The Merry Ploughboy Irish Music Pub

23/10/2017

This is a fantastic spot for dinner and a show! The staff was great and I absolutely loved the Irish music and dancers. The food was spot on as well. I highly recommend The Merry Ploughboy!

16/7/2017

We visited here while in Dublin and the music and dancing was amazing! We loved it and the food was ok as well. Would definitely recommend it for anyone visiting town! It's not directly downtown it's a drive from the city center but it's worth it. The only thing is with the Beef- it didn't taste like much - tasted very meaty and bland - but some people really like that. Other than that it was a nice time!

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  Dessert!

  Dessert!
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  The show was AWESOME!

  The show was AWESOME!
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  The Beef dish! It was so so - I liked the veggies!

  The Beef dish! It was so so - I liked the veggies!
• See all photos from Roxy M. for The Merry Ploughboy Irish Music Pub

30/6/2016

Okay the format is corney. Think Medeival Times but with Irish music and dancing instead of jousting. But the execution is great. The band was charming (and the lead singer even directed traffic after the show to make sure the Americans didn't look the wrong way in traffic). The dancers were younger and had a smile on their faces. Sure there was a lot of arm movement that you wouldn't see in traditional dancing but they played to audience.

The staff had huge obligations and wee modestly surly upon execution. To be fair; they had q huge workload and a lot of patrons but they could have been nicer.

Downstairs is a classic pub and restaurant. I would totally recommend it.

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  Dancing with patrons. So fun.

  Dancing with patrons. So fun.

12/10/2016

• 1 check-in

The Merry Ploughboy is a firm favorite with my family. The ability to sit a large group of us is always a draw, however it's so busy sometimes the need to book is essential.
The food here is always lovely and the staff are so friendly you can't help but feel at home. My brother-in-law loves the chicken wings, which comes served in a big bucket and are so tasty.
It's got a family atmosphere and I'd love to come back and see it in full tourist swing as they do trad sessions and entertainment for visiting groups I think.
Lots of parking across the road too which is much needed.

5/1/2016

What a rich experience this was!  I happen to be an American that was in Ireland on Thanksgiving. There were a few places that offered a "Thanksgiving event" in town and we selected this one.

The program included a traditional Irish dance show as well as a music show - and Thanksgiving dinner. We were very pleased with the quality of the food, as well as the quality of the show. They did a great job of emulating the traditional American feast and certainly made us all feel welcome!

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  Traditional "American Thanksgiving Food"

  Traditional "American Thanksgiving Food"

8/1/2016

My first time to Dublin, Ireland we wanted something to kick off the trip with that would really give us that old fashioned Irish feel!

The set up at the Merry Ploughboy was really cool when you walked in, you could tell it was party time! It was a little tight at the table, so I recommend bringing a small purse for ladies.

The food was great, but there was a lot! Come with an appetite! Very traditional food and came out quickly, nice timing,

Once the show started it was super interactive with singing and we really got to know the people sitting next to us from Philly which made it even more fun. The music was great and my husband bought some of their CD's to bring home. I loved the dancing! All of the traditional dancers were young, like high school and wre absolutely incredible!

Highly recommend visiting for a wonderful experience!!

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  Amazing music!

  Amazing music!
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  Traditional Irish Dancing

  Traditional Irish Dancing
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• See all photos from Rachel J. for The Merry Ploughboy Irish Music Pub

27/7/2015

• 1 check-in

• Listed in Ireland

This was my second trip to Ireland and my first time to The Merry Ploughboy.

The entertainment was wonderful and the food delicious. They go out of their way to make everything enjoyable. I advise to go hungry, as portions are very large.  The food is traditional pub fare - seafood chowder, lamb, and apple pie. The lamb shanks were slow braised and fall-off-the-bone tender. This might have been the highlight meal of our trip. The food is secondary to the music though. The band was very talented and engaged the audience throughout. The fiddle player? Oh man, that guy is crazy good! Later some traditional Irish dancers took the stage. I'm not really into dancing but was amazed at the skill and energy. They even invited some members of the audience up on stage to join in.

