Dublin Record Stores

It always sounds strange to hear that all of Ireland -including the northern part- only has a population of 7 million. Because Irish influence in popular culture, music, literature, mythology etc. has always been disproportionally big. I can name many gifts that Ireland has given to the world, but this one suffices: the water of life, which in Irish Gaelic is called uisce beatha, and commonly known to the rest of the world as whiskey. Guinness beer isn't too bad either, and has more uses than I previously knew about: one can drink it, use it to bake bread, or make a delicious (beef or lamb) stew with it, make caramel fudge, and who knows what else. And did I mention that it tastes much better in Ireland than anywhere else? Not just my idea, a well-known fact. Now I know people take rightly offence with the drunken Irishman stereotype, but on this case I'm talking about my own experience in Ireland. No, I didn't exactly get drunk on my first trip to Dublin, but I do believe I drank way more beer than water - and how else, when you're out walking all day, and there's a nice pub in every corner inviting you to stop and have a drink. Often with musicians playing live Irish music. Which, apparently, encompasses just about all of folk, pop, and rock. I mean, I was under the impression that Oasis were a British band from Manchester. Nope! The Gallagher brothers? Irish. The Sex Pistols' Johnny Lydon? Irish. Bruce Springsteen? Kurt Cobain? Rihanna (yes, that Rihanna)? All Irish! The diaspora has spread so wide that there's probably at least a drop of Irish blood in every person you meet. So, suppose you want to buy a record by a famous Irish person. Like Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, or Bono. Or David Bowie. Or The Beatles - I kid you not! John, Paul, and George, all had Irish roots. Anyway, say you want to buy some records. Where do you start?

I guess the Temple Bar is as good a place as any. Like many tourists, I also wondered whether that area on the south bank of the River Liffey took its name from the same-named pub or vice versa (it is vice versa). Locals all tell you to avoid both the pub and the area "It's a tourist trap" they say. "Pints cost €10". "The music is too loud". I took their advice and didn't go inside any of the pubs there. I did walk through the area often enough, and I have to say it is a nice, lively, district full of narrow, cobbled streets and nice pubs, restaurants, and shops. If you're looking to party, it's probably the place to go. If you're looking for vinyl... well why not start with Mojos Records? It's a tiny place at Merchant's Arch, pretty close to the Temple Bar Pub, actually - and, unlike it, not overpriced. (Used) LPs cost €15-30, CDs €5. 

Despite its small size, there's a pretty good selection in various genres. Still in the area, there's The R.A.G.E. (Record, Art and Game Emporium) a cave-like basement offering retro video games and used vinyl. A mix used and new records (€5-30) including punk, classic rock, Irish music, and electronica. Further south (on 15A Wicklow St, near the Molly Malone statue) you can find Firebird Records. One of the oldest independent record stores in the area (est.1978) it also styles itself as "The Secret Book and Record Store" because it's a bit hidden behind a long corridor - although the huge signs at the entrance give the "secret" away. A big variety of vinyl (new €25-40, used €10-30) and CDs (new €10-20, used €4-5). Very good for rock, punk, and indie music as well as Irish bands, both modern and traditional. A great selection of books, too. In the direction towards Trinity College (47 Nassau St), there's another "hidden" record shop called Sound Cellar - a basement dedicated to heavy metal.

