The inside track to college nights out

If you're starting college this year or are already a seasoned, jaded second or third-year, you need to know where the happening places are to spend your time and money. Various students and Student Unions (SU's) around the State that have been there and done that can give you the lowdown. "In Galway the most popular clubs this year were Cuba, The GPO and The Alley," says Paddy Jordan, the SU president at NUI Galway. Places where, no doubt, the respectable boys of Galway can avoid "those dreadful girls" we were warned about by a judge recently.

Cuba, on Eyre Square, is on several levels. There's a lounge downstairs with comfy sofas and live music.

On the next two floors there are two dance areas, the lower one plays more hardcore dance and upstairs it's a little more alternative.

"The GPO is really good on theme nights - like '70s and '80s nights which are a laugh if you dress up. On '70s nights it costs 70p in and on '80s it's 80p," explains Paddy.

"The Alley plays pretty much mainstream chart music so although you mightn't be a mad Steps or S-club 7 head, it still makes for a good night 'cos that type of music generally gets the whole gang of you up dancing." One of the best pints to be had in the student bar hangouts in Galway is in The Cellar on Eglinton Street. They host the NUIG Music and DJ societies' open mike and open deck nights. The college bar on campus is always popular as pints are a bit cheaper. Good value is also on offer at The Hole in the Wall which does quite a few promotions. "The Drum is a trendy student place to hang out; they play really cool music; I guess you'd call it funky," says Paddy.

As for sustaining body, if not soul, after all those nights out, Paddy recommends The Homeplace on Mary Street for really good home cooking. For vegetarians, An Gabhaor Orga on the Newcastle Road serves great nosh choices, and if you want somewhere to go to wind down, try the Couch Potato, where main courses cost £5 to £6.

Colm Murphy is SU president for the Aungier Street DIT. "As far as DIT Kevin and Aungier Streets are concerned, PM's is the place. We might allow the odd Trinity or UCD student in now and again," he graciously concedes, "but it's really our spot. The staff and DJ's all know our crowd there. PM's, for the uninitiated, is Planet Murphy's bar on Camden Street with The Palace nightclub upstairs. "In this area we're really spoilt for choice. Mono does some good deals for students on Wednesday nights with dance DJ's like Al Gibbs, but because we don't have our own college bar, we've really adopted PM's," says Colm.

The Bolton Street engineers enjoy a similar sort of relationship with Bodkin's pub, Colm explains. "They are obnoxiously friendly there. They give you an enormous feed at lunchtime and really look after you."

As the weekend has extended to Thursdays for "suits", clubs often have student nights on a Wednesday. The southside DIT crowd will all be in The Palace nightclub and the Northside crowd concentrate in the ultra-cool Temple Theatre.

Foodwise, Yamamori on South Georges Street does great lunchtime deals for students, with noodles offering a bit of a change from sandwiches. Juice bars, like Nude on Suffolk Street, are becoming really popular.

Stephen Gannon is the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) student union president. So where do the Limerick students go? "O'Riordan's and Molly Malone's would be the popular pubs with the freshers. O'Riordan's is friendly, with a lively, fun atmosphere. Malone's has a disco bar on Wednesdays and Thursdays and has good promotions. McGregor's hosts special events involving LIT such as The Battle of the Bands during last year's rag week."

The LIT campus is in Cahirdavin, which is near Shannon rugby club. "We would have a lot of clubs' and societies' events in the rugby club because it's near college. These are generally really good because it's the LIT crowd so you know everybody. There is also a local pub near campus called the Davin Arms - it's not the most exciting pub in the world, in terms of atmosphere, but a lot of us would meet there on a Sunday night for a pint after we come back from the weekend. It's a place where you'll generally find college people," says Stephen.

As for nightclubs, there are a few which tempt the LIT crowd. "The Market and Doc's are good. Mostly the older students would go there. The Market tends to play mostly chart music and Doc's tends more towards dance music. If you're looking for more alternative venues playing indie music, Blakes' and Costelloe's are good."

Robert Vaughan of the karate club and Thomas Randles of the Mountaineering club in UCC both agree that The Western Star, near college, is one of the most popular pubs for UCC students. "It's very big and gets very busy around rag week, end of exams and so on. In the summer and at the beginning of term in the autumn, when the weather is still good, the beer garden is very popular and they do barbecues," explains Robert.

As for clubbing, Sir Henry's is where it all happens during the week. Here, Wednesday night is freakscene night - a student night where they play good indie music. On Thursdays, there is the Sweat night, with dance music. The Half Moon Club is at the back of the Cork Opera House. "A trendy crowd goes there, with different music playing in a few different rooms. It tends to get an older crowd," says Robert. For the younger set, Thomas says Gorby's is a popular place for first-years. "They play chart music, which gets the atmosphere going."

Tribes is a really decent late night cafe where you can get coffee and snacks to keep you going. During the day Cafe Oz is a good place to go for things like stir fry or noodles.