If you'll looking for great food and entertainment, definitely add The Merry Ploughboy on your itinerary when visiting Ireland.  We had a blast.

2/8/2014

• 1 check-in

• Listed in Pubs

We had such a fun night here as part of our tour around Ireland. The music was great (the played some songs that we're absolutely hilarious) and the dancing was wonderful too. As for the food, it was delicious, especially the seafood chowder. The chowder was, by far, the best I had the whole trip, and I tried it almost very here I went after visiting the merry ploughboy because it was that good. I also had the braised beef for my entree which was yummy and the meal came with an apple tart and an Irish coffee. All were great and I was pretty much rolling out of the place at the end of the meal. And they say america has big portions!

I would definitely recommend this place for tourists and locals alike for a fun night out.

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  The band

  The band
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  Some JFK love

  Some JFK love
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  Out front of the pub

  Out front of the pub

28/2/2016

The iris Plowboy is a dinner show. I'd estimate that there were about 200 people present mostly tourists. The activity begins with a 3 course dinner: starter, main course, and dessert. There were 3  starter choices and about half a dozen entree choices that included fish, beef, chicken, lamb, and vegetarian alternatives. The meal included a before dinner glass of beer or wine and an after dinner cup of tea or coffee.  The after dinner show was traditional Irish music and singing. The singers encouraged audience participation and energized the crowd. There were a few Irish dancers that performed during an intermission of the music. The show was lively and entertaining. The food was ok, actually it was very good considering the number of people that were served within a very short period. I'd recommend this show to anyone looking for traditional Irish music.

1/8/2016

Well had heard loads of good reports about this place so decided to check it out for myself. I brought my parents out for Sunday dinner. unfortunately the food really let the place down we ordered wings that were burnt and I had burger which was extremely dry. My parents had mussels to start and soup which they both enjoyed. But the pasta mains was tasteless as was the steak. My chips were even over cooked a real disappointment to be honest considering all good reviews from others.

30/12/2013

• 1 check-in

• Listed in The Yelp 100 Challenge

What a fun place!  The Merry Ploughboys are an entertaining and engaging group with plenty of music and dance.

My tour came here for dinner and a show.  We were quickly greeted by staff and seated.  There was water and bread on the table.  And our orders were taken fairly quickly. The soup (fish chowder?) was delicious.  For my maine course, I had the Guinness stew, and it was deliciously filling.  Dessert was an apple pastry, even though there wasn't much room for it after the meal.

The meal came with complimentary Irish coffee. It was a tasty end to a wonderful dining experience.  

The Merry Ploughboys were funny, engaging, and sounded pretty good. They were very into audience participation.  They also had traditional Irish dancers.  They were children and were fantastic.  It was a cute show, but lasted a bit too long for my taste.

I got a little antsy and headed downstairs to the bar.  It was a very different vibe with friendly locals.

This is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in Dublin.

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• See all photos from Monique S. for The Merry Ploughboy Irish Music Pub

7/3/2015

As a Dubliner, I never thought of visiting here but sometimes it's nice to see your own city through the eyes of a tourist. A group of 8 of us decided to head out for the night and booked table for dinner and a show at €50 per person. Considering a shuttle to and from the city is provided it seemed reasonable anyway,but the choice on the menu and the quality of the food provided was really unexpected! It was a top quality restaurant, not just standard Carvery fare that I had expected. Starter, mains desserts and coffee was included with massive portion sizes.

The music was fun and upbeat with some interesting historical tidbits thrown in. Irish dancers were next and got the audience involved which added to the atmosphere. After the show, the bus loads of tourists left and the remaining groups ventured downstairs for a proper Irish music session in the downstairs pub.