A huge variety of records in this specific genre (including hard rock, prog, and black metal) both CD (€15) and vinyl (€30-40). Just around the corner (7 Dawson St) you can find a big Tower Records shop: on the ground floor there are (new) LPs (€25-40) and CDs (€15+ but also many offers 3-for-€10). Irish music (indie and trad), lots of DVDs as well as T-shirts and memorabilia. The upper floor is dedicated to vinyl only: rock, pop, hip hop, dance, jazz etc. Further south, inside the Stephen Green shopping centre, there's a shop of the Golden Disc chain: a big space, also selling a lot of T shirts and  memorabilia. LPs cost €30-50, although there are also many on offer (3-for-€70). CDs €10-20. On your return to Temple Bar, you may want to hit another couple of shops: Spindizzy Records is a big-ish shop with a big variety in CDs (new €10-20 used €5-6) and LPs (New €25-40, used lp €5-25). Punk, alternative, pop, rock, and folk. Spin Dizzy is inside George’s Street Market Arcade which houses a bunch of other shops worth browsing. Including a small shop called Elevation. This one just has some posters etc, but there's another Elevation shop (3 Johnson Pl) which really is worth its full name Elevation Music Movies Comics. It may be small, but you'll find records of most of the major artists. LPs €25-40, CDs new €10-15 used €4-5. There's also a place called Claddagh records, which is specialized to Irish/Celtic music. It does have a physical address but seems to sell only online. Lastly, despite what I said earlier, I did step into a pub at the temple bar area: its called Foggy Dew, and -on that day- it hosted a record fair. Apparently it also often houses rock concerts. Whether record fairs are also a common occurrence there, I wouldn't really know. 

On the other side of the river Liffey, there are relatively few record stores: A decent-sized Golden Discs in the Jervis shopping centre, and a Tower records situated on the 2nd floor of a big Euston shop (on 40 Lower O'Connell Street); It's 50/50 split between films and music; good for country, Irish music, and pop/rock. LPs € 25-40, CDs €10-17. There's also a big 3-story HMV shop (18 Henry St) selling all kinds of stuff: DVDs, games, T-shirts and of course LPs (new €25-40) and CDs (€8-15). The best thing about it, though, is the "Who's Playing in Dublin" board on the 1st floor; there are announcements and flyers for all the live events going on around the city. The last shop I visited on the north side was Bookmart Game Exchange - as you may have guessed it mainly sells used books and videogames, but it also has a few cheap used CDs. I unfortunately didn't have time to visit In Dub Reggae Store, and there seems to be some confusion about the address (seems to have moved recently?), but according to googlereviews it is a very good specialty shop and must be worth visiting for fans of that genre. 

On Friday 31/10, we left Dublin early for a day-trip to a nearby town called Kilkenny; I first heard about it on a Pogues album which had a song called "Wild Cats of Kilkenny"- apparently, once two Kilkenny cats fought each other so ferociously that only their tails remained at the end of the battle. What, you don't believe it? Why? the tales Irish people say are always so well-grounded. It is in any case a beautiful town, and also features a nice medieval castle. It served for 600 years as the seat of the Butler dynasty - literally, the dynasty's founder was a Norman lord who came to Ireland as butler (a.k.a. cup-bearer) of the infamous King John of England. A visit is recommended, but don't expect too many gothic vibes: the castle has been refurbished into a comfortable manor house some centuries ago. Being there on Halloween, we couldn't resist a visit to Kytelers Inn, previously owned by Dame Alice Kyteler, the first recorded person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland (1324 AD). She fled before the executioner got his hands on her, but her handmaid Petronella De Meath was burned at the stake as an accomplice. There's a plaque commemorating her on Butter Slip alley, a small Harry Potter-like passageway starting off at St. Kieran's street. About 100m further up St. Kieran's St, there's Rollercoaster Records, a rather stylish medium-sized shop. You'll find some interesting records there, but rather random ones - don't expect them to carry all the classic LPs by major artists. Only new vinyl (€20-30) and CD's (€15). 

The city also hosts a Golden Discs record store located in the Market Cross Shopping Centre. Similar stuff with the Dublin shops of the same chain. The next day it was back to Dublin - to see the phantasmagoric Mácnas parade, and to visit the Guinness Storehouse, Irish whiskey museum, the national museum of archaeology that houses those eerie bog bodies as well as Celtic artifacts, W.B. Yeats exposition in the National Library, the Chester Beatty museum... there wasn't enough time to see everything we wanted, what with the regular pub stops and everything, but there's always next time!