I have a opportunity to go to Ireland this spring and I was wondering if they are as anal about having kids in pubs as we are here (USA). I won’t go unless I can take my 4yr old daughter, and if I go I plan on spending a good amount of time in the pubs. Any input is greatly appreciated.
Take care, Johnz
I saw many kids in pubs…through a phenomenally thick haze of tobacco smoke. I heard mention of smokeless pubs, but nowhere near where we visited.
sigh Never been yet. Now, to skew your thread sideways a bit for a moment…
Closest I came was reading Ray Bradbury’s Green Shadows, White Whale, a sort-of autobiographical account of his time in Ireland with John Huston, writing the screenplay for Moby Dick (the one with Gregory Peck).
The man’s my hero. I sent him my copy of the book and he autographed it for me.
Heckuva book. Inspired me to read Moby Dick, the whole thing.
That’s my Ireland story. Wish there were more.
M
In Dublin, there are no kids after a certain time…I think it’s 6 pm. However each pub can make their own rules without having to answer to anybody else, and they are free to say “No kids.”
In the rest of the country it doesn’t matter. I’ve seen kids playing behind the bar with their dad, the barman, when business was slow. Occasionally you’ll see a sign that says “Please keep your children with you.”
Kids are allowed in pubs during the day and early evening. Some allow them anytime, and some say not after a certain hour (sometimes 9pm) The biggest problem we found with music in pubs in Ireland was the smoking. You really don’t want to take kids in there when it is that smokey. Most sessions don’t start until 9:30pm (Irish time…so closer to 10pm very late for kids)
Try to find some Sunday afternoon sessions, maybe they won’t be so smokey!
We have been in Ireland twice, and did take our kids to the pub. But our daughters were a bit older then (12 and 9)and the pub was rather quiet with little smoking inside. We never stayed later than 10 pm. It should be possible to find a local baby-sitter for your little one.
Like has been mentioned before, kids are allowed into pubs in most instances, in Ireland. The smoke is definitely a problem, but may not be for much longer. There is a move afoot to ban smoking in all establishments where food is served. This would include a lot of pubs ~ at least you might now have a choice.
When we have gone to Ireland with our kids, we would always bring our own large bottle of coke or fanta (orange) into the pub and ask the bartender if it was ok for us to open it for the kids ~ minerals (soft drinks) are very expensive and if you are there for a while it can add up to quite a lot when there are a few kids around. No one ever refused to allow us to do this.
Good luck with your trip.
Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden thi yer? 
Kan du inte åtminstone försöka få till rätt sorts bokstäver, Zub? Det är inte som om vi vore norrmän.
Edit:Putting smilie in.
[ This Message was edited by: Andreas on 2002-11-27 10:07 ]
Hi, Andreas!
So you were the møøse chöreögr@pher ? 
Now could you please translate what you just said? I got nothing from it except that Northman with a moon face. 
On 2002-11-27 10:06, Andreas wrote:
Kan du inte åtminstone försöka få till rätt sorts bokstäver, Zub? Det är inte som om vi vore norrmän.>
Can you at least try to use the right letters, Zub? It’s not as if we were Norwegians.
Thanks for the advice guys. The reason it’s important for my daughter to get into pubs is because the trip is connected with the Glengarry Bhoys, my daughters favorite band. A great deal of the trip would include spending a lot of time with them, and I’d feel terrible if they went to a pub and my daughter couldn’t come also. It sounds like a bit of a crap shoot on whether she could get in or not. As for the smoking, I consider this a non-issue, as long as one doesn’t have occupational exposure, I don’t believe cigarette smoke is harmful in the long term.
Take care, Johnz
Hi John,
you have heard it all, we have been to the Galway area in October with our 2 and a half year old daughter, no problem taking her to the pubs apart from that she wanted to go to bed before the sessions started . But she really enjoyed the setdance classes !!
Make the most of it, Ireland is much more laid back than most other countries,
Dagmar