It is true that the black stuff does taste better in Ireland, if only because frequent and rapid consumption by so many citizens ensures that every pint is fresh.
My search for a respectable pint of Guinness outside the Temple Bar district raised a few intriguing candidates, but The Confession Box was a five-minute walk from our hotel so it jumped to the top of the list.
It turned out to be a wonderful choice, tiny and intimate, populated by regulars engaged in obligatory good craic against a backdrop of football on the TVs and zero pretension.
As the only tourists in the place we were welcomed politely but not brought into the circle, more or less just observing the scene from our two stools on the end of the bar.
The Confession Box has a long and storied history that dates back to 1795. Its most famous regular was Irish independence leader Michael Collins, who was eventually killed during the the Irish Civil War in 1922.