Join a haunted pub crawl through Dublin’s ancient streets for ghosts and a pint of Guinness. From plotting revolutionaries to somber writers, these pubs and bars are said to be a place where some of the patrons have been lingering for a long time. 

You don’t have to choose between checking out haunted locations and sitting down for a pint in Dublin as the number of haunted pubs and bars around the city will take you around a haunted pub crawl around the streets of Dublin all night. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland

For those wanting a printable map and info brochure, you can head over to our webshop for purchase together with other sober versions of haunted city tours. But this one is for the booze and ghost lovers, and here is a list of a mere fraction of the haunted places for ghosts and pints. 

John Kavanagh’s The Gravediggers | 1 Prospect Square, Glasnevin

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Next to the haunted Glasnevin Cemetery you will find John Kavanagh’s, better known as The Gravediggers, a pub where the living and the dead are said to share a quiet pint. Founded in 1833, this old family-run tavern once served the weary cemetery workers who would signal their arrival by tossing a shovelful of earth against the wall, a ritual that, according to legend, can still be heard on still nights. The pub’s most famous ghost is that of an elderly man in a tweed suit who sits silently with his drink before vanishing through the wall.

Read the whole story: John Kavanagh’s ‘The Gravediggers’: A Pint with the Dead 

The Brazen Head | 20 Bridge St. Lower, Usher’s Quay

A rebel and freedom fighter for Irish independence is said to haunt his favorite pub, The Brazen Head in Dublin, where it is said he plotted his fight against the English. 
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Often hailed as Dublin’s oldest pub, The Brazen Head carries with it centuries of rebellion, revelry, and restless spirits. Most famously, it is said to be haunted by the ghost of Irish rebel Robert Emmet, who plotted his ill-fated uprising against British rule in 1803. After his execution and beheading on nearby Thomas Street, legend tells that his spirit returned to his beloved pub, unable to find peace. 

Read the whole story: The Brazen Head: Dublin’s Oldest Pub and Its Restless Rebel 

The Portobello Bar | 33 Richmond Street, Saint Kevin’s

The Portobello Bar, standing beside Dublin’s Grand Canal, is said to be haunted by the ghost of a lock keeper whose tragic mistake cost innocent lives. The lock keeper’s story dates back to the 19th century, when he accidentally caused a carriage to sink while crossing the canal. Consumed by guilt and disgrace, he met his own mysterious death by the water’s edge. To this day, locals claim his restless spirit lingers near the lock, appearing as a dark figure on misty nights. 

Read the whole story: The Portobello Bar: Spirits on the Canal 

Davy Byrne’s | 21 Duke St, Dublin

Said to appear in the mirror of his favorite place for a pint in Dublin, the ghost of James Joyce is rumored to still linger in Davy Byrne’s Pub. 
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One of Dublin’s most famous literary landmarks, patrons say the ghost of James Joyce still lingers in the mirrors of his favorite haunt. Open since 1889, the pub was once a meeting place for revolutionaries like Michael Collins, but it was Joyce who made it immortal through Ulysses, where Leopold Bloom famously ordered his gorgonzola sandwich and burgundy. Over a century later, visitors claim to glimpse Joyce’s reflection moving on its own or hear the faint scratch of a pen in the quiet corners of the bar. 

Read the whole story: Davy Byrne’s Pub: The Ghost of James Joyce Still Raising a Glass

Darkey Kelly | 19 Fishamble St, Christchurch

The pub Darkey Kelly is named after a ghostly legend of one of Irelands most notorious killer and rumoured witch that is haunting the neighborhood. In the Dublin’s Liberties, the ghost of Darkey Kelly, known as The Green Lady, is said to haunt the 40 steps leading to St. Audoen’s Church. Once an 18th-century innkeeper and madam of the Maiden Tower brothel, Darkey Kelly became entangled with the Hellfire Club and its notorious member, Sheriff Simon Luttrell. Accused of witchcraft and murder after a bitter dispute, she was publicly burned at the stake in 1761. Her execution, one of Dublin’s most brutal, sparked centuries of rumor and legend, from hidden corpses beneath her brothel to tales of dark pacts and vengeance from beyond the grave. And the bar bearing her name is said to hold her haunting as well. 

