Smithfield / Stoneybatter

What you gain

• ↑The Cobblestone pub in Smithfield is the finest traditional music pub in Dublin: the Sunday afternoon session and the late Thursday and Friday evening sessions are attended primarily by local musicians rather than tourists, and the pub's physical layout (no amplification, no screens, no tourist-facing signage) creates a music experience entirely unlike the Temple Bar circuit
• ↑The Jameson Distillery Bow St. (original site of the Jameson whiskey distillery, operating 1780–1971) delivers the finest Irish whiskey education experience in the country: the guided tour explains the triple distillation process, the sensory comparison of Irish, Scotch, and American whiskey, and the original distillery equipment in a heritage building context
• ↑The Stoneybatter independent restaurant scene — Brother Hubbard North, Bastible, PERM, and the excellent natural wine bars — represents some of the most interesting food and drink in Dublin: the neighbourhood's younger demographic and chef population has created a casual fine-dining scene at prices that are the best value in the city

What you sacrifice

• ↓Smithfield and Stoneybatter are on the Northside, which remains psychologically further from the Southside tourist circuit than the actual distance suggests: the 15-minute walk to Temple Bar and Trinity College crosses the Liffey and the perceptual barrier that still exists in Dublin's geography
• ↓The neighbourhood's gentrification is visible and ongoing: some of the original working-class character that made Stoneybatter distinctive is being replaced by the apartment blocks and coffee shops of a rapidly changing Dublin, and the tension between the two realities is present on the main streets