Dublin’s old pubs are where the city really talks. Mahogany bars, snugs with frosted glass and barmen who’ve poured pints for decades. This guide picks 10 traditional pubs in Dublin that have kept their character, and tells you what makes each one worth the walk.
Worth knowing before you go
- There has been a hostelry on the Brazen Head’s Bridge Street site since 1198, making it Dublin’s oldest pub; the present building dates from 1754. (source)
- Since 2005 Ireland has lost about a quarter of its pubs – more than 2,100, an average of 112 closures a year – which makes the surviving historic city pubs all the more precious. (source)
- A pint in a traditional Dublin local typically costs around €6–7, against €8–9 in Temple Bar. (source)
How we picked
We chose pubs that are genuinely old or traditional in style, still open in 2026, and consistently praised by Irish press and visitors. We favoured original interiors, a proper pint and atmosphere over themed tourist bars.
Traditional pubs in Dublin: the quick list
- The Long Hall (Dublin 2, South Great George’s Street (near Dublin Castle)): Dublin’s most handsome Victorian bar
- The Stag’s Head (Dublin 2, Dame Court (off Dame Street, near Grafton St)): Electric-lit Victorian splendour and that stag
- Kehoe’s (Dublin 2, South Anne Street (off Grafton St)): Snugs and a pub-grocer’s counter steps from Grafton Street
- The Brazen Head (Dublin 8, Lower Bridge Street (Usher’s Quay, by the Liffey)): Ireland’s oldest pub, with music every night
- Toners (Dublin 2, Lower Baggot Street (near St Stephen’s Green)): Yeats’s snug and a proper beer garden
- The Palace Bar (Dublin 2, Fleet Street (edge of Temple Bar)): Temple Bar’s literary heritage pub
- Doheny & Nesbitt (Dublin 2, Lower Baggot Street (near Leinster House)): Snugs, politicos and rugby
- O’Donoghue’s (Dublin 2, Merrion Row (off St Stephen’s Green)): The pub where The Dubliners made their name
- The Cobblestone (Dublin 7, Smithfield (north of the Liffey)): Dublin’s home of traditional music
- The Swan Bar (Dublin 2, Aungier Street (near South Great George’s St)): Victorian time capsule with a rugby pedigree
1. The Long Hall
Licensed since 1766, the Long Hall owes its look to an 1881 makeover: maroon walls, gilt-edged mirrors, carved mahogany, chandeliers and snugs that have barely been touched since. The name comes from a long, narrow snug that once ran behind the bar, and in the 19th century the pub was a recruiting ground for the Irish Republican Brotherhood until Castle spies got it shut down before the 1867 rising. For many Dubliners it is simply the benchmark Victorian pub.
- Known for: Dublin’s most handsome Victorian bar
- Where: 51 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2
- Price guide: pint of Guinness ~€6.50 (Dublin Spirit, 2026)
- Good to know: Go on a weekday or arrive early – seats are close to impossible to get at the weekend.
- Website: instagram.com
2. The Stag’s Head
There has been a tavern here since 1780, but the real showstopper is the 1894 redesign commissioned by outfitter George Tyson from architect A.J. McLoughlin – it was the first pub in the city lit by electricity, all gleaming mirrors, stained glass and polished wood under a huge mounted stag’s head. It was named Ireland’s Best Traditional Pub of the Year in 2023 and still serves hearty pub grub alongside a big whiskey list.
- Known for: Electric-lit Victorian splendour and that stag
- Where: 1 Dame Court, Dublin 2
- Good to know: It gets packed after 9pm at weekends; drop in mid-afternoon for the atmosphere without the crush.
- Website: stagshead.ie
3. Kehoe’s
First licensed in 1803, Kehoe’s is the best-preserved example of the old Dublin pub-grocer: the low counter and mahogany provision drawers are still in place, beside snugs with a buzzer for a refill. In the 1940s and ’50s the back bar drew the city’s literati, although rowdier regulars such as Brendan Behan and Patrick Kavanagh were regularly barred. BBC Travel’s pub expert picked it as Dublin’s ‘best of the best’.
- Known for: Snugs and a pub-grocer’s counter steps from Grafton Street
- Where: 9 South Anne Street, Dublin 2, D02 NY88
- Good to know: If the bar is rammed, head upstairs to the parlour, where faded sofas are easy to sink into.
- Website: kehoesdublin.ie
4. The Brazen Head
Ireland’s oldest pub stands on a site that has served drinkers since 1198, though today’s warren of rooms began life as a coaching inn in 1754. Oliver Bond’s United Irishmen plotted the 1798 rebellion here, and Robert Emmet later planned his 1803 rising from a desk watching the door. It now does food daily and live music seven nights a week, so it is lively rather than hushed.
