Dublin nightlife starts in the pub and finishes earlier than in most European capitals. Pubs such as Kehoe's close at 23:30 in the week and 00:30 on Friday and Saturday, and most club nights end at 02:30 or 03:00. The centre is small enough to walk: Temple Bar and the North Quays for gigs and clubs, George's Street and Grafton Street for old pubs and cocktails, Camden and Harcourt Street for the late strip, Smithfield for trad sessions. A club ticket is usually €10–20. Worth knowing: the Luas stops around 00:30, so plan on a Nitelink bus on Friday and Saturday, one of the 24-hour bus routes or a taxi.
Ranked by popularity. Tap a card for opening hours, door tips, getting there and tickets.
For the drinks before and after. Hours, prices and the best nights are on each page.
The night starts in a pub, not a club. Pubs open from 10:30, and a classic like Kehoe's closes at 23:30 from Monday to Thursday and at 00:30 on Friday and Saturday. A Dublin night is built around that: pints or a gig first, then a late bar or a club once the pubs empty.
It ends earlier than you expect. Late bars and clubs trade on special exemption orders, and almost every club night in the city finishes at 02:30 or 03:00. The Sale of Alcohol Bill would let nightclubs stay open until 06:00, but in autumn 2026 the old hours still apply. Be inside by midnight.
Age matters more than your outfit. The legal drinking age is 18, but many venues set their own bar: Wigwam is 19+, Yamamori Tengu 20+, Pygmalion 20+ or 21+, and Vintage Cocktail Club and Opium's late bar 23+. Bring photo ID every time.
Kehoe's was first licensed in 1803 and The Long Hall dates from the 1860s. You can have a full night here without a club.
The Cobblestone in Smithfield has a session every day of the week, and The Temple Bar has live Irish music all day.
Index, Yamamori Tengu, block. and Frame book international DJs into small rooms, for €10 to €30.
Whelan's, Button Factory, The Grand Social and The Workman's Club put on bands early and club nights after.
The George on South Great George's Street has been the centre of it since 1985, with drag through the week.
Vintage Cocktail Club behind its black door in Temple Bar, and Peruke & Periwig over three floors on Dawson Street.
Not for you if you want to dance until sunrise. Club nights end at 02:30 or 03:00, and Temple Bar prices add up fast.
After-work pints. Kehoe's and the pubs off Grafton Street fill first.
Gigs start at Whelan's, Button Factory and The Grand Social. The trad session at The Cobblestone is already going.
Gigs finish. Club doors open from 22:00 at Index and block. and from 23:00 at Wigwam and Yamamori Tengu.
Pubs close on Friday and Saturday, and the last Luas leaves around the same time.
Peak on the dance floor. Some clubs stop letting people in around now.
Clubs close. Nitelink buses from the city centre, a 24-hour route or the taxi queue.
There is a session every day from mid-afternoon to closing. The Friday sessions at 19:00 and 21:30 bring in the strongest players.
Button Factory runs gigs from 19:00 to 22:30 and club nights until 03:00 from Friday to Sunday. Whelan's Indie Club starts at 22:30 for €10.
Yamamori Tengu has booked Sonja Moonear and Ian Pooley into a two-room club inside a sushi restaurant. Tickets €10–20, 20+.
Shirley Temple Bar hosts from 20:30, the DJ plays until 01:30, and entry is free before 21:00, €5 after.
Two Victorian pubs, a short walk apart, from South Anne Street to South Great George's Street. Then The George, or Pygmalion around the corner.
In October 2026 the Circles series brought Moodymann to The Bernard Shaw, Mark Broom to Frame and Leftfield to Centre Point over the bank holiday weekend.
The red-fronted Temple Bar pub, Button Factory on Curved Street, The Workman's Club on Wellington Quay and Vintage Cocktail Club on Crown Alley. Busy, central and expensive.
Index and Wigwam a few doors apart on Middle Abbey Street, Yamamori Tengu on Strand Street Great, The Grand Social by the Ha'penny Bridge and The Sound House on Eden Quay. The best clubs in Dublin are mostly here.
The George, The Long Hall and Pygmalion in the Powerscourt Townhouse on South William Street. A pub, a drag show and a club within a few minutes' walk.
Kehoe's on South Anne Street and Peruke & Periwig on Dawson Street. Early-evening drinking rather than a late night.
