Limerick Student Nights

Limerick Student Nights

Niall Flynn gives us a rundown on the student nightlife in Limerick!

The Icon Nightclub/Smyths Bar:
This is the staple nightclub for all people going out in Limerick. ‘Smycon’, as it’s known locally, is a great place to spend your nights out. Most will usually head into Smyths around 11/11.30pm for the atmosphere. A band will typically play, most notably ‘Free Beer’ who always causes confusion when their sign goes up. After a small bit of drinking and banter everyone heads into Icon from Smyths. It’s generally free in before 11pm if you go in through Smyths, if not it’s about €10. There are two floors which ends up being fairly confusing, but as Limerick Nightclubs go, this is a walk in the park. Upstairs, the music playing is your usual dance and party anthems. Downstairs, you might be inclined to get more more old-school music. Thursdays are Ladies Night, where women get in for free.

The Hurlers:
The Hurlers is a pub that up until 3 years ago was seen as the ‘older’ pub, where you go for the social one or two. Now it has become the place to pre-drink before the Lodge with great deals, great music and a great smoking area to boot. Plus, with it being close to UL, It’s a great place to have a cheap night out! The Hurlers ‘Shed’ is generally free in, but can charge a fair €5 from time to time on the very busy nights. The one thing that you can always rely on with this venue though, is the types of nights they will organise. From foam parties to UV parties and beach parties, The Hurlers will have it all and can end up giving you one of the wildest nights out. Being far away from town and essentially not being a nightclub are the only downfalls, however it makes up for it with drinks promotions and top quality DJs, such as DJ Rankin. Superdine is worth a visit after if you’re hungry.

Molly’s:
Molly’s is generally the place where people head to when they’re stuck for ideas. It’s a great nightclub, and with 3 floors, good music and nice smoking area it’s strange that this isn’t Limerick’s ‘go to’ nightclub. The crowd will typically be younger, mainly first and second years. There will also be a good deal of nurses from Mary I, who generally tend to be mental and up for a laugh. Centrally located, it’s a great place to go if you can’t get in somewhere else. The music is your typical club music and the crowd will always be good fun. However, with 3 floors and two staircases, it’s pretty easy to lose people and you can spend half of your night going up and down. Saying this, if you don’t lose your friends, I recommend the middle floor; it’s the busiest, the most fun and they do deals on cocktails. Afterwards it’s just a hop skip and a stumble down to Kebabish, where more or less everyone will go for an after-party feed.

Angel Lane:
Angel Lane has reinvented itself to become the leading Limerick nightclub, alongside Icon. Located literally across the road from Icon, the club is dead centre in terms of the student nightlife, handy if you change your mind going from one club to another! Students will typically start queuing around 11pm, so if you arrive and there’s a big long line don’t fret – the bouncers are notorious for staggering the queue so just be patient (and as sober looking as possible). Once in don’t panic – there are a number of different levels in Angel Lane that make it easy to get lost. Downstairs has a dance floor with two bars. The second floor has a small bar and small dance floor with a big smoking area beside it. Up and to the side of this is Level 23, which is good but is typically for the older crew (hence the name). A good plan of attack is to get your drinks in the middle bar and use it as your base to come and go to the smoking area and dance floor. The music is typical nightclub fare, and there aren’t too many drinks promos.

The Office:
An in adverted arm to Angel Lane is The Office, a bar which is right beside it. The Office has turned into one of the most heaving bars in Limerick due to its brilliant atmosphere and great smoking area. The smoking area itself is larger than the pub, so everyone is outside anyways. Typically, people will go to here around 11.30pm and then if the mood strikes, go straight to Level 23. The Office is the type of bar where you can stay and have a great night, all night. It’s not a clubbers venue, so don’t expect too much dancing, but the atmosphere makes up for it.

The Lodge:
The Lodge is essentially the ‘Coppers’ of Limerick. Mostly for the UL students, it’s a place that has ‘college’ written all over it. Practically every day of the week is fair game in the Lodge. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and of course Sunday (known as the ‘SLodge’) are the nights where you can go for one or go for loads, but no matter what you will finish the night drunk and probably with the shift. Scoping out the talent here is infamously known as doing a ‘Lap of the Lodge’.

Be warned, while you will definitely frequent this club more than college itself, so will everyone else. On the busy nights of RAG week, Halloween, Xmas Dayz, Freshers Week and Easter every man, woman and their dog (and there are lots of dogs) will be out. Sometimes it may be best on nights like these to go early, leave early and come back home for a house party. When the club is over, feel free to visit Superdine Chipper, which can be easily spotted by the mass crowd forming on the street with ‘Super-Chips’ in one hand and a burger in the other. The Lodge is the MUST for UL students.