Dubh Linn: Whiskey in the Jar-o

On my flight to Dublin I met Martin (pronounced Marteen). A lively 30 some year old woman from the city. She worked in London as a nurse/psychologist/teacher and was going back home to a small town south of Ireland to see her family. Her parents passed away last year, and they were holding services on their one year anniversary.

She wanted to buy something for her niece who's in her 20s. She asked my opinion on a watch or a wristband. It's always flattering when someone you've just met, asks for your opinion on something they want to buy. Especially if it's a fashion item. It means you've managed to impress them enough (atleast with your sense of style) that they seek your opinion. I sensed she had decided on the wristband, and not really being an expert on women accessories, I reciprocated her compliment by reaffirming her choice.

She had a cool Gothic look to her, and although I could tell, her drunken party nights were behind her, she was full of energy and spoke with an oomph that made me quite optimistic about Dublin. She told me about the Temple Bar area which definitely ended up surpassing my expectations.

I got to my Hostel around 8:00 pm Dublin time. It was cloudy and it seemed like it was about to rain any minute. I checked in, put my valuables in a locker and made my way to bed C in room 119. I began to make myself comfortable and unpack some of my stuff. Apparently there was a pub crawl at 9:00, which didn't give me enough time to lollygag around the hostel. surely enough I wanted t0 hit the streets as soon as possible. Jetlagged be damned, I'm here to party!

And Party I did. I partied with loads of Canadians. In fact I think I partied with more Canadians than I usually do back in Canada. I was somewhat surprised to see so many of them in Dublin. But I thought it was a nice home away from home flavour that was perfect for easing me in to my trip. Drinks were plentiful and good company was the only company.

Temple Bar Area

Close to midnight our group ended up in a small pub, filled with all the nicknacks you expect from an Irish pub. book shelves, old pictures, and dark green walls complimented with low lightning, to bring out its turn of the century Irish pub feeling. The bar was compartmentalized in to smaller sub-bars, each one having it's own set of tables and patrons. The main hall which was the biggest of these sub-bars had a small stage around its far end corner. On the stage stood a tall, bulky bald man, equipped with an accoustic guitar and a pleasantly raspy voice. He covered old rock n'roll classics and Irish drinking songs.

The only Irish drinking song I know is Whiskey in the Jar. And the only reason I know it, is because Metallica released a cover of its Thin Lizzy version back in 1997. Apparently not a whole lot of people know this. In fact when the guy started playing it, the only people singing along to it were old Irish men, who quite visibly have had their solid share of Guinness earlier that night, and me!

Mush-a ring dum-a do dum-a da

Whack for my daddy-o. Whack for my daddy-o

There's whiskey in the jar, oh!

Great start!

Quick notes:

If you ever do visit Dublin, Temple Bar is the area you want to hit up for its vibrant and fun nightlife.

There are plenty of cabs in and around of the city, kinda pricey but since everything's pretty close in the core downtown area, they make for great forms of transportation.