Whelan's and Opium on Wexford Street, block. on Liberty Lane behind them and Copper Face Jacks on Harcourt Street. The place to go out when you want a long night in one area.
The Cobblestone for sessions every day and Fidelity for craft beer on a custom sound system. Quieter, more local, and on the Luas Red Line.
Photo ID is the first thing every door asks for, and the age bar changes by venue: 18+ at Index and The Grand Social, 19+ at Wigwam, 20+ at Yamamori Tengu, 20+ or 21+ at Pygmalion, and 23+ at Vintage Cocktail Club and Opium's late bar. Index searches everyone and can refuse full sportswear or flip-flops. block. puts a sticker over your phone camera. Most electronic nights are ticketed in advance, and the big ones sell out.
Most club nights cost €10 to €20 on Resident Advisor or Dice: from €8 at The Sound House, from €10 at block., €10–20 at Yamamori Tengu. Big names cost €25–30 at Wigwam and Pygmalion. The Whelan's Indie Club is €10, The George is free early and €5–10 later, and pubs are free.
The Luas runs until about 00:30 from Monday to Saturday and 23:00 on Sunday, and the last DART and commuter trains leave before midnight. On Friday and Saturday nights 12 Nitelink routes run from the city centre to the suburbs for €2.40 with a Leap card or €3.10 in cash. Fifteen bus routes, including the 15, 39a, 41, C1, C2, G1 and N4, run 24 hours a day, every day. Taxis charge a special rate from 00:00 to 04:00 on Saturday and Sunday: €5.40 to start, then €2.20 per kilometre.
| Club entry | €8–30 |
| Pint in Temple Bar | From €8.95 |
| Cocktail in Temple Bar | From €15.50 |
| Cloakroom | ≈ €2–3 |
| Nitelink bus | €2.40 Leap, €3.10 cash |
| Taxi across town at night | ≈ €12–20 |
| Chips after the club | ≈ €6–10 |
| Hostel bed, weekend | ≈ €35–60 |
Pints outside Temple Bar, an €8–10 club ticket, two drinks inside and the Nitelink home.
A gig or two pubs, a €15–20 ticket, four drinks, the cloakroom and a shared taxi.
Cocktails at Vintage Cocktail Club, a €25–30 headliner, drinks until 03:00 and a taxi at the special rate.
18+ is the law, not the rule. Wigwam is 19+, Tengu 20+, Pygmalion up to 21+, and some bars are 23+.
Clubs close at 03:00, block. at 02:30, and some nights stop letting people in at 01:30.
It runs on Friday and Saturday nights only. On other nights, use one of the 15 bus routes that run 24 hours.
From 00:00 to 04:00 on Saturday and Sunday the special rate applies, and booking ahead adds €3.
Pints at The Temple Bar started at €8.95 on its 2024 menu. George's Street and Smithfield are a short walk away.
At Button Factory and The Grand Social the gig ends around 22:30 and the club needs its own ticket.
The pub on South Anne Street was rebuilt in its Victorian style towards the end of the 19th century.
Copper Face Jacks takes its name from Copperfaced Jack, the nickname of John Scott, an 18th-century judge.
It opened in May 1985, expanding from Bridie's Bar into its loft space on South Great George's Street.
In 2021 a plan to replace it with a 14-storey hotel was rejected after community protests.
Most club nights end at 02:30 or 03:00, and late bars stop at 02:30. The Sale of Alcohol Bill would let nightclubs open until 06:00, but as of autumn 2026 the old hours still apply.
For clubs, the North Quays around Middle Abbey Street, with Index, Wigwam and Yamamori Tengu. For pubs, George's Street and Grafton Street. For one long night in one place, Camden and Harcourt Street.
The Luas stops around 00:30. On Friday and Saturday nights, Nitelink buses run from the city centre for €2.40 with a Leap card, and 15 bus routes run 24 hours every day. Otherwise, take a taxi.
Usually €10 to €20. The Sound House starts at €8, block. at €10, and big names at Wigwam or Pygmalion cost €25 to €30.
The legal age is 18, but many clubs set it higher: Wigwam is 19+, Yamamori Tengu 20+ and Pygmalion 20+ or 21+. Always bring photo ID.
For a first pint and live music, yes, but it is expensive: The Temple Bar pub priced pints from €8.95 in 2024. Button Factory and The Workman's Club are the reasons to stay late.
See which clubs and bars are open right now, who is playing and where to get tickets. Live in four cities, with more on the way.
