Where To Watch The Super Bowl In Dublin

American football is not a big sport in Ireland, but its popularity is growing. While ranked substantially behind Gaelic football, hurling, rugby and quite a few others when it comes to local repute, the Super Bowl – which runs into the early hours of the morning local time – has a broad awareness among sports fans.

American football, in general, has a cult following of people who regularly spend their late weekend evenings keeping up with an assortment of teams. Ireland even has its own league, dating back to 1984. It currently consists of a north and south division and culminates in the annual Shamrock Bowl in August.

When it comes to actually finding somewhere to watch the Super Bowl, it can harder than you’d think. Most pubs don’t have a licence to stay open late enough to show the entire match and so often resort to ‘lock-ins’, a legal loophole in Ireland allowing the pub to lock its doors, allowing nobody to enter, but continue serving those already inside. Most pubs won’t admit to running these up front, though, and those that do are usually taking bookings for a while ahead, with football fans looking early to find somewhere to bed down and watch the big game with a pint or five.

There are a few reliable places in Dublin, but we’d suggest you get in touch about getting in the door before heading down (or at the very least, go very early). They’re popular. Here are our top spots to watch and celebrate the Super Bowl: