Temple Bar Nightlife

Dublin comes alive at night in a way I've never seen before. 

Last night Kim and I walked back down to Temple Bar after 10pm, and I felt as if I was in a different Dublin entirely. Where tourists had been wandering through alleys to Temple Bar during daylight now looked completely abandoned. I've walked these streets a few times now, I knew where I was going, so I persisted on. After a short walk down the first narrow, dark road, hints of light and noise began to appear. In no time at all we were suddenly in front of a lively bar, with people smoking outside, the door wide open and Trad music blaring through. It seemed we had found the hidden pub world of Temple Bar. What seemed like a more local scene at first turned out to be the most happening bar in the area. Up top was traditional, not too crowded...but down below it was packed so full that I'm pretty sure my hair dipped into more than a few drinks. A different kind of live band was playing, with livelier tunes from a banjo, a guitar, and a singer. It was right at the threshold of my tolerance level for crowds, to be honest a bit beyond, but then a waitress passed with a sample tray of Scotch Eggs that were free! It was one of the items on my Irish checklist, and I hadn't found an opportunity to get one yet, and now here it was in the unlikeliest of places! And it was delicious! Made my night! It's amazing what one small, delicious piece of food can do to perk a person up. From then on, everything seemed better; even the crowd. We had a few drinks, chatted over the noise with some friendly people from Holland, then moved on to the next bar. After all, we had only reached the outer edge of Temple Bar. The next bar we wandered into was almost as crowded. It was still impossible to not touch people around you, but it felt less like a mosh pit and more like a bar. A couple young British men remarked on Kim's purple lipstick, and just like that we were conversing again. 

This went on for a while. We had a drink or two small drinks at each place, then moved on. Each bar had a slightly different vibe, but there was an energetic undercurrent that was shared by all. We had found the Craic of Temple Bar. 

Time flew by, and before we knew it, after what felt like only 3 drinks in, the pub we were in turned all the lights on. The unmistakeable symbol for closing time. I checked the time. It was 2:37 in the morning! We hadn't even gotten a drink yet at that bar, but that was okay. We excused ourselves and walked back to the apartment. I had so much energy still, I didn't want to go home, but by the time we had walked the 8 blocks back I was decompressed enough to sleep. 

I never got drunk, never got grumpy, I just had fun. It was a really, really great night. I couldn't help but think, again, about the legend of magic that Dublin holds, and again I found myself agreeing that there's just something strangely appealing about this city. I cannot wait to come back with Luke someday!