Temple Bar trades on noise. A few steps along Wellington Quay, the Ha'penny Bridge Inn trades on the room upstairs, where a comedy and open-mic night that has run since 1996 still pulls a crowd that came to listen.
Published Jan 6, 2026 · By Daniel Okafor
Last reviewed Jun 1, 2026 · How we pick barsThe Ha'penny Bridge Inn stands at 42 Wellington Quay, named for the cast-iron pedestrian bridge a few doors down. It is one of the more honestly traditional pubs at the edge of Temple Bar, an L-shaped room of worn wood and low light that has kept its character while the district around it leaned into stag-party tourism. Visit Dublin files it as a busy, friendly traditional house, and that is the right read.
The draw is the calendar. The pub runs live gigs from Tuesday to Sunday, a rotating bill of variety shows, traditional sessions, country and folk, and jazz and blues nights. That programming is the whole personality of the place, and it puts the Inn squarely in any honest read of the Dublin live-music scene.
Drink it like the Dublin pub it is. The Guinness is the order, and reviewers single it out for a careful pour finished with a shamrock, which is the small thing that separates a tourist trap from a real house. There is no cocktail programme to chase here, and that is the point. A well-kept pint and a seat near the music is the whole brief. Our roundup of the best live music bars in Dublin sets the wider field.
The room upstairs is where the place earns its name. Battle of the Axe, the comedy, open-mic and singer-songwriter club, takes the floor on Tuesday nights at 9:30pm and has done since 1996, billing itself as a lucky-dip of stand-up, sketch, improv and song. Reviewers on Tripadvisor, who rate the pub 4.4 across more than 600 reviews, describe it as a genuinely good night out, full of new acts and the odd seasoned hand. It is the kind of room that built Dublin's comedy circuit.
The crowd is a mix of curious visitors and Dublin regulars who come for the music rather than the Temple Bar branding. It runs busiest from mid-evening once the gigs start, and the energy tracks whatever is on the bill, gentle for a trad session, loud for a comedy night. Come on a Tuesday for the Battle of the Axe, or a weekend night for the bands.
Music and community are the thread that lifts this above its neighbours. Where much of Temple Bar sells the idea of an Irish pub, the Ha'penny actually runs one, with a stage, a regular bill and acts who cut their teeth on its open mic. A few reviewers note the prices run a little above nearby houses, which is the honest trade for a room with live music seven nights out of eight.
What keeps the Ha'penny Bridge Inn on a Dublin list is that it has protected the part of Temple Bar worth keeping. The trad survives, the comedy survives, and the pint is poured properly. Judged on its own terms, it is one of the most reliable music rooms in the city centre.
The Inn pairs naturally with Dublin's live-music circuit. The Cobblestone in Dublin keeps the trad-session thread going in Smithfield, while Whelan's in Dublin and The International Bar in Dublin hold the city's gig and comedy traditions nearby. For the full picture, our Dublin bar guide sets the scene.
