Club Chonradh na Gaeilge

No regard for people living in the area with there late night drinking and shouting in early hours of the night. 1.30am now and they are still shouting! Only have drink licence till 11.30pm. Children and old people trying to sleep! :(

It’s quite intimitating when you go to the Gaeilge centre for the first time… going to the basement, a black metal door, then a sort of VIP/​back of the bar area and the main yet rather small room where there are plenty of seats for everyone. I love the atmosphere there. They insist on people talking in Gaeilge and will help if with words, that’s the rule number one. However I always go there when they host Breton dancing nights (ie from the celtic west part of france) so some people get away with ordering in English. Prices are really cheap and there’s a great spectrum of people, from all ages that go there.

Fiú má nár Gaeilgeoir líofa thú, is smaoineamh maith é chun téigh síos chuig an Conradh le haghaidh cúpla pionta. Chomh maith le sin, is áit iontach é don spleodar agus don craic.
Agus ó am go h-​am bíonns fíon saor in aisce má bhfuil cóisir ar siúl!

Is aoibhinn liom an Conradh.
Chuaigh mé féin agus na daltaí eile ó mo rang gaeilge anseo an tam ar fad nuair a bhíamar ag freastal ar DIT.
Níl sé ach bear beag le dhá seomra, cúpla bord agus suíochán, agustá sé lán de daoine atá gra mór acu don ghaeilge…é sin nó na pionta nach bhfuil chomh daor anseo ná a bhfuil in áiteanna eile! Bíonn daoine anseo ag caint i ngaeilge an tam ar fad agus bíonn daoine éagsúla ag seinm ceoil agus ag caineamh amhrán lan-​ghaelach.

Aontaím céad fán gcéad le Laura ar an ábhar seo…
Club an Chonradh on Tuesday nights is pretty unbeatable, after reading Laura’s review I’ve been kicking myself for leaving it so long since going.
Apart from anything else, the pub is in the basement of a Georgian building on Harcourt St, which is a pretty fucking cool place to drink. And Gaeilge is the primary lingua franca, though never fear those of you whom God has not graced with Irishness: plenty of foreign people drink there too, and they seem to really enjoy it.
There’s a great sense of camaraderie, as everyone is there with a common purpose (to speak Irish and get ossified), and the drink is way cheaper than every where else in town, and they sell bottled stout! If you’re a tourist, you shouldn’t leave Ireland without drinking bottled stout. Guinness as we know it (creamy and cold) has only been around for about fifty years, whereas bottled stout (more viscous, sharper and served at room temperature) is nearly exactly what Guinness would have been like in its original incarnation (porter). You’ll get served a lot quicker at the bar if you can order in Irish, as one barman in particular tends to ignore those pleading for a drink in English, regardless of how long they’ve been there, until all of the Gaeilgeorí have been served, so repeat after me: Buidéal Guinness, más é do thoil é. Good.
I was at the Club Conradh na Gaeilge Christmas party a couple of years ago, and the craic was fierce. There was free mulled wine, good chat, and a trad band going ninety in the corner. About two hours after last orders, the staff started making motions for people to leave, and they asked the band to stop playing, and the band cheerfully ignored them. Now, normally in Dublin, the barman will turn the lights on and off to signal that it is last orders. This night in Club an Conradh, the barman turned the lights off for a full forty seconds to try to stop the band playing, who continued on merrily in the dark.
A seriously legendary spot.
(Tá súil agam nach rachaidh an iomarca turasóirí go dtí an Chlub tar éis an alt seo a léamh, nó bheidh áit scriosta go hiomlán).

If I thought I’d be understood, then this review would be as Gaeilge, as writing about an Irish club in English just seems wrong somehow. However, in a nod to the fact that English is the main language of most, I’ll put aside my prejudices and continue…
The Conradh is the best place in Dublin for a chat and a pint… in Irish if you have it, in English if you don’t (though if you try at the Irish, even if it’s just cúpla focail, you’ll enjoy it far more… there can be the exclusive types there who are avid Gaelgóirí). Student nights are on Tuesday and if you’re gonna go, that’s the night to be there… the Trad Soc from Trinity have a penchant for impromptu performance, and sure the craic is mighty! It’s a beautiful thing, to see young people take pride in their native tongue, and that’s what they do in the Conradh, and it’s packed! Not only are the pints ridiculously cheap by Dublin standards, it’s a chance for people to meet and speak Irish in a social context, where the prevailing language is actually Irish, rather then English. (I do have English friends who go there too though, so don’t be put off if your Irish isn’t up to scratch). Free in for Conradh members, usually only a few quid in for those that aren’t, and you make that back in a couple of cheap pints anyway!
Cúig realtaí is ar fheabhas ar fad!

Irish language speaking pub. Go here if you want to hear the language live, practice or just have a bit of craic.
Steeped in history, this is one of my favorite pubs in Dublin. It’s responsible for some of the best conversations and vaguest memories I’ve ever had. Student night is € 3 in, on Tuesdays, but the numbers can be very hit and miss.
The Guinness is excellent and, as it’s technically a clubhouse, cheap as chips. I strongly advise asking the barman about Pearse’maze at the back of the pub. Don’t waste your time hanging around it during the day, the pub itself doesn’t open until 8pm.
Information on language courses as well as books can be found up on the ground floor.
This review really should’ve been as gaeilge, oh well… is cuma