It was a great night and something I'd recommend anyone to try once for a different type of night out

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  Musicians at the Merry Ploughboy Pub

  Musicians at the Merry Ploughboy Pub
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  Audience grabbed up to dance

  Audience grabbed up to dance

7/7/2016

• 1 check-in

This is amazing place!  I had the seafood chowder soup and the Guinness beef stew with carrots and potatoes.   It was so delicious!  The show was amazing!  Over all experience was great!!

23/10/2014

• Listed in Cosy for Winter

So cosy !!!!! Really Authentic irish pub !!!!! So if that's what your into... Very quiet .. location very difficult to get to public transport wise... there's a bus that goes up there from town but its very very irregular and its a long enough journey ... and coming back you would need to order a taxi you couldn't just pull one from the road ...

4/6/2015

Had an absolutely wonderful time complete with a 3-course meal and live entertainment. The dinning room was extremely crowded with multiple tour buses visiting at the same time but that didn't detract from the experience, if anything it added to the ambiance. Almost enjoyable not understanding a word your neighbors are saying (pretty sure there were German but likely wrong).

Dinner for me was composed of goat cheese and crackers with a small spinach salad. The goat cheese was very rich. The main course was a beef tenderloin stew that tasteful and tastefully presented. Desert was a delicious apple pie confection that was perfect (I am not too much of a sweets person) followed by "Irish coffee" -- nice touch.

The entertainment was outstanding and included a live band playing traditional Irish music with a dance performance by a river-dance 5-some.

Only real complaint - not a criticism at all -- was the drive/ride to the location via the twisty-vertigo inducing roads.

12/6/2015

A real country warm cuddly boozer five minutes from Tallaght and rathfarnam. Amazing food (wings served in a fondue skillet) pints are mighty and the staff friendly.

Car park is overrun with bus loads of yanks but the Ploughboy lads are all over this and corral them upstairs away from the humans!

Amazing pub, highly recommended

27/10/2015

This was a great evening out!! Definitely worth the trip! I had the lamb and my friend had the Guinness beef, both were delicious!! The entertainment was top notch! Loved the band and the Irish dancing!

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  Guinness beef! Yummy

  Guinness beef! Yummy
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  Lamb with mashed potatoes

  Lamb with mashed potatoes

18/1/2013

• 1 check-in

Ye know what, I wouldn't even have thought of going here for drinks, not being a tourist n all.  But a friend held an engagement party there last week, so I decided to go along and give it a whirl.

As part of the private party, we were served up platters of food to go with our (many) drinks.  Nothing too fancy in here - cocktail sausages, deep fried stuff, sandwiches, you know the deal - but there was LOTS of it.  And to be honest, we weren't expecting any gourmet treats, so it did the job grand.  (Extra points for the mini melted cheese on toasts!  My favourite food in mini form! Yes!!)

It's a warm and cosy venue, a pub that obviously has been here for years.  Yes they do get the tourist crowd, but nothing wrong with that.  There was a really good mixture of locals and tourists alike, and if you really wanted to see some 'traditional' carry on, the show is upstairs, which features traditional Irish music and Irish Dancing.  This is the only pub in Ireland owned and managed by traditional musicians, which is an important point to note.

They also have live music in the bar every Fri, Sat, Sun.  To be honest, we were away in a bit of a snug from the bar, so didn't hear a whole lot of it, but that may also be a good thing that you have the choice.

Also - they operate shuttle buses up and down from a few areas in the city centre, so easy to get stuck into the pints without worrying!

19/1/2013

Chicken wings are spiiiiiiiicyyyyyyyyyy and very good but seriously very spicey so not for the faint hearted! Their soup is normally excellent and the home made Guinness brown bread is savage!! Mmmmm

They don't start serving food until late midweek so check it out before arriving as we arrived and then left disappointed without our yummy chicken wing fix

12/8/2014

• 1 check-in

The old adage that dinner theater is neither good dinner nor theater does NOT apply here.  
A thoroughly entertaining evening of Irish music and dance. And a delicious 3 course dinner all for under $110 (taxi provided to and from our hotel)

Really worth checking out.