The Choirboy a week or so ago alerted me to the fact that the Powers whiskey company [no apostrophe?! what's with that??] in Ireland has been running an online vote to find the country's finest snug bar.
The Dylan Whisky Bar in Kilkenny is one of the frontrunners, and you can see why from this picture. However, the voting procedure is highly unsatisfactory, since anything that gets bumped off the first page doesn't really stand a chance.
I cast my vote for (the shamefully neglected) Mulligan's in Dublin, just around the corner from TCD and the offices of the Irish Times. The Temple Bar is also grand, but I have more 'history' with Mulligan's.
The only other bar I could find in this poll that I've actually been to is the Brian Boru, also in Dublin. While I am impressed by the claim that it is the only pub in Ireland never to have run out of whiskey in either of the two World Wars, I can't help feeling that the bar pictured is much too large to be a 'snug' (I can't now remember if they have a smaller one as well; it's years since I've been there).
I do get very wistful looking at all these gorgeous pictures. It is far too long since I visited Ireland, or set foot in a real pub. My beloved 12 Square Metres is the only bar in Beijing that comes anywhere close to that feel, but... it only has one beer on draught... and no open fire... and no dogs. These are the things I occasionally become a little homesick for.
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