- Known for: Ireland’s oldest pub, with music every night
- Where: 20 Lower Bridge St, Usher’s Quay, Dublin 8, D08 WC64
- Good to know: It only takes bookings for groups of eight or more – smaller groups just turn up; music starts at 9pm nightly (plus 3–6pm on Sundays) and food stops at 9pm.
- Website: brazenhead.com
5. Toners
Toners says it was established in 1734, and its front snug is regarded as one of the finest in Dublin – legend has it W.B. Yeats, no great pub-goer, made an exception for it. Behind the Victorian shopfront there is also a rarity for the city centre: Toners Yard, a large heated beer garden that comes alive for rugby internationals. The pub even bottles its own James Toners whiskey.
- Known for: Yeats’s snug and a proper beer garden
- Where: 139 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2
- Good to know: No kitchen, but you can carry a Neapolitan pizza over from Cirillo’s next door into Toners Yard.
- Website: tonerspub.ie
6. The Palace Bar
The Palace turned 200 in 2023, and in the mid-20th century it was the unofficial HQ of literary Dublin: Flann O’Brien, Patrick Kavanagh and Brendan Behan drank here, and the Irish Times editor R.M. Smylie held court in the back room. Kavanagh called it the ‘most wonderful temple of art’. With its stained glass, snug and own-label whiskey, it is widely seen as the one genuine local in Temple Bar.
- Known for: Temple Bar’s literary heritage pub
- Where: 21 Fleet Street, Dublin 2, D02 H950
- Price guide: pint ~€7.00 (Dublin Spirit, 2026)
- Good to know: Head straight for the back room – it is the best spot for people-watching.
- Website: thepalacebardublin.com
7. Doheny & Nesbitt
A protected structure, Doheny & Nesbitt keeps its original 19th-century counter and fittings, aged timber floors, an ornate papier-mâché ceiling and plenty of snugs behind mirrored partitions. Its closeness to the Dáil has made it a haunt of politicians, journalists and lawyers – hence its nickname, the ‘Doheny & Nesbitt School of Economics’. On match days it turns into one of the city’s most devoted rugby pubs.
- Known for: Snugs, politicos and rugby
- Where: 5 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 F866
- Good to know: It opens at 9.30am on Saturdays, which is handy for early-morning southern-hemisphere rugby – but expect it to be packed on match days.
- Website: dohenyandnesbitts.ie
8. O’Donoghue’s
O’Donoghue’s dates back to 1789 and began as a grocery and shebeen before becoming a full pub. Under Paddy and Maureen O’Donoghue, who took over in 1934, it became famous for nightly sessions, and in the 1960s it was home ground for The Dubliners during the folk revival. Live Irish music still plays every night, under walls lined with photos of the musicians who passed through.
- Known for: The pub where The Dubliners made their name
- Where: 15 Merrion Row, Dublin 2
- Price guide: Guinness €7.50 a pint (pub’s January 2026 drinks list)
- Good to know: Music runs Monday–Thursday from 8pm, Friday from 6.30pm, Saturday from 5.30pm and all day Sunday; there are guesthouse rooms upstairs too.
- Website: odonoghues.ie
9. The Cobblestone
Run by the Mulligan family since Tom Mulligan arrived in 1983, the Cobblestone is the heartbeat of Dublin trad: there is no stage, just a musicians’ corner by the window where sessions run every day of the week. In 2021 a plan to build a hotel over most of the pub was refused after a city-wide protest – a decision the pub says was the first to treat cultural protection as a planning consideration. Come for the tunes and a creamy pint, and keep the chat down.
- Known for: Dublin’s home of traditional music
- Where: 77 King St North, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 TP22
- Price guide: pint ~€6.00–6.50 (Dublin Spirit, 2026)
- Good to know: No food and no table reservations, and under-18s must leave by 9pm.
- Website: cobblestonepub.ie
10. The Swan Bar
A licence has existed on or near this corner since 1661, but what you see today is Thomas F. O’Reilly’s unspoilt 1897 Victorian fit-out – marble bar, mosaic-tiled floor and polished woodwork. It was owned by Ireland and 1971 Lions prop Sean Lynch (now run by his son), so the walls carry framed jerseys and his Lions cap. It is a calm, fireside sort of pub, at its best on a quiet weeknight.
- Known for: Victorian time capsule with a rugby pedigree
- Where: Corner of Aungier Street and 57/58 York Street, Dublin 2, D02 RW67
- Good to know: You can bring in a pizza from Dublin Pizza Company a few doors down.
- Website: theswanbar.com
Traditional pubs in Dublin in pictures
Plan the rest of your day
Make a night of it: most of these pubs sit within a 20-minute walk of each other, so you can link three or four together.
- Join a Dublin pub crawl walking tour
- Our 3 days in Dublin itinerary
- Guinness Storehouse vs Jameson Distillery
- Getting around Dublin: buses, Luas and DART
Prices, opening hours and session times change often, so check each venue’s own website before you go. Information checked October 2026.
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