J. Curran’s Shop Bar, Built of Sturdy Stock

Curran’s charming shop-like front points at its ongoing role as a general merchant

Half shop, Half pub, Full of character

In Dingle, Co. Kerry, you are truly blessed with a variety of cherished pubs, not to mention the breathtaking beauty of the Dingle Peninsula itself and its Atlantic coastline. Among them though, one establishment summarises the history of the Irish Pub like no other – J. Curran’s Shop Bar sitting atop the steep Main Street. On passing through the unassuming, shop-like front, you are presented with a bright n’airy room,

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Toners’ strikes golden tone among great pubs of Baggot Street

Toners Pub is a perennial fixture of the busy Lower Baggot Street social scene

200 Year Old Formula

A few plain facts point to the wonder of Toners pub of Baggot Street, Dublin 2. The pub is almost two hundred years in operation and yet it remains largely unaltered, working off the same successful formula it always has. Bearing in mind that it is within a stone’s throw of other truly great pubs, not least Doheny & Nesbitt and O’Donoghues, its longevity and simultaneous resistance to change are all the more impressive. Granted there have been a few additions over the years such as a beer garden out back and an upstairs function room, to cater for the larger, occasional crowds but the kernel of the pub is essentially unchanged, with a single television parked high in the corner, the only hint at modernity.