Grogan's Castle Lounge on South William Street has been Dublin's literary refuge since the 1970s when Paddy Kavanagh and Flann O'Brien drank here. No music, no TV.
Tip: Order the cheese toastie, it is the entire kitchen and it is excellent. The art on the walls is for sale, ask the bar staff if you spot one.
Address: 15 South William Street, Dublin 2
The Long Hall on South Great George's Street in Dublin is the Victorian-refurbished 1881 pub backing onto Dublin Castle, with carved partitions and a long snug.
Tip: Order a Guinness at the front bar, the back room with the chandeliers is the photograph everyone takes. No food, no music, no nonsense.
Mulligan's on Poolbeg Street has poured pints in the same Dublin building since 1854, drank in by James Joyce and John F. Kennedy, an unspoiled Trinity-side dive.
Tip: Order a stout at the back bar, the Joyce Room snug holds two at a push and is named for the Counterparts arm-wrestle scene set there.
The Stag's Head on Dame Court in Dublin is the 1895 A.J. McLoughlin Victorian pub James Joyce drank at, with stag-themed stained glass and carved wood snugs.
Tip: Walk down the alley off Dame Lane, the back entrance avoids the front pavement crowd. The upstairs cabaret hall hosts comedy most nights.
The Long Hall on South Great George's Street in Dublin is the Victorian-refurbished 1881 pub backing onto Dublin Castle, with carved partitions and a long snug.
Tip: Order a Guinness at the front bar, the back room with the chandeliers is the photograph everyone takes. No food, no music, no nonsense.
Doheny & Nesbitt on Baggot Street Lower in Dublin has been the Leinster House crowd's pub since 1828, Victorian partitions and the Doheny Snug at the front.
Tip: The Doheny Snug at the front is the original confessional-style booth, ask the bar staff if it is free, it is the room you want for two.
Kehoe's on South Anne Street in Dublin has been pulling pints since 1803, with stained-glass doors, mahogany snugs and a 19th-century interior kept like a museum.
Tip: The upstairs lounge is the old proprietor's living room kept as a bar, ask the staff if it is open, it is the prize seat.
Mulligan's on Poolbeg Street has poured pints in the same Dublin building since 1854, drank in by James Joyce and John F. Kennedy, an unspoiled Trinity-side dive.
Tip: Order a stout at the back bar, the Joyce Room snug holds two at a push and is named for the Counterparts arm-wrestle scene set there.
The Stag's Head on Dame Court in Dublin is the 1895 A.J. McLoughlin Victorian pub James Joyce drank at, with stag-themed stained glass and carved wood snugs.
Tip: Walk down the alley off Dame Lane, the back entrance avoids the front pavement crowd. The upstairs cabaret hall hosts comedy most nights.
Index Dublin moved into the former Opium Rooms on Middle Abbey Street and is now the city's serious techno and house room with Glitterbox residencies.
Tip: Doors hard close around 01:00 on the busy nights, get there before midnight or queue the rest of the set out on Abbey Street.