Dublin 2020 - 2021 TM North Wall Quay Rustic at Stone Kilmainham Gaol Est. 2000 ARTS, CULTURE & TOURISM CAFES, BARS & CLUBS ENTERTAINMENT, HEALTH & LEISURE Dublin Castle HOTELS & CONFERENCES RESTAURANTS SHOPPING & RETAIL Guinness Storehouse Molly Malone Statue Dublin Zoo The Original Guide www.theentertainmentguide.ie CONTENTS THE ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE TEAM 0004 INTRODUCTION Managing Editor: John Campbell Design & Production: Lorraine Pontello - CPP Design 00006 CAFES,ARTS, CULTURE BARS & CLUBS& TOURISM Senior Journalist: Kai Sedgwick Photography: 00014 ENTERTAINMENTCAFES, BARS & CLUBS & TOURISM Paul Cameron Website and Development: Network IT Raid-10 00022 HEALTH,ENTERTAINMENT, BEAUTY HEALTH& LEISURE & LEISURE Telesales Manager: Sharon Bozkurt Social Media Manager: Dale McLean 30 HOTELS & CONFERENCES The Entertainment Guide Registered Office: Suite One, Dunnswood House, Wardpark South, Cumbernauld, G67 3EN For Enquiries Call: 38 RESTAURANTS 0131 285 1421 Email: [email protected] NEW MICHELIN WINNERS 2020 Web: 40 www.theentertainmentguide.co.uk The Entertainment Guide is a Registered Trademark. Any attempt to reproduce or alter the trademark without the written permission of the publisher Mr John Campbell will be deemed to be a breach of copyright 00048 SHOPPING & RETAIL and therefore be subject to legal action. 10 - 12 Temple Bar Square Dublin 2 01 679 1923 www.quaysrestaurant.com Dublin 2020/21 Porterstown Road, Castleknock Dublin, D15 WNR7 01 640 6300 [email protected] www.castleknockhotel.com www.theentertainmentguide.ie 3 INTRODUCTION rom a vantage point atop the city, Dublin spreads out as a cluster of green domes, chic office blocks and red brick terraces, interspersed with the occasional factory tower, vertiginous relics from the past, preserved for posterity. The yellow streetlights glow and the dark waters of the Liffey, which bifurcates the city, run fast and true. It’s a vista you could never tire of, and yet Dublin isn’t made to be admired from afar: it’s the sort of place you have to live up close. Hands on, glasses up and inhibitions down. You don’t have to be partial to a drink to appreciate Dublin (though it helps) any more than you have to be enamoured with ceilidh music (though that also helps). The best way to experience Dublin is to extend both arms, open your mind and go with the flow. By all means set out with an itinerary, but don’t feel duty bound by it. You may find, on reflection, that your greatest memories of your time in Dublin were the unscripted ones; those moments when you deviated from the script. Taking a wrong turn and winding up in the Writers Museum; ducking in out of the rain and finding yourself in the Science Gallery. So many happy accidents just waiting to happen. Dublin has a rich and tumultuous history, as anyone who’s visited the National Museum of Ireland will attest. The museum is a fitting starting point for anyone keen to explore the medieval city. It’s by no means the only option however: it’s equally possible to top up on culture and beer by embarking on a literary pub crawl that starts in the cobbled square of Trinity College before weaving through the narrow streets. Dublin is a city that can be anything you want it to be. For many, the vibrant night spots around Grafton Street and Temple Bar are the epicentre of it all, the hub around which the city revolves. Dublin may be one of the world’s greatest cities for drinking, but not everyone alights there in search of alcohol, as great as the Guinness may be. The city is also famed for its culinary scene, which has produced some of Ireland’s finest restaurants, places where the sea bass is fresh and zesty, the pork cheek is tender and the clams are a twist of pepper away from perfection. As with any teeming metropolis, the biggest problem confronting visitors to Dublin isn’t finding things to do: it’s whittling the wealth of options down into a sensible itinerary. You can’t eat in every restaurant that takes your fancy. You can’t dive into every atmospheric pub and tour every historic attraction. That’s where we come in. The Entertainment Guide has been designed to separate the wheat from the chaff, to differentiate the great from the not-so-great. Think of this guide as your key to unlocking the city. It supplies the local knowledge. You have the final say. 4 For offers and promotions: @entguide_dublin Dublin 2020/21 While everyone’s tastes and interests differ, we can promise this: each of the businesses listed in the guide has been selected for its excellence. If you like seafood restaurants, we’ve curated Dublin’s finest. Nightclubs? Likewise. Wanna visit an old gaol or take in a comedy night? Stroll through a leafy park take a cycling tour? No problem. North or south of the river, wherever you may roam, a world of endless possibilities and unlimited opportunity awaits. Whether you’re