Could I get some comments from anyone who has done either the Dublin Irish Musical Pub Crawl or Brazen Head Storytelling evening as a solo traveller? Was it awkward? Were you the only solo?
Please - do not comment to the effect of "I went w/ my partner but think it would be fine for a solo" :)
I have traveled solo a lot and, to be honest, certain activities or venues can be fine as a solo or a bit awkward :)
I did the Dublin Irish Musical Pub Crawl as a single a few years ago after friends recommended it.
I didn't love it, although I'm not sure my singleness was the reason. The 3 venues were really crowded and seating wasn't comfortable. I think mainly I'm not particularly enamored of Irish music. So, it might depend on you feelings about the music.
Hi Margaret - I did the Musical Pub Crawl as a solo and enjoyed it. Most people were there with one or more people but there were some solo people. On mine, I ended up sitting next to a solo who was there for work and lives a couple neighborhoods over from mine - small world! The only time when I felt a little awkward was before it began when I was just standing there in the pub before we went into the room there where the music was, but it was brief and I had my phone to keep me occupied :) Once the music starts, I felt pretty engaged in it and also had some small talk with folks when we walked to the next two pubs. Hope this is helpful!
This is very useful information! Thank you both :)
There were 3 or 4 other singles in the "crawl" I took back in 2017. It was fun and not at all awkward for me.
Hi Margaret,
I didn't take the Musical Crawl. I did take the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl and it was excellent. You have to register in advance, they usually sell out. The tour stopped in 3 pubs (you order and pay for your own drinks) for about 30 minutes each. If no one invites you to join them, invite yourself. Folks are friendly, especially after the first drink.
I did go to the Brazen Head evening, again as a solo. Seating was at round tables of about 10 people. I chatted with the people near me at the table and they were very nice. That was the only good thing I can say about the evening. The fellow tellling the tales was boring and sometimes hard to hear. I had been to the Leprechaun Museum 3-4 days earlier. It's a guided visit and the guide was very interesting and I learned a lot about Irish culture and folklore. The Brazen Head guy told a few of the same stories, nothing more. As I left, I glanced in at one of the "regular" pub rooms (the evening was upstairs in a large private room). The music was excellent and I was so sorry I hadn't spent the evening there instead.
You can go into any pub solo any time, day or night. I went to Kilmainham Gaol and got there soaking wet, literally dripping, and they'd just sold the last tickets of the day (I think it was the last year before they began advanced sales). I was miserable but remembered I'd passed a pub a block away. I went in for a bowl of hot soup (lunch specialty in nearly every pub) and to dry out Since it was lunch time, mid-week, and off the beaten path, it was pretty empty, so after I'd eaten, drunk a pint, dried out and cheered up, I had a walk round the establishment (every pub is a warren of various rooms, usually different and usually interesting). There were a couple of retired local guys playing darts and they said I could watch. We bantered back and forth along with the bartender and a couple other patrons, I learned the rules of darts and some of the finer points, and they even let me try it (it's really hard!!). I spent a lovely couple of hours there. On another day I was in a quiet pub in Temple Bar (not so easy to find) and a single woman sat near me at the bar and started to chat. She was from Belfast and we spent a couple of hours explaining our respective country's politics and religion to each other. Wonderful afternoon. I also did my own pub crawl solo through Temple Bar. If I liked the atmosphere and the music, I'd get a pint and chat with some of the other patrons. Everyone (all tourists, mostly from the UK and Europe) was chatty.
I didn't meet a local Irish person who wasn't inclined to chat away - pub patrons, shop clerks, people in parks and museums. . . . BTW there are two theatres in Dublin, the Gate and the Abbey. I went to plays at both. London quality and less than 1/2 the price.
Hi Margaret, I hope this isn't too late for your trip!
There is another option you might want to consider. Dublin has an incredibly vibrant "Meet Up" culture, which you can access even before your trip, by joining Meet Up and seeing what groups look like fun and what night they are meeting. The pub crawls and storytelling are fine, but they are more commercialized activities. SEE MEETUP SAMPLE: https://www.meetup.com/cities/ie/dublin/social/
On one solo business trip to Dublin, I connected with a really nice group of people who got together to attend a regular Sunday night of singing together in a pub on, I think, O'Connell street. It was very chill and relaxing, people sang along with the guitarist, then a couple people got up and did their own "party piece." Some tourists stopped in but it was 80% local people from 30's to 50 something...
I find Dubliners incredibly welcoming, the only snooty people were some people from Belgium (apologies to you friendly Belgians, I may have met some duds) there for the weekend in Temple Bar on Saturday night (NOT recommended), ugh, vomit, wildness, and every bachelor or "hen" party for 1,000 square miles.
Good luck and please don't be hesitant about being solo in Dublin... the Irish reputation for hospitality is not overestimated.
Cheers, "Moe Murph" (of Boston, Mass.)
This is excellent information! Thank you all :)
