Dublin After Hours
After Hours is the Planned vs Rogue series where Katie brings you their favourite things the team did when the cameras weren’t rolling.
Going for a Full Irish in a Local Cafe
It’s nothing ground breaking, but the idea of having a full Irish actually in Ireland is so dreamy to me. So, we hopped onto Google maps to find our nearest local cafe serving up huge portions of fried breakfast foods for deliciously low prices. Oh'Rourkes not only fit the description, but was only a short walk from our Air BnB.
As soon as we arrived, we could tell this was well and truly a local spot. Tradies getting their fill and young families refuelling after an early morning of social sport, the place was buzzing in the most authentic way imaginable. Benny and I are both suckers for a cheap menu where the food and coffee come as a set, and Dublin did not disappoint us on that front.
Watching a Trad Music Jam Session
Yes, technically, we did do this during a shooting day. BUT. Benny enjoyed it so much that he went back for more on one of our leisure days in Dublin. I was unfortunately too sick to attend (blame it on a bad pint of Guinness), but Benny tells me it was even livelier than the Rogue night that we spent there. A big sporting event had occurred in the city that day which had encouraged locals to drink, socialise and get a bit rowdy, so by the time Benny got there he was surrounded by cheery locals inviting him to drink with them.
Rebel tunes can be a bit hard to come by in Dublin these days, as many venues prefer to leave that element of the city’s history behind them. Folk music and ballads, however, can be found in almost any pub the city over. We recommend asking a local for their favourite spots - you will walk away with a long list of options and they will all be excellent.
Trying the Local Craft Beer
If you think it is blasphemy to go to Dublin and drink any beer that’s not Guinness, maybe just go ahead and skip this section. Benny and I certainly drank our fair share of the sweet black stuff during our time in Ireland (just watch our episode there to see the Guinness counter over 2 days). But the fact is, we work in craft beer in Australia, so we naturally gravitate towards it. And we have to say, we were not disappointed by the crafty offering in Dublin.
Dudley’s was very close to our Air BnB, and we certainly took advantage of that. At Dudley’s, we tried some big, exciting beers like the Roll Over Session Ale by local brewery Whiplash. Though the light colour and tangerine notes of the beer don’t make it an obvious choose for Dublin’s climate, it was a welcome change for our palette. And with 30 taps or so around the whole bar, everyone is likely to find something they like here.
Admiring the Bridges along the River Liffey
Dublin’s River Liffey cuts right through the centre of the city, warranting a large number of bridges to keep both sides connected. It would almost appear that the city has gotten competitive with their bridges as a result, much to our pleasure and enjoyment. Taking a long, leisurely stroll along the river gives you the opportunity to admire these fine works of architecture, as well as many iconic photo opportunities.
Ha’penny Bridge is likely the most famous of them all. The name alone is iconic - like does it get more Irish than that? It refers to the days when this bridge was a toll point, and a ha’penny was the fee to cross. Nowadays it connects Temple Bar with Bachelor’s Walk, so of course it is as unmissable as it is visually appealing.
Having said that, my personal favourite it Samuel Beckett Bridge. It doesn’t connect anything particularly famous and you won’t happen to cross it on a typical pub crawl of the city, but it does look like a giant flosser, and when you have funny little gappy molars like I do, this will always be a welcome sight.
