DUBLIN’S
TEMPLE BAR
Bohemian Pubs and Traditional Music
Temple Bar is Dublin’s shining example of urban revitalization. The district of pubs and restaurants, bohemian atmosphere of arts shops and streets filled with party people, locals and tourists looking for entertainment, a good meal or just a drink to slake an Irish thirst was originally Dublin’s old city. Getting its name in 1673 from English-Irish aristocrat Sir William Temple around whose estate on the River Liffey a dock and freight landing grew. When a Customs House was built in 1700 on Wellington Quay where the Clarence Hotel now stands, the area south of the river, bounded by Dame Street, Fishamble Street and Westmoreland Street, filled with freight warehouses, along with the saloons, brothels and bawdy theaters that populate any sailor’s shanty town. In the late 18th Century as ships got bigger, the Customs House moved farther north to the harbor and the thriving area fell into a long decline and decay until by the 1980s a plan to bulldoze the whole district for a bus terminal was nearly avoided, as cheap rents attracted artists, music shops and boutiques. The Temple Bar turned from an eyesore of urban blight into one of Dublin’s most popular attractions, with over 27 pubs, bars and restaurants within easy walk from the city center. And since Ireland’s drinking and driving laws are quite strict, walking (or one of the taxis which eagerly line the quay just outside the pedestrian zone) is probably the best way to go.
In Temple Bar you’ll find establishments from Oliver St John Gogarty with its walls hung with the cultural flotsam and jetsam that has signified the Bohemian pub style which has traveled the world to the iconic identity of the Thunder Road Cafe with its Harley Davidson motorcycle theme of gleaming American “hogs” on the walls and not the streets. On a stroll through the cobblestone lanes of Temple Bar in summer you’ll likely encounter street buskers to costumed giant Leprechauns passing out bar coupons. Traditional Irish music can be heard year round in Temple Bar and traditional Irish food can be had at Gallagher's Boxty House Restaurant, but for a weekend in the cold of January, traditional Irish music takes over Temple Bar.
Temple Bar TradFest
For the last six years traditional Irish music and culture has returned to modern Dublin at the end of every January. The Temple Bar Trad Fest lights up the lively Temple Bar district with vibrant atmosphere of songs, dancing, art, with headline concerts, free events, a photography exhibition, films, family activities and a colorful parade. Musical performances ranging from small intimate affairs to larger shows held at The Button Factory include Brendan Power, Tim Edey, Jackie Daly and Matt Cranitch. © Bargain Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
DUBLINIA - VIKINGS & MEDIEVAL DUBLIN
JAMESON
WHISKEY DISTILLERY TOUR
DUBLIN’S
GUINNESS STOREHOUSE
DUBLIN CITY HALL - STORY OF THE CAPITAL