Ireland (Winter 2023) - Dublin & Athlone (Day 4)
Decided to take a day trip to Athlone where it is said exists the oldest bar in the world.
Dublin Train Station
€23 Euros for a round trip to Athlone
Athlone
Athlone is a quaint town on the River Shannon that lies in between the coasts. You take the train headed to Galway and get off halfway in between. They do have some industry here. 3M has a medical plant here and they have modern amenities like a shopping mall, but still fairly sleepy overall on a winter day when we visited.
Sean’s Bar - Athlone (Oldest Bar in the World)
As for the reason why we visited Athlone, it is home to purportedly the oldest bar in the world. I think they are still waiting for a Guinness world record certification on it. If you google “world’s oldest bar” this is what comes up.
The certificate on the wall states that it is the site of Ireland’s oldest public house established on this site in 900 AD. Who am I to argue? Parts of it have been renovated of course but it still has a slanted floor covered in sawdust and still heated by the open fireplace.
There was a bus tour group in there when we entered so we also got a little talk from the guy there about the history of the bar and the Athlone area. I don’t know if he does it regularly or if it’s just when a tour group is in there. This guy explained that the slanted floor was originally built on purpose so that back in the day they could wash the floors and have the water run out the back.
Got to chat with a local guy while sitting in the back of the bar who grew up in Athlone. He finished 3 pints of Guinness to my one while we chatted and that was before his buddy showed up to join him for the afternoon. Irish people can really chug this stuff!
The Bailey - Athlone
Needing some grub after the world’s oldest bar, we walked to The Bailey. Seemed like your standard local tavern and we grabbed sandwiches and beers. Very much hit the spot for lunch. Again with the fries being too thick though - people in Ireland must like them that way I guess.
It was early in the day and it was freezing in the bar. It was mainly because they just opened but they really could have used that open fire like in Sean’s to warm the place up.
Nuts Corner
This was a place in downtown Athlone that the gentleman in Sean’s told us to visit. The local definitely sent us to the locals bar. No tourists in here. Just a bunch of folks from the town hanging out with horse racing on tv and probably wondering what the hell I was doing in there.
Fine drinking establishment with good pints with good drink prices since it’s a locals hangout.
Headed back to Dublin after this pint,
Athlone Train Station
Headed back to Dublin for the evening before flying to the continent the next day
Back in Dublin…
Jameson Distillery
We actually didn’t drink or eat here, just popped in to check it out on the way to go somewhere else.
They have tours and tastings here as well as a big bar area and souvenir shop.
It seemed very popular as the place was full. It seemed like there were plenty of locals in there as well probably because it’s a nice space and set up well for groups.
The Celt
Back in Dublin for the evening, we hunted around for the more traditional pubs. The Celt was very popular and we were able to snag a couple of seats near the bar area. They also had a large back seating area but no seats to be found back there either. The food they served looked pretty good but we didn’t have a proper table to put a plate on so we just drank here.
Madigans
Needing some food after the drinks, we stopped in Madigans. This seemed like your standard modern pub. Nicely set up with comfortable surroundings. I will say that being a wing snob, I was impressed by the chicken wings in Dublin.
These hot wings at Madigans were not too big, on the crispy side, had a slight sweetness to them and I think had some butter in the sauce. The other thing on the table I think was some salmon rillettes but I was all about the wings here.
Frank Ryan’s
This was a very local pub by where we were staying in Smithfield. Very busy on a Saturday night and also dark AF inside. I had a hard time taking photos without a flash.
The owners dog, McGill, had the run of the place and had a bed at the end of the bar. He was pretty old but would strut around the bar occasionally. He actually took a leak right in front of the bar but it was so crowded that no one noticed or cared.
The Next Day…
Went to the airport in the morning to catch a plane to Milan for the next leg of our journey. Used Ryanair and the lines were super long since it is their budget airline and Dublin is their home base.
Things you don’t see in the US:
This is a self serve water bottle station at the airport. You either drop a Euro in the slot or you can tap to pay.
The other notable thing at the airport were the prices for food and beverage. They were slightly higher than normal but reasonable - not like the exorbitant prices you see in US airports.