visiting Dublin for business, pleasure or a little bit of both, keep this publication close at hand. The Entertainment Guide contains everything you need to turn a pleasant stay into an unforgettable one. Since the brand launch in 2000, visitors to our national website have requested recognition for the best venues throughout Great Britain and Ireland, therefore I decided to acknowledge and reward these businesses by inviting the general public to vote for their favourites through our website. Voting begins in January each year, and we recognise the achievements by issuing certificates to those top businesses which have been recommended. Good Luck! If you appear in this edition of the guide, you have been recommended or reviewed by cityuncovered.co.uk www.theentertainmentguide.ie Remember...this is the original Entertainment Guide... accept no other!! John Campbell Managing Editor The Entertainment Guide (“The Wee Yellow Book™”) www.theentertainmentguide.ie 5 ARTS, CULTURE & TOURISM Dublin 2020/21 ARTS, CULTURE & TOURISM Name Tel Web Page Casino Marino 01 833 1618 www.casinomarino.ie Christ Church Cathedral 01865 276155 www.chch.ox.ac.uk/cathedral Croke Park Etihad Skyline Rooftop Tour 01 819 2323 www.crokepark.ie Drimnagh Castle 01 450 2530 www.drimnaghcastle.org Dublin Castle 01 645 8800 www.dublincastle.ie Dublin Zoo 01 474 8900 www.dublinzoo.ie 9 Farmleigh House 01 815 5900 www.farmleigh.ie Fort Lucan Outdoor Adventureland 01 628 0166 www.fortlucan.com Guinness Storehouse 01 408 4800 www.guinness-storehouse.com 10 Irish Jewish Museum 085 706 7357 www.jewishmuseum.ie Irish Museum of Modern Art 01 612 9900 www.imma.ie Irish National War Memorial Gardens 01 475 7816 www.opwdublincommemorative.ie Kilmainham Gaol 01 453 5984 www.kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie 12 Lambert Puppet Theatre 01 280 0974 www.lambertpuppettheatre.ie Little Museum of Dublin 01 661 1000 www.littlemuseum.ie Malahide Castle and Gardens 01 816 9538 www.malahidecastleandgardens.ie Marsh's Library 01 454 3511 www.marshlibrary.ie National Botanic Gardens 01 804 0300 www.botanicgardens.ie National Library of Ireland 01 603 0200 www.nli.ie National Museum of Ireland 01 677 7444 www.museum.ie National Print Museum 01 660 3770 www.nationalprintmuseum.ie National Transport Museum of Ireland 01 848 0831 www.nationaltransportmuseum.org Old Jameson Distillery 01 807 2355 www.jamesonwhiskey.com Science Gallery Dublin 01 896 4091 dublin.sciencegallery.com Tayto Park 01 835 1999 www.taytopark.ie The Book of Kells 01 896 1000 www.tcd.ie 8 The James Joyce Centre 01 878 8547 www.jamesjoyce.ie 11 The National Leprechaun Museum 01 873 3899 www.leprechaunmuseum.ie The National Wax Museum 01 671 8373 www.waxmuseumplus.ie 13 The Phoenix Park 01 820 5800 www.phoenixpark.ie www.theentertainmentguide.ie 7 Dublin 2020/21 THE BOOK OF KELLS No visit to Dublin is complete without a trip to the historic Book of Kells Exhibition. Ireland’s prized cultural treasure, the 9th-century book is stored in the Old Library of Trinity College in the heart of the city. The well-worn tome contains a richly decorated copy of the four gospels and is based on the Vulgate edition completed by St Jerome in 384 AD. Written on vellum, in an archaic script known as insular majuscule, the Book of Kells alone makes a trip to the exhibition an enthralling experience. Enjoy The Book of Kells a leisurely stroll through the Trinity College Dublin cobbled stone passageways of the 16th-century Trinity University of Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2 College and marvel at the ornate architecture on display, 01 896 1000 particularly the modernist Berkeley Library and Arts Building. Proceed upstairs to the capacious Long Room, which is home to a staggering 200,000 of the library’s most ancient texts, the volumes occupying row after row on a series of oak bookcases. Frequent exhibitions are held in the Long Room, with displays of the library’s extensive holdings attracting bookworms from around the globe. It’s undoubtedly the Book of Kells which is the college’s centrepiece, however – the famous medieval manuscript www.tcd.ie draws over 500,000 tourists every year. 8 For offers and promotions: @entguide_dublin ARTS, CULTURE & TOURISM DUBLIN ZOO Ireland’s most popular family attraction, Dublin Zoo proudly welcomes over one million customers per year. Having first opened in 1831, it is among the oldest and most varied zoos on the planet. As you walk around, you’ll get to meet rare and exotic species, and also learn about the conservation efforts undertaken to protect endangered animals around the globe. Kids and adults alike will love trekking through featured indoor and outdoor habitats, among them the African Savanna, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8 which replicates open plains populated by giraffes, hunting 01 4748900 dogs, rhinos and zebras.