You can take the Irish pub out of Boston, but it won’t go much further than Brookline…? Matt Murphy’s is just enough out of the city to be quiet and enjoyable most nights. The staff all have genuine Irish brogues, the lighting is low enough for canoodling (with the Irish staff, perhaps?), and the live jazz…awesome.

Oooh Devlin’s. Let’s get this straight: there’s a huge patio, an awesome menu, a bunch of weird, slightly girly martinis, and a cash pot on trivia nights? Dude, I’m there! Plus, most of the servers are actually Irish, mostly incomprehensible, and all smoke fags? LOVE IT.

Perhaps not the most recommended place, but I can’t help it – their Shepherd’s Pie is TO DIE FOR. And who can’t resist a good ground beef, creamed corn and potato pie, right?

A below-average bar, but what a prime location! The Black Rose is definitely worth a pass-by on your way to better things.

The Kinsale’s another classic, solidly 3 1/2 star Irish pub in the center of Boston, but what makes it more special than the rest is its excellent draught beer selection.

It’s got to be the proximity to Harvard: Every time I set foot in here, I magically just FEEL smarter. The first floor’s nothing special, but go up a flight and you can just feel the camaraderie that’s occurred under these vaulted ceilings for the past hundred years or so.

Right in the Faneuil Hall area, The Purple Shamrock suffers from being in the throes of tourism. This is the kind of place that out-of-towners hit up when they come into Boston and then act all cool like they own the place. All of that in mind, however, it can be a good loud time if you’re already tipsy.

Not only is this the best Irish bar in JP, by consensus it is probably THE best bar in JP. There’s an amazing Irish breakfast on Sundays, a cozy fireplace in the corner, and lots of locals playing – dominoes? Okay, but aside from that it’s a pretty authentically Irish little spot.

An Tua Nua is a block from Fenway, and that’s probably why it’s so popular. That said, it draws a bit of a different crowd, probably because the name isn’t a dead giveaway for Irish (it took me awhile to figure out) – although that different crowd is still just as fratty as the next. On the upside, the drinks are strong and cheap, the dance floor is huge and happenin’, and the location is perfect.

Inexplicably, as the floor is always just a bit sticky, and the crowd always a bit rowdy, people freaking love The Burren. Hell, even I love The Burren. There’s something about the way the floor shakes even before you’ve tied one on.