Daniel in Dublin – Celtic Nights

So last week myself and two of my colleagues, Adam and Kiera, went to Celtic Nights at the Arlington Hotel and honestly it was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while.

I had known of it but not known too much about it at the same time, so I didn’t know what to expect. Upon arrival we were shown to our seats which was on a massive long tale, which reminded me of medieval times, and we were sat in between two seperate families on holiday in Dublin. A bit strange at first because you’re literally sat right next to strangers, but this kind of family style dining it encourages you to make conversation and chat away with new people which was nice. Also, the show includes a 3 course meal so as soon as we sat down we were eyeing up what we were going to order, and the food was delicious I might add.

Before long the musicians were on the stage. The band consisted of a guitar player who also sang, a banjo player, a fiddle player and a flute player who also played the acoustic bass. Now, I dabble with the music myself so I can appreciate a skilled musician at work… these lads are phenomenal. I was loving it! They played some of the old Irish classics which had everyone singing and clapping along. At one point they began asking some of the audience who were sat closer to the stage where in the world they were from. All the usual suspects were in the house, California, Canada, Italy, they seemed genuinely surprised when they got to us and we shouted out DUBLIN! 

The other part of the entertainment was professional Irish dancers, some of whom are world champions. These dancers were unbelievable as well! The level of talent on display for us that night was incredible. So the dancers come out while the band are playing away behind them, after a few seconds, Kiera turns to me and says “I think I know him”. Turns out she was a friend of his online, so in between sets she starts messaging him and sending him pictures of himself dancing. 

This guy could dance for sure. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Firstly, he’s really tall, I thought he was going to hit his head on the ceiling with the amount of jumping around he was doing. Also, he was throwing these kicks everywhere, I was just waiting for one of his legs to go out from under him or he’d kick one of the lights or something, but he had full control of his body. I was actually kind of mesmerising in a way watching how fast their feet move, it was like being in a trance. All in all the show is about 2 hours long complete with great Irish music and amazing Irish dancing. Throw in a 3 course meal and a couple of beers, what more could you want?!

Well I’ll definitely be back. It was a really entertaining show and I can see why it’s so popular. The place was jam packed and we went on a Wednesday night! Thanks for having us Celtic Nights, keep up the good work.

To book your dinner and a show check out their website here.

To book your stay in The Arlington check out their website here.