The best gigs are not always the ones you’re looking forward to the most. They’re not necessarily the ones you’ve booked months in advance, paid a fortune for, in that big hi-tech super-venue across town. No, the best gigs are always the ones that catch you unawares, when and where you least expect it. The venue might not be renowned for its acoustics, or its pedigree, but nonetheless, against the odds, it provides in spades. Forever that gig, that night, that place will hold a special place in your heart.
Doyles Pub in Dublin is across the street from my alma mater, Trinity College. Popular with the great unwashed student population, on a Friday or Saturday night the upstairs bar, with its unassuming decor of wooden floorboards and faded velvet-topped stools, becomes thronged for the indie-disco that surely defies health and safety regulations. But come to the same spot on a Tuesday for the Ruby Sessions, and that dance floor will now host a series of higgledy-piggeldy tables and chairs, in front of a faded curtain that has provided the backdrop for some truly memorable acoustic gigs. My “I-saw-them-first” moment was here in November 2008, when in front of about 40 people, I witnessed Mumford and Sons knock the socks off the gathered crowd, PA systems be damned. It’s a testament to the organisers and the gig-going faithful that there is never any need for bells and whistles up here. All you need is a common ethos: put the music first and nothing else matters.

9 College St, Dublin 2, Ireland
+353(0)1 6710616
www.doylesintown.com/
Google map: bit.ly/iCKrJb

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Not usually the type of girl to travel the breadth of the country for a dress, I deemed it necessary when I came across the beautiful (and surprisingly cheap) offerings available from this Sligo store. We drove from Dublin to the shop on the outskirts of the town in a place called Rathcormac, right at the base of Benbulben. In this beautiful rural setting, located within a row of converted workman’s cottages, we unearthed a real treasure trove.

The west coast of Ireland may not be the first place you think of when you think ‘vintage’, but the San Francisco native Victoria who owns this store really knows her stuff. Enchanted Vintage has a wonderful website, but nothing beats rifling through the racks yourself. Clothes, bags, shoes, hats, jewellery, even wedding gowns: all are here, sourced from America and the UK, and Victoria can tell you the history of every item. She guides you to colours and shapes to suit your shape, and accessories to match. Her knowledge and enthusiasm make her a real asset.
I was looking for a unique dress for an important ball, and here I snapped up a beautiful green and gold gown (very Irish, I know), one of a kind, for €120. No danger of bumping into someone wearing the same thing here! Pre-ball, I went to meet up with friends in a local Dublin pub, and got stopped multiple times on the way there by strangers who wanted to know where I had bought my dress. I told them it was from a shop in Sligo, but assured them all it was well worth the drive.

Enchanted Vintage Clothing
Benbulben Centre
Rathcormac
Co. Sligo
Ireland
www.vintageclothing.ie
+353 (0)71 914 6680

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