variety of humorous google searches, things in the same category as “I’m not drinking for a week in Dublin and don’t know [...]

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Stompin’ George and The Magnet

‘Stompin’ George’ Verschoyle (62) from Artane in North Dublin, has been a dominant figure in the Irish rockabilly scene for over four decades. For the first time ever, he has agreed to be interviewed about his life and the Dublin rock ‘n’ roll scene of the 1970s and 1980s in which he played such a [...]

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Revelations (Of 45s)

(A few days ago, my Dad passed down his collection of 7inch 45 singles to me. The hoard, which comprises of least 1,500 pieces, is made up of his and his two brother’s accumulations. To say the least, the collection is absolutely amazing. Myself and DFallon spent two hours going through it on Sunday and [...]

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Uncommon Valour- A look at the South Dublin Union garrison and the 1916 Rising

I’m currently looking forward to the launch of the latest 1916 work from Paul O’ Brien this Thursday at Kilmainham Jail, not least having flicked through the book today in the NUI Maynooth bookshop. For a one week insurrection, I am constantly amazed at the amount of material published on the 1916 Rising. Hitting fever-pitch [...]

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