Here it is, NME's Student Guide 2006. A guide to all the UK's major cities sits just to your right. Where to drink, eat, shop and watch bands. It's all there.
Aisling O’Rourke writes for The College View
“Dublin is a great place to live. A city of thinkers, drinkers, writers and poets, it is alive with music, from large tours down to the countless traditional combos that soundtrack the bars. And boy are there a lot of bars. Forget any stereotypical thoughts you may have of foam Guinness hats, though (although a tour round the brewery where they make the Black Stuff is definitely recommended). And if you don’t fancy blowing your grant on booze then there are plenty of great shops both big and small lining the banks of the majestic river Liffey to spend your precious euros in as well.”
Dublin City University
Contact: Glasnevin, Dublin 9, IrelandTel: 00 353 1 700 5000
Website: www.dcu.ie
Student Union: http://life.dcu.ie
Number of Students: 10,000
Boy/Girl Ratio: 55:45
Famous alumni: Ardal O’Hanlon, author John Connolly.
The College View
www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~pubsoc/2005/index.phpDCU’s independent student newspaper is printed every three weeks and run entirely by students in full-time courses.
Flashback
Award-winning student magazine originally launched as a current affairs review in 2003 but has evolved into a more wide-reaching cultural review.DCU FM
www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~mps/radio.htmLaunched in November 2005, this fledgling student radio station also recently branched out into webcasting.
Georges Street Arcade
Georges Street, Dublin 2The Arcade’s gorgeous Victorian architecture conceals a brilliantly diverse range of shops, including ace clothes store Retro.
Cow’s Lane Fashion And Design Market
Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar (off Dame Street), Dublin 2This superb showcase for up and coming Irish designers runs every Saturday from 10am-6pm, but you’d be advised to get there early.
Brown Thomas
88-95 Grafton Street, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 605 6666;
www.brownthomas.com
You probably won’t be able to afford much at Dublin’s grandest department store, but the window shopping is second to none.
Eamonn Doran’s
3a Crown Alley, Temple Bar, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 679 9114
One of the best pubs in Temple Bar, renowned for its atmosphere, its pizzas and its live entertainment.
Dice Bar
78 Queen Street, Dublin 7;tel: 00 3531 674 6710
It may look dingy from outside, but the Dice Bar has a cracking atmosphere, no doubt something to do with its owner, Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ Huey Morgan.
Bruxelles
Harry Street, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 677 5362
www.moloko.info
If the statue of Phil Lynott outside wasn’t enough, there are three floors of rockin’ good fun inside.
CORK
GigsCyprus Avenue,
Caroline Street;
tel: 00 353 2142 76165
Rising stars Joan As Policewoman and postrock gods in the making God Is An Astronaut have recently passed through the doors of this great little venue. Check out their free new music showcase every Monday as well.
Club
Freakscene @ Club One,
Phoenix Street;
www.freakscene.com
Famous for being Ireland’s longestrunning indie club, Freakscene plays the best indie and rock music in town every Wednesday night.
Shop
Dingle Record Shop,
Green Street, Dingle;
tel: 087 2984550
Boasting an unrivalled array of records by traditional Celtic artists, this place is well worth the trip.
Food & Drink
An Brog,
74 Oliver Plunkett Street;
tel: 00 353 21 42 71392
One of Cork’s liveliest pubs, this watering hole plays some pretty cool indie tunes while you sup your poison.
GALWAY
GigsRoisin Dubh,
8 Upper Dominick St;
tel: 00 3539 158 6540
The likes of Doves, Snow Patrol and The Fall have all played this legendary gig venue.
Club
GPO,
Eglington Street;
www.gpo.ie
Students flock for the ’80s, funk and ska sounds as well as the bands. It’s comedy on a Sunday, and on Mondays students get in free.
Shop
Zhivago Records,
38 Eyre Square
Albums, DVDs, limited seven-inches – all the usual suspects are here, at an alright price.
Food & Drink
The Cellar Bar,
Eglington Street;
tel: 00 3539 156 3966
A late bar, local artists and free entertainment on a Sunday all make for a new favourite. And if you’re brave, there’s open mic nights, too!
Bloodhouse
Isaac Butt’s, 22 Store Street;tel: 00 3531 855 5021;
www.myspace.com/bloodhouse
This off-kilter monthly night plays a selection of new wave, no wave, electro, metal and soul. Expect the unexpected, then.
Fear And Loathing
Whelans, 25 Wexford Street, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 478 0766
One of Dublin’s best-loved sweatboxes hosts this crazy celebration of all things rock. As fantastically gonzo a night out as you could hope for from a club named in honour of the late Hunter S Thompson.
Skinny Wolves
The Hub, Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2;www. skinnywolves.com
Head here on the last Thursday of the month for a veritable orgy of the leftfield: from post punk and no wave to danceable Krautrock. DJs and bands from home and abroad provide the live thrills.
The Olympia Theatre
72 Dame St, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 679 3323;
www.mcd.ie/venues/olympia.php
Cardiff’s premier pop factory. One of Dublin’s most famous venues, the grandiose Olympia offers a varied programme of comedy and theatre as well as gigs.
The Village
26 Wexford Street, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 475 8555;
www.thevillagevenue.com/
This expansive, three-floored entertainment complex is a popular stop-off point for a lot of touring bands.
Crawdaddy
Old Harcourt Station, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 478 0166;
www.pod.ie/crawdaddy.php
Since opening in 2004, this intimate venue has carved out a nice little niche for itself with eclectic jazz, soul, funk and hip-hop gigs.
Temple Lane Rehearsal Studios
Curved Bar, Temple Lane, Dublin 2,tel: 00 3531 670 9202
With seven fully equipped rooms, a café and a bar, this modern practice studio is that rare thing – a salubrious place for bands to hang out as well as record.
Theatre Forum Ireland
1st Floor, 67 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1;tel: 00 3531 671 9278
Although technically a theatre space, they do hire rooms to bands, and if you can get your own equipment there, the rates work out cheaper than normal studios.
Joe Lynch Musical Instruments @ McCullough Pigott
25 Suffolk Street, Dublin 2;tel: 00 3531 671 2410;
www.mcculloughpigott.com
Joe has been in the biz for over 40 years, so he knows a thing or two about the instruments he’s selling.
Shaun Mulrooney, Humanzi
“Dublin’s a great place to live, I love it and I wouldn’t change anything. There’s a place called Eamonn Doran’s which we all grew up going to, and it’s the sort of place that you’ll go to then not leave until 6am the following morning. There’s also a couple of bars that we hang out where they play good music. The main place is a club called Psychotic Reaction at Crawdaddy, named after the Count Five song. They get bands in, they play rockabilly music, we DJ there too. The city’s getting bigger all the time, there’s a lot of people living here. There’s an area where all the ‘haircuts’ hang out called the Temple Bar Music Centre and there’s a rehearsal room in there, which is where we rehearse. That’s where everything happens and there’s also a good venue above it. It’s a great music scene that not a lot of people in the UK realise is going on.”
“Visit a little ale house called Grogans and drink the Guinness. It’s the best Guinness you’ll get in the world.”
“Come and see Humanzi play. We won’t bite, you know!”
“It’s a club that takes place once a month in Crawdaddys that plays rockabilly music. We DJ there a lot.”
“It’s a great little indie venue/bar, and loads of the bands that pass through its doors go on to greatness.”
“I try to avoid all the little emo kids running about drunkenly on a Saturday afternoon, they’re everywhere.”