Read the whole story: Darkey Kelly: The Green Lady of the Liberties 

Bull and Castle Pub | 5-7 Lord Edward Street, Christchurch

Said to haunt his former childhood home that is now the Bull and Castle Pub in Dublin, the ghost of the melancholic writer James Clarence Mangan is said to linger. 
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At the corner of Lord Edward Street, across from Christ Church Cathedral, is the Bull and Castle Pub, a lively haunt with a darker secret. Beneath its laughter and the clink of glasses lingers the ghost of James Clarence Mangan, one of Ireland’s most tragic poets. Born on this very site in 1803, Mangan lived a life shadowed by despair and brilliance. Known for his strange attire, his green spectacles, and his haunting verse, he was both admired and pitied by the likes of Yeats and Joyce. Those who visit say the poet has never truly left. When the music fades and the night deepens, a chill often sweeps through the pub, dimming the lights and stilling conversation. 

Read the whole story: Bull and Castle Pub: The Melancholy Ghost of James Clarence Mangan

Brogans Bar | 75 Dame Street, Temple Bar

Once known as Leonards, this centuries-old pub has welcomed revolutionaries, writers, and wanderers alike, including Michael Collins himself. Some blame the ghosts of Dublin Castle across the street, while others whisper of a sealed tunnel beneath the bar, said to once lead directly to the castle’s gates. Though the passage may be hidden according to rumours, strange voices and cold drafts still rise from the cellar.

Read the whole story: Brogans Bar: The Secret Passage to the Past 

The Lord Edward Pub | 23 Christchurch, Wood Quay

Across from St. Werburgh’s Church, where the famed patriot Lord Edward Fitzgerald is buried, stands the Lord Edward Pub, a place steeped in both history and haunting. The pub, dating back to 1890, carries the name of the Irish rebel who fought and died for his country’s freedom during the doomed 1798 Rebellion. Locals say his spirit never left the area. Patrons have reported sudden chills, flickering lights, and fleeting reflections of a man in military dress lingering in the mirrors behind the bar. 

Read the whole story: The Lord Edward Pub: The Rebel’s Restless Spirit

Doyle’s Pub | 9 College Street, Dublin

After dying for the cause of Irish Independence, it is said the ghost of Lord Edward is haunting the pub he is buried close to and bears his name. 
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At the corner of Phibsborough where the North Circular Road meets Doyle’s Corner stands the Victorian Doyle’s Pub. Once called The Arthur Conan Doyle, the pub was built with stones from nearby Saint Peter’s Church and holds a chilling secret beneath its cellar. Frequented in its day by Brendan Behan and the infamous hangman Albert Pierrepoint, Doyle’s was also a neighbor to Lanigan’s Funeral Home. Patrons have long reported ghostly footsteps, shattered glasses, and the apparition of a pale figure on the stairs. Some say it is a spirit from the funeral home, others believe it’s one of Pierrepoint’s victims from Mountjoy Prison, still searching for their executioner.

Read the whole story: Doyle’s Pub: The Hangman’s Shadow in Phibsborough 

John Mulligan’s Pub | 8 Poolbeg Street, Dublin

A stop on the haunted pub crawl through Dublin, one of the stops would be John Mulligan’s. Stories about glass and bottles flying from the shelves has haunted the place for decades now according to the people behind the bar. 

In Dublin’s literary quarter, John Mulligan’s Pub on Poolbeg Street is known for more than its pints and prose. Since opening in 1854, the beloved Victorian tavern has drawn in journalists, actors, and writers, including James Joyce, who immortalized it in his story Counterparts. Staff have long spoken of bottles flying from shelves, doors slamming on their own, and phantom footsteps echoing above the cellar. Some claim to have seen the ghost of a man perched on a beer barrel, his gaze fixed on nothing, as though lost in thought from another time. 

Read the whole story: John Mulligans and the Pub Ghost on Poolbeg Street 

Madigan’s Bar | Connelly Station Amien Street (Closed for now)

Just steps from the ghostly corridors of Connolly Station was Madigan’s Bar, a place where travellers paused for a drink before their journey and where some never seem to leave. Staff have told of strange happenings when the last trains have departed and the station falls silent. Glasses rattle behind the bar without cause. Cold drafts sweep across the floor, even when the doors are firmly closed.  In 2011, the Irish Ghost Hunters carried out an investigation at Connolly Station and Madigan’s Bar after countless reports of paranormal activity. The pub has earned its own haunted reputation over the years, although it is unclear if it is the same haunting as the station, or something else. This bar however, is said to have closed down, so who knows what will pop up in its place. Will it be as haunted?

Read the whole story: Connolly Station: The Soldier Who Waits for a Train That Never Comes 

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