IT'S easy to lose your sense of direction when you're on a pub crawl... but ending up in Dublin!? That's what I call a good session. It was, in fact, merely a weekend break in Liverpool's twin city. But, hell's bells with knobs on, it's a pretty poor do if you can't do A Special Pub Column from the birthplace of the great god Guinness. Onwards and sideways, then, to six of the best pubs this pub-orientated city has to offer the Guinness guzzler. The millions of Dublin boozers DO sell other types of alcohol, although I don't know why they bother. Drinking other types of alcohol when you're in the Guinness capital is a waste of good Guinness-drinking time. It really is THAT good. And yes, it IS better than the black stuff (a lot of it perfectly acceptable) that you drink over here. Honestly. I should know, I've been comparing the two types religiously, about twice a year, since 1988. THE PALACE, FLEET STREET
 This was the first Dublin pub I ever visited and it is here myself and Mrs Pub Column began our pilgrimage. Dublin's famous (infamous?) Temple Bar area, it could be argued, begins here - although, to be fair, The Palace has little to do with the stag and hen party crowds which besiege the boozers further along the street. There is even a sign on the pub wall (as there are on others nearby) prohibiting stags and hens (and, to be honest, it really is about time they went back to Blackpool or Amsterdam). The Palace is a real drinker's pub. A sit-on-the-tall-bar-stools-at-the-bar-staring-at-the-tins-of-snuff-pub. Long bar. Decent-sized back room. Wooden floor. Wooden bar. Big windows. Big mirrors. A wood and glass palace. Guinness rating: 8/10. Very good. BOWE'S, FLEET STREET We crossed the busy Westmoreland Street (careful, now) to reach the other part of Fleet Street, and Bowe's - an old favourite of the dozen or more drinkers who made up the Shennan and Co. Dublin jaunts of yore.
 A little tucked away, there always seemed to be room at the inn. Another long bar, but more of a comfortable living room feel to this one. A marvellously relaxing Saturday lunch-time-pub (Saturday lunch-time drinkers will know what I mean) and a deliciously creamy pint. And it was here that we were reminded of two facinating facts about Dublin pubs. Most are clever enough to sell chocolate (try saying 'No' after a few pints) and most are staffed by men and men only. The impression given is that serving pints is seen here, unlike so many other places, as being a noble profession and the blokes, therefore, ensure they do the serving. Guinness rating: 8.5/10. Excellent. | 
Article
