The ever-popular Pogues are playing a gig in the RDS, Dublin on 23rd December 2007. Check out our guide to the unique sounds of The Pogues with details on the concert itself and how to get to the venue plus we’ve sussed out a few Dublin hotels that are close to the RDS.
The RDS is situated just south of Dublin city centre in the leafy suburb of Ballsbridge. It’s set on a 42 acre site near the Herbert Park Hotel on Merrion Road. If you’re travelling from the city centre it’s easy enough to get to on foot. Heading out of the city centre, starting outside of Trinity College, walk along Nassau Street for about 150 metres or so. From here you can turn right and follow the signs for the R118 (Mount Street). Continue along for about 2kms and you should see the RDS in front of you, as the road becomes Merrion Road.
If you think this is too much of a walk you can always hop on a bus. The number 7, 5, and 45 all stop on Nassau Street outside of Trinity College. If you want to take the DART, Lansdowne and Sandymount stations are just a few blocks away while the nearest Luas stop is on the Green Line in Ranelagh.
The Pogues have been a pioneering group ever since they first got together in 1982 under the name of, an anglicised version of an Irish curse, Pogue Mahone. Shane MacGowan just got the idea one night to play the old Irish ballad Waxies’ Dargle at twice the speed of the original and ‘Celtic Punk’ was born. Their break came when they opened for The Clash in 1984 but they didn’t get a lot of radio play, because of the censorship boards disapproval of their name, so they changed it to simply be The Pogues.
Their first album “Red Roses for Me” featured 7 songs that Shane MacGowan had written himself as well as a number of other more traditional songs. They would continue to be a big draw for years to come, even after Shane MacGowan left the band in 1991, until the rest of the band split up in 1996.
Arguably the most famous song ever to be produced by the band, is the “Fairytale of New York”, which featured Kirsty MacColl, which is routinely the voted number 1 Christmas song of all time. This song was released in 1987, it was re-released in 1991 and then again in 2005. It even made number 6 on the charts again in 2006 based on downloads alone!
The band reformed with Shane MacGowan in 2001 for Christmas. They have been doing tours in various cities throughout the world ever since. 2007 has been the most prolific year of tours since the reunion. These tours have all been old music, although there’s word that they will be releasing an album of unreleased tracks in the near future.
Until then there is plenty to enjoy with their old material. The Pogues will be playing the Main Hall at 8pm on Sunday, 23rd of December.
Why not make a night of it and check yourself into one of our Dublin hotels? There are a number of Dublin hotels conveniently located within easy reach of the RDS venue.
Dublin hotels in the vicinity include a number of reasonably priced 3-Star hotels such as the Lansdowne Hotel, the Tara Towers Hotel, the Mount Herbert Hotel and the Roxford Lodge Hotel. If you’d like somewhere a little snazzier then the Herbert Park Hotel or the School House Hotel, both of which are 4-Star hotels, might suit your needs. For some real luxury you might choose the 5-Star Dylan Hotel.
In the nearby suburb of Donnybrook, which borders Ballsbridge, you can find The Montrose Hotel which is a 3-Star hotel.
As you can see we have a fine selection of Dublin hotels that are situated close to the RDS. And when you stay in one of these hotels you’ll be within easy reach of the city centre and to Temple Bar, the nightlife capital of the city. And if you’ve some last minute Christmas shopping to do, check out the festive atmosphere on Grafton Street and Henry Street.
If you have any queries about booking any of our Dublin hotels for the Pogues concert, just leave a message in the comment box below and we’ll get back to you.
