THE ROYAL OAK, Kilmainham is the hidden gem of Dublin’s pub scene.

Tucked away on a lane behind IMMA, you’d practically need Google Maps to find it. So perhaps that’s why it’s rarely mentioned in the same breath as Dublin’s other venerable pubs – the Gravediggers, Mulligans, the Long Hall.

But the Royal Oak has charm to match any of them.

First off, it’s basically a country pub in the city

You can forget the ornate Victoriana tourists associate with Dublin’s #heritage pubs.

The Royal Oak is bare decor, wood veneer, chipped tables – basically, a trip back to the 1950s.

Right down to the venerable bar signs

“Please don’t throw your cigarette ends on the floor as the cockroaches are getting cancer”.

Yeah, the smoking ban happened here too, but the whole place operates on a different time span.

And the collection of banknotes and Police Dept badges

It’s even pebbledashed on the outside

Or to put it another way, it’s like a thousand wonderful pubs down the country.

The Guinness is ~perfect~

Or as close to perfect as you’ll get in the city limits. Just *try* looking at that picture and not feeling a tiny, quiet pang of thirst.

This sign doesn’t lie:

It’s far enough from town that it doesn’t get jammed with tourists and passers-by at the drop of a hat

But also two minutes from the Luas, and *ideally* placed for a pint before a gig in the IMMA grounds.

There’s no website. No Facebook page. No Twitter.

Just this.

Plus you know it’s a proper Dublin pub, because it has this in the jacks

*bows head, praying hands emoji*

And finally, there are unconfirmed reports that it once hosted… this

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Do you need more evidence? Get thee to the Royal Oak. Only not too many of you cos you’ll spoil it.

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More: 18 of the greatest Irish pubs that tourists (mostly) don’t know about>