Sharon Horgan, Irish actor-writer-producer and star of the recent TV hit, Bad Sisters, has revealed her 10 favourite Dublin spots.
The Emmy nominee and BAFTA Award-winner Sharon Horgan returned to Ireland recently to film Bad Sisters, which was shot in numerous locations on the island. She revealed to Apple Maps Hyperlocal the top 10 Dublin places she loves to visit.
1. The Cobblestone
A timeless, traditional Irish music bar that was the backdrop for some Bad Sisters scenes, the Cobblestone is located in one of Dublin’s oldest districts. It’s a welcoming place where Sharon says she spent some great family evenings.
2. Kehoes Pub
Sharon admits to having spent half her waking hours in Kehoes when she was in art college. The 200-year-old heritage pub has authentic Victorian style stained-glass doors, wood panelling and cosy snugs. “It’s got so many memories for me,” says Sharon. “And it does a really good pint of Guinness.”
3. L’Gueuleton
This French restaurant was a family favourite when Sharon was growing up and she now takes her daughters there. She loves their French onion soup and feels that it’s a place that will continue to provide good memories for her.
4. Iveagh Gardens
The Iveagh Gardens are near St Stephen’s Green in Dublin City Centre and have a history dating back 300 years. “It’s a beautiful garden,” says Sharon, explaining that she loves gardens that are “groomed and have a bit more architecture to them”.
5. The Spire
The 120m-high silver spire on Dublin’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell St, was erected in 2002 and is now one of the city’s landmarks. Sharon describes it as “a beautiful piece of architecture” with its reflective surface and its illuminated tip providing a beacon in the night sky.
6. The Winding Stair
This restaurant on Lower Ormond Quay is named after a Yeats’ poem and in honour of its winding staircase. Upstairs the restaurant has great views over the River Liffey and the Ha’penny Bridge while downstairs it retains the original bookshop, once a meeting place for writers and artists. Sharon describes it as “a very Dublin place”.
7. The Shelbourne
One of Dublin’s most distinguished hotels, the Shelbourne is famously where the Constitution of the Irish Free State was drafted. A luxury hotel right in the heart of Dublin, it holds many memories for Sharon, who stays there every Christmas with her family.
8. The Last Bookshop
This second-hand book shop is a Dublin gem and a magnet for book worms. Sharon describes it as “higgledy-piggledy…like how you would imagine a bookshop to look in a Richard Curtis movie”.
9. The Cake Café
This little café sits in a courtyard at the back of The Last Bookshop and is a wonderful oasis of calm in the heart of the city. Serving delicious homemade food, it’s a place Sharon describes as “a gorgeous treat”.
10. Wicklow Station
It’s not the station itself that Sharon loves but the fact that a short train journey from Dublin takes you to “one of the most beautiful places on earth”. Quite a lot of Bad Sisters was shot in Wicklow, which is home to the famous monastic sites of Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains National Park.
