In Dublin

Here’s one to write home about: an 18th-century Methodist church converted into a swanky new bar and restaurant, complete with original pipe organ, stained glass windows, and marble wall memorials. Ask the bartender at John M. Keating (Mary St. at Jervis St., 01/878-0223 or 087/636-3738) how the eponymous owner achieved this entrepreneurial feat--isn’t it sacrilegious, or something?--but the bartender will sagely point out to you that this church was fast plummeting into ruin when Keating purchased the property in the late ’90s (and wouldn’t the people buried beneath you prefer a swanky bar over a crumbling edifice littered with empty crisp bags?) Several years and millions of euros later, here we are in the coolest, most unusual nightspot on either side of the Liffey, though the bar’s newness coupled with its Northside location means there are virtually no tourists here. The old crypt has also been converted into a second bar down a long set of stairs, but the main bar is far more atmospheric. You might want to have your dinner up in the organ gallery, a highly unusual feature in ecclesiastical architecture regardless of the denomination.

Check out Ireland photos in the gallery.