Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Hat shops in Dublin?

hatflick1

Practically Family
Messages
623
I was in Dublin, and many other towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland. I did not discover hat shops as we think of them here. If it's an authentic Irish flat cap or tweed walking hat, you will have no problem at all. Woolens stores are loaded with such head wear.
Beware, if you wear either style ( as I did) you will be cordially ID'd as a Yank. Most of the Irish under forty wear baseball caps. Fedoras like James Joyce's will be harder to find. You may want to call finer menswear shops and see if they carry British fedoras.
Slainte!
 

jimmy the lid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,647
Location
USA
Thanks to my brothers on the Lounge, I came away from Dublin with three new Irish tweed caps from Kevin and Howlin...

DublinCaps.jpg


Of course, those caps can come in handy when out and about in the Irish countryside...

Falconry.jpg


And, I must admit, I was dragged kicking and screaming into The Temple Bar, where -- quite against my will -- I was forced to continuously sample Guiness and Smithwick's into the wee hours...

TempleBar.jpg


Kevin and Howlin was a great call, gents. Great shop with a seemingly endless variety of beautiful tweeds. Just down the street, I was able to pick up a couple of Peterson pipes. :cool2: And, across the street, visited Trinity College and the Book of Kells.

I should also note that Midleton Very Rare and Kilbeggan 15 Year Old are two Irish Whiskeys worthy of sampling, should the occasion ever arise. ;)

Can't wait to go back!

Cheers!
JtL
 
Last edited:

zetwal

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,343
Location
Texas
Great stuff, JtL ... Welcome back! :yo:

I too am curious, What beer did you like best?
 
Last edited:

jimmy the lid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,647
Location
USA
Successful trip, indeed, by the looks & sounds of it!

Very nice choice of caps.

So, do tell: which of those two brews did you prefer?

Gotta admit I am a Smithwick's (pronounced "Smiddick's") convert -- absolutely love it! Good call, Randooch!

Just discovered an Irish pub not 10 minutes from my house that has Smithwick's on tap. Uh-oh....:D
 

jimmy the lid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,647
Location
USA
Did you get a chance to play the banjo with the locals?

Funny you should mention this, Tom. At The Temple Bar, there was a 3-piece band consisting of guitar, bodhran and tenor banjo (played plectrum style). The banjo player took the lead, essentially playing fiddle lines -- triplets flowing like crazy. He was fantastic! Just made me smile. Really, really great stuff.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,736
Location
London, UK
Funny you should mention this, Tom. At The Temple Bar, there was a 3-piece band consisting of guitar, bodhran and tenor banjo (played plectrum style). The banjo player took the lead, essentially playing fiddle lines -- triplets flowing like crazy. He was fantastic! Just made me smile. Really, really great stuff.

Irish folk tuning for a tenor banjo is the same as the fiddle (GDAE, from memory), so you do tend to find they gravitate to the same parts.
 

jimmy the lid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,647
Location
USA
Irish folk tuning for a tenor banjo is the same as the fiddle (GDAE, from memory), so you do tend to find they gravitate to the same parts.

The Irish plectrum style has now been adapted to 5-string banjo, as well, which uses an entirely different tuning. Bela Fleck has led the way in developing a single-string approach to playing Irish tunes on the 5-string, which has resulted in a lot of U.S. players being exposed to this music. For me (a banjo player of some 40 years now), it was a real thrill to witness the Irish plectrum style firsthand, especially in that particular setting. :eek:
 
Messages
15,228
Location
Somewhere south of crazy
Jimmy, thanks for the pics and stories from your trip. I hope to get back there some day and maybe even do some geneology on my Mom's family. The music is great! And the drink ain't bad either.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,736
Location
London, UK
The Irish plectrum style has now been adapted to 5-string banjo, as well, which uses an entirely different tuning. Bela Fleck has led the way in developing a single-string approach to playing Irish tunes on the 5-string, which has resulted in a lot of U.S. players being exposed to this music. For me (a banjo player of some 40 years now), it was a real thrill to witness the Irish plectrum style firsthand, especially in that particular setting. :eek:

There's nothing like it! I want to get myself an Irish style tenor banjo at some point.... I have a five stringer, though as primarily a guitar player I've never quite gotten the hang of the drone G string, and I admit rather than play in open ...G(?) I tendv to cheat and tune the first string up to a high E.
 

Boodles

A-List Customer
Messages
425
Location
Charlotte, NC
Mr. JTL,
Happy to hear that you found the shop of Kevin and Howlin to your liking. Lots of all things tweed. However swell it is to find the K&H shop that seems small when compared to the discovery of Midleton Very Rare. As some pretty woman sitting close by said of her first taste, "that is dangerous."


Kevin and Howlin was a great call, gents. Great shop with a seemingly endless variety of beautiful tweeds. Just down the street, I was able to pick up a couple of Peterson pipes. :cool2: And, across the street, visited Trinity College and the Book of Kells.

I should also note that Midleton Very Rare and Kilbeggan 15 Year Old are two Irish Whiskeys worthy of sampling, should the occasion ever arise. ;)

Can't wait to go back!

Cheers!
JtL
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,030
Messages
3,026,729
Members
52,533
Latest member
RacerJ
Top