Best Dublin Nightlife

Opened in 2007 on the site of the former Temple Bar Music Centre (the building once housed a sewing factory), the revamped music venue is well known for its hold on Dublin nightlife with its state-of-the-art production facilities and schedule of music acts from Tegan & Sara to Mudhoney. Expect to see up-and-comers and rising rock stars in this comfortable venue. It’s there on a cool pedestrian street in Temple Bar that holds about 700 patrons between its downstairs hall and seated mezzanine. Between spotlighted gigs catch a variety of indie club nights from Thursday to Sunday and on Saturday afternoons the street, oddly enough, becomes a hangout for the city’s teen Goths.

Dublin’s spectacular new worldclass 2,111-seater theatre was designed by Daniel Libeskind and has already become top Dublin attraction as a landmark building in the snazzy new Grand Canal plaza—part of the city’s emerging docklands area. Now, for the first time in Dublin, you can experience Broadway shows, ballet, opera and top-tier Dublin theatre productions with razor-sharp acoustics, perfect sightlines and super plush seating. The Russian State Ballet opened the theatre in March 2010 and since that time Ray Davies of the Kinks, Rufus Wainwright and ‘Hairspray’ have all staged productions here.

Find the smallest, most atmospheric and best Dublin lounge for nightlife comedy at the International Bar. The Comedy Cellar (actually a tiny upstairs lounge) has long been the favorite stage for new acts and old hands trying out new material. Expect a mixed bag of acts from deadpan standup to comedy burlesque in a tiny unkempt bar space.

Part of a big warehouse complex that was once a train depot and is also home to the Chocolate Bar and smaller sister spot, Crawdaddy, Tripod packs ‘em as one of the best Dublin clubs and spaces for big name music acts. With exposed brickwork, high ceilings and ironmongery, it still feels like a warehouse—in a good way—and the addition of a wide stage, great sound system and balcony seating have made it a choice venue for gigs such as Chic, Cat Power, Gil Scott-Heron and the Pointer Sisters who recently wowed audiences. Tripod’s savvy owners also run Ireland’s coolest music festival, the Electric Picnic, so rest assured they know a thing or two about what electrifies a crowd.