9 August 2022
By Roger Kennedy
roger@TheCork.ie
Entertainment
Cork City
If you’re a party animal, Ireland’s Cork will leave you spoilt for choice! A large city teeming with university students, it bustles with numerous outlets for booze, music, cosy pubs, energetic bars, and everything else that screams grand nightlife.
The party vibes are always on here. If you’re dying to experience it, know that you’re in for a real treat! But where do you start? To help you decide, we’ve prepared this mini list of the top 3 options for your late-night revelries in this hotspot.
Lap it up and prepare for the grandest night ever. Don’t worry; what happens in Cork stays in Cork!
Revive Old Irish Glory at The Welcome Inn
Drinking is one of the many things Irish people are known for, which is why the pubs thrive in Cork. Visit The Welcome Inn to witness the locals’ unconditional love for alcohol and to partake in the craze firsthand.
This is one of Cork’s oldest and last remaining traditional pubs and early houses, dating back to 1845. Both locals and visitors flock here. Every day at 7 a.m., it opens its doors to everyone and lives up to its name by greeting each visitor warmly.
You’d be disappointed if you expected a loud party inside. If, on the other hand, you enjoy your pints with a dollop of music, this is your heaven.
The Welcome Inn serves a range of craft beers and authentic Irish whiskey. Some of their most popular flavours include creamy, malty, oaky, peaty, citrus, smoky, and woody. So raise a glass of ‘uisce beatha’ (water of life) and tap your feet to good music to experience living history in all its glory!
Enjoy Music and Booze at the Crane Lane Theatre
Music – whether traditional or modern – is the heart and soul of Irish culture. The city of Cork is no exception. This is why its nightlife is incomplete without music. So, where do you experience it best? – Go, visit the Crane Lane Theatre.
The “House of Jazz, Blues, and Burlesque” is housed in the ruins of an old Gentleman’s Club in the city centre. They are part of the Cork Heritage pub trail and have witnessed many notorious events over the last century.
Because you can’t keep the Irish away from their pints of beer, the Crane Lane Theatre also houses one of the city’s most popular Beer Gardens. Their decor is from the 20s, 30s and 40s and the owners are big on Tom Waits’ music.
Aside from the Beer Gardens, the Crane Lane Theatre has four other bars: The Stage Door, The Crystal Room, the Theatre itself, and the recently added Arthur Maynes Pharmacy and wine bar, which is accessible through the smoking garden.
Live music is available seven days a week. The venue has something for everyone, from traditional folk to blues, jazz, country, and even electrifying DJ performances. So, gulp down their homebrewed Mí Daza and soak up the party atmosphere, because “T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones.”
Try your Luck at the Macau Sporting Club
Music, food and booze aren’t the only options for your big night out in Cork. There are brick-and-mortar casinos, too, and your experience would be incomplete if you did not visit them.
One such casino sits in the Macau Sporting Club and brings a slice of Vegas right into Cork. Poker, Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Slots, and live sports – it combines the best cash games with fine dining.
The buzz never dies down at the tables and slot machines of this club that spans over 13000 square feet. In fact, it is one of the largest casinos in Ireland that features a 6000 square feet Poker room!
The Macau Sporting Club has an open door policy for anyone over the age of 18. However, if you don’t want to step into a physical casino or live the high-roller lifestyle, you can slide into online casinos and enjoy the same gaming experience at a lower cost.
Websites such as minimumdepositcasinos.ie cater specifically to such low-rollers in Cork and throughout Ireland.
To conclude, this list is far from complete and only a sneak peek at what you can expect in the big city. The locals swear by their collective love for drinking, partying and merrymaking, so you will never run out of things to do or places to visit.
