Dublin bars finally get their buzz back

The era of the superpub is well and truly over, replaced by a wave of craft beer bars that cater for the discerning drinker.

Tom O'Connor, bartender at the Dingle Whiskey Bar on Nassau Street in Dublin 2. Picture: Bryan Meade

Oliver Hughes was doing craft beer way, way ahead of the posse.“Pioneers get shot by the Indians, and the settlers take the land,” he jokes.

“We were a craft brewer in 1996,” continues Hughes, who founded the Porterhouse brewery and bars. “Now there are a stack of them.”

Last week, he opened the Dingle Whiskey Bar in Dublin, selling choice whiskeys from around the world.

A few years back, finding a wide market ...