Lonely Planet - Dublin

7. Food, beer and a damn good play: what more do you want?

Beckett, Synge, Shaw, Wilde...Dublin's not short of a theatrical genius or two, so a night at the theatre is absolutely necessary, daahling. But it'll take more than just the play, for any night out in Dublin has to involve food and booze somewhere along the way!

Start with the pre-theatre special at Chapter One, three courses of gourmet delight at one of Dublin's best restaurants, in the basement of the Dublin Writers Museum. What's really special about this place is that they'll pick your theatre tickets up for you and deliver them to your table. Then, it's off to either Ireland's national theatre, the world-famous Abbey, or the Gate - where James Mason and Orson Welles trod the boards in their youth - for the main event.

When the curtain falls, make your way back to Chapter One for the remainder of your prandials, where you can dissect the merits of the show over dessert and coffee in the lounge, at the bar or at a table. To cap it off , make your way to one of the best traditional bars in town, the Sackville Lounge, a favourite of thespians.

If you prefer to do your own ticketing, bookings can usually be made by credit card over the phone; you can collect your tickets just before the performance. Most plays begin at 8pm.

8. Losing your money and your voice in support of sporting vice

Dublin without sport is like...well, Guinness without the bishop's collar, so an afternoon or an evening in the company of Dubs pursuing their passion through bet and bellow is one of the best experiences you could ever have here.

Gaelic sports - hurling and football - are a national religion, and Dublin is home to the high cathedral of both games. The best time to go to Croke Park is during the summer and early autumn, when the stadium becomes a cauldron of passion, especially if Dublin is playing in the Senior Football Championship - they're not very good at hurling. But the best of the Senior Hurling Championship is on here too, with the likes of Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary displaying their consummate skills to packed houses in excess of 70,000.

You may think that the dog track is the sole preserve of the gambling hound and other desperate types, but there's a surprise in store, especially if you don't fancy the idea of standing against the rail while the drizzle dampens the printed hopes you hold in your hand and the greyhound in trap six isn't quite the speedster your money assumed him to be. No, you can experience the delight and dismay of a night at 'the dogs' from the comfort of the glass-enclosed stand, where dinner, fine wine and your very own waiter-cum-bookie will bring you refreshments and process your bets...at the table.

Croke Park is Dublin's most famous sporting venue, but there is a host of others:

• Croke Park - www.crokepark.ie
• Fairyhouse Racecourse - www.fairyhouseracecourse.ie
• Harold's Cross Park (151 Harold's Cross Rd)
• K Club - www.kclub.ie
• Lansdowne Road Stadium (Ballsbridge; Lansdowne Rd)
• Leopardstown - www.leopardstown.com
• Royal Dublin Society Showgrounds - www.rds.ie
• Shelbourne Greyhound Stadium

9. Bust an Irish move on the dance floor to impress your friends

Irish dancing looks impossibly fast and complicated, especially if your only experience of it is the phenomenon that is Riverdance.

Two little facts: the Riverdance kids are good, but it ain't all that traditional; and learning the basics is not nearly as difficult as you think.

The Comhaltas Ceolto iri Eireann - pronounced 'ko-ltass kee-oltory erin' and translated as the Organisation of Irish Musicians - is housed in the Culturlann na hEireann (Irish Cultural Institute), the spiritual home of the traditional forms in Dublin, located in the southern suburb of Monkstown, which is easily reached from the city centre by DART. There are free, informal sessions of traditional music on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8pm; visitors are most welcome, where they can sit and tap their feet, get a bite to eat and have a few pints, all the while enjoying some of the best music around. But the real treat is on Friday night, where, for a nominal fee, you can participate in the ceilidh, or group Irish dance, itself accompanied by live music.

There are teachers on hand to help you with the basic steps, and if nothing else you can be guaranteed to learn how to stay on your feet during a jig, reel or square dance. It's an enormous amount of fun and one of the more memorable experiences of any trip to Dublin.

Reproduced with permission from Dublin Encounter ©2007 Lonely Planet Publications