Welcome to our handy St. Pintricks day guide to swords in Fingal Co. Dublin.
If you are planning to pop up to swords for the day or you have just landed and are wondering what to do. Looking for the best Guinness in Swords, the best pubs? Let’s get cracking.
So what are the best pubs in Swords on St Patricks Day? Where will I get the best pint of stout? What pub will we start at? Well that all depends on what end of swords you start at. We will start from the south end as if you are coming from the airport.
Before you reach the main seat you will pass airside. Airside used to house the Wright Venue which is a thing of the past now. Bit of a kip so no major loss. If you are gasping for a pint and can’t wait til you hit the main street, Hogs and Heifers is the place to go. The last time we were in, the stout was shite. All of it, Guinness, Islands Edge the lot. So we ended up on the Birra Moretti which was grand. The food though was very nice.
Onwards to main street swords. First, you will pass The Lord Mayors with the thatched roof. It is unfortunately no longer open. A grand pub in its day with a good beer garden and a dartboard.
There’s a left turn straight after the mayor’s which brings you down to the old schoolhouse. Now you could just go here and set up shop for the day and we wouldn’t blame you. It’s a great spot. The Guinness is fairly monumental here, one of the 6 Golden Pints we have had so far on our journey around the country. It’s a cracking looking pub as well. Probably the busiest spot in the town so get in early to get yourself a seat. The food is top notch and they don’t scrimp on the portions. You have a couple of beer garden areas to sit in on the warmer days. There’s a covered conservatory area just before you enter the main lounge. As you walk in you are met with a couple of seating areas and a bar, down the steps you land in the main seating area. This is were the band’s set up as well. On the busiest nights the upstairs section is opened. The service has always been top notch here no matter how busy it is.Top spot all round.
Back up onto the main street, you have Wetherspoons on your left. Handy if you are looking for a cheap gargle but probably one to avoid especially on Paddy’s day. Over the other side of the road past apache pizza is Wright’s. Affectionately known as shites. It can be ok sometimes. The food isn’t too bad and they do serve Peroni. So brownie points for that. The Guinness is ok.
On the main street a little short of halfway down we have the Forty Four. There’s guest accommodation available if you need a kip to sleep off the session. The pints are good and it’s a nice-looking place. They have a beer garden down the side and a small but decent food menu. Get in here in the morning pre session for the breakfast. We can safely say it’s the best fry-up on the street.
Across the road is the Cock Tavern. Another really nice spot. A proper traditional Irish pub, low ceilings, some cool bits and pieces on the walls, and the all-important pint of Guinness is fairly solid as well. Good service, decent spot.
The next port of call is The Arch Bar formerly The Star. The Arch opened around a year ago. Cracking spot, great food, reasonably priced and the pints are fairly solid as well. It’s a busy spot but you never feel uncomfortable, great layout.
Our next stop off is The Pound which houses The Attic Bar upstairs. The Pound, which is downstairs is known for a good pint of plain. They also squeeze a bit of live music in down here as well. Nice cosy little pub. If you venture upstairs you land at The Attic. The walls are covered with funky pics of bands, tv shows, films and more. They serve a good selection of craft beer if that’s your thing and you can grab yourself a pizza if you are peckish. There’s more of a younger crowd up here than down below. We really like this spot but the pints of Guinness are usually a tad better downstairs though.
As we venture on down towards Noth Street there is two more pubs. The Estuary which is closed at the time of writing this and The Harp which is also closed but for renovations. The bar was always the spot to go in the old Harp if you fancied a good Guinness. It’s a big place so it will be interesting to see how it looks when it’s finished. You have the Carnegie Hotel out the back which can be booked for functions and parties.
If you are in the business of collecting pubs like ourselves and want to complete the town 🙂 you need to head up off the main street. There’s Peacocks up in River Valley, The Manor Inn up in Swords Manor and down in Applewood we have the orchard. Each of the three boozers dish up grub and they all have solid enough off licenses for post pub takeaway cans.
Our best pubs and pints on Swords main street are below.
