Visiting Ireland? Consider a trip up to the seaside town of Skerries. It's one of my favorite places in County Dublin.
Yes, yes, I know that the Irish Sea has the proud reputation of "The Most Radioactive Body of Water on Earth." (Thanks a hell of a lot, Sellafield.) The east coast is still nice, with blue flag beaches, yachting marinas and fishing ports. Skerries is a perfect example, well worth a look, and no it doesn't glow.
The most notable features of the town are its watermill and windmills. Dating from the early 16th century, these landmarks will delight with their museum's in-house bakery, historical leaflets, and swans holding majesty over the mill ponds. But, no beer there! I've never been. Stop in yourself and let me know what it's like.
Your humble DFA of a guide likes to haunt the area around the marina. Boats bob invitingly, a sandy beach lures, and a stout Martello tower whispers the history of days from Napoleon to James Joyce. There's a RNLI lifeboat station- the kind of lifeboats that hearty volunteers race seaward, when ships drift toward the rocks. Best of all, there are two excellent pubs.
I brought my parents into Joe May's for an Irish coffee on their brief, most recent visit. Sweet and hot, the drink took the edge right off the December day. I used to work with Joe May at Symantec. Damn, did he make the wise move to give up software for the life of a publican! But, his pub was too clean and recently decorated for our mood. Finishing our coffees, we legged it down the road to Stoop Your Head.
Stoop's serves up one earth-shaking pint of Guinness. Nothing goes better with Guinness than mountains of seafood, so Stoop's has laid out a menu that's kept us coming back. The chowder alone is worth dangling in a box without food for forty days, like that one nutter did over in England. My Dad ordered a bowl of mussels for his main course. It took three grown men to carry it to the table. "Damn!" we exclaimed. Minutes later, sweating and cursing, those same three serving lads staggered back under a platter of crab claws for me. The chicks blew their diets, too, but I don't remember how many people it took to carry their dinners. Portions were, to say the least, generous.
On other occasions, my bird and I have spent our afternoons relaxing in the beer garden, chatting with locals and visitors alike, downing the pints until we forgot the pub's eponymous warning. WHAM! It ain't no joke: passing from one part of the building into the other, on the way to the jacks, remember to STOOP YOUR HEAD.
Skerries is located in north County Dublin, eighteen miles north of City Centre. So, unless you're Sonia O'Sullivan, it's definitely not within walking distance! Best bet for getting there is by car or Dublin Bus. I recommend working your visit into a jaunt of other parts north. Spend the day exploring Newgrange or Mellifont Abbey in County Meath, for instance, then detour off the M1 to hit Skerries for supper and an after-dinner stroll.
- Added to the DFA Guide, September 2004.
Guide Index Red words? Check the Dub Glossary!