Flannagan’s Dublin

We had our Friday Night party. I found it odd. not that a beach party is odd for people who love the autumn and haunting but just that it was still chilly and though the pool was heated it was still cool to me. The tunes were nice and playing volley ball was nice, it wasn’t my idea of the best of times. If I had a chance, I might come out an play again.

Always heard about this place and finally checked it out with some friends to play volleyball.
I didn’t drink though since I didn’t know how diving for volleyballs and drinking would be with my stomach.
The venue was pretty packed but we didn’t have a problem finding an open court to do our thing and the overall setup of the venue is pretty intuitive and makes sense. The pool was closed but basically it’s like a bro’d out venue. Beer is available everywhere — — pool bar, outdoor bar, indoor bar, whatever. Parking was easy with the private lot and free water set out for anyone.
The court boundaries were a little off since the cord holding one of the corners broke and we had to ghetto rig it but besides that everything else was pretty great.

I’ve been to Flannagan’s about six times & each time has been magnificent. Personable bar staff, reasonable pricing, lively crowd & clean bathrooms (especially given the amount of people that place can fit). If you get the chance, try out their St. Patrick’s Day party & the New Year’s Eve bash. Both are very well done. The summertime is definitely the best season for this place, but it can hold its own during the rest of the year, as well.
My only complaint would have to be the odd hours. One night, the place closed at 2:30 a.m., but then it shut down at midnight on another occasion.

You’re a volleyball bar. Why would you kick people off your courts (who are drinking by the way) at 10:30 on a FRIDAY NIGHT??? Not the first time this has happened. Your bar sucks. The only thing going for it is volleyball and you kick the volleyballers out. Makes a lot of sense, right? You’re lucky to have any crowd at all on Friday night, so you might wanna try and keep the patrons you have while you have ‘em. We were gonna drink more. AKA spend more money at your terrible establishment. But instead we were given no reason why you were closing early. Just that we had to go… At 10:30.
Oh, and your haunted house idea is stupid. It looks like shit. Looks like some grade school kids put it together.

The Elly Bay pool is NOT TERRIBLE! I’m focusing this review on Elly Bay because I can’t seem to convince anyone I know that it’s truly NOT a bubbling STD swamp. I really like the pool! Believe me I have experienced more than my healthy share of swim-​up bars from the Keys and Lake Erie islands to Vegas and Mexico. I was hugely against Flannagans putting this in, knowing the small area it’s confined to. My opinion has really been swayed the opposite way. I anticipated the whole thing being a gross mix of sand, garbage, and pee (as are most others). It’s not an easy feat to maintain a decent handle on keeping these establishments sanitary and aesthetically pleasing. I think the Flannagans staff consistently does a great job keeping Elly Bay a clean and fun daytime spot to chill. From what I’ve seen also I think the clientele here is at least of caliber to know better than to abuse the facilities. I’ve never once seen the pool overly crowded or unkempt. I’ve been there on weekdays to lay out by myself, weekends for Detox, large special events like Steve Aoki, and of course standard volleyball nights. As devil’s advocate I have to say I like it and wish it was closer to downtown so the drive home wasn’t a risk after a few drinks. Which by the way, are priced the same as the inside bar, and the kitchen will also serve at the pool bar. Anyway, I’m not on a mission to acquire Elly Bay new business, as I like the current small, nice, respectable crowd. But wanted to defend it against the haters and just let you all know you’re missing out because apparently everyone you know pees in pools.

Just left Flannagans was not impressed with their customer service skills. Beer back ran over to confront me and a good friend about a $ 5 admission charge which we had no clue about, we were thinking weekday pool side what Better? It was short live when we were redirected to a random table where we had to wait for young hostess that was really rude and unorganized. Long stort short my friend still offered to pay admission but I decided that it would be a better idea just to go back to my neighborhood pool for a few drinks and we left.

Playing volleyball at Flannagan’s has been something I have looked forward to every summer for the past 8+ years. Unfortunately it is no longer the best place to play sand volleyball. This year it doesn’t seem as crowded and really not as much fun. They are now allowing children in so the atmosphere has changed. Maybe that doesn’t bother some people but to me I go to hang out at a bar not a family restaurant. I have had to wait several times while a toddler was playing in the area where you wash the sand off of your feet. Cute kid but shouldn’t be playing in the dirty water .and yes the mother was standing there.
My new favorite place to play is at the Woodlands Backyard in Grandview. It is just like how Flannagan’s use to be.

HAHAHHAHA… Welcome to the Cancun of the Midwest!!! Oh yeah with Volleyball and a weirdly contradictory Irish theme.
VOLLEYBALL: If not interested in Volleyball then scroll down. The Volleyball here is in fact the best sand volleyball I have encountered in Columbus, Ohio. If you have a team then make sure to sign up for the Flannagans Volleyball Reward system where every $ 50 you spend is worth $ 5 of your next volleyball admission. In addition, hit the early signup deadline to get a $ 30 Flannagans gift cards which will take care of a a round or two of beers for your team.
The volleyball is good in that the courts are good. That said, there are no refs so it is a bit more laid back in the rules. Prepare to encounter at least one meat head per session that will get upset when you call him literally falling onto the net when hitting a shirtless spike into one of your team members’ faces… but overall this is a good-​natured bro clientele mixed with people in their 30’s and 40’s that want to play.
THE POOL: If you have ever wanted to test whether you can get an STD in a pool then you are in luck, because this is the place to do so. The pool has a swim up bar and dozens of women that are flaunting their faded bikinis from prior spring break trips where they first learned the joys of whippets. In addition, you can meet a number of men that are reliving the time that they won a chugging competition during the Spring Break trip they took five years earlier during their second freshman year of college. I avoid the pool.
DRINK PRICES: Very, Very, Very High. If you buy buckets then you get discounts that make it moderately overpriced. Still a major problem though.
FOOD: Shockingly good. Better than some small restaurants. The pizza is actually quite solid and occasionally they have food trucks there.
BOTTOM LINE: I like Flannagans and have gone for nearly a decade. It is a place that once or twice a week will have an ambulance show up due to alcohol poisoning and has a 5% meat head population. However, it is a spacious place with a number of friendly people that are fun to be around, especially if you are single.

This remains a very festive place with the vociferous music and the upbeat demeanor of the patrons, the majority of whom play sand volleyball. The presence of the pool enhances the party-​like atmosphere. The interior is tremendous for anybody wanting to relax by watching television at one of the numerous monitors. Pizza is the lone food sold. Another drawback is that it’s available in one size (large). Selling other popular food items such as burgers, hot dogs, and french fries would help attract customers who aren’t interested in alcohol and playing volleyball, but having the choice of a food item would satisfy their visit.
Sand volleyball remains the main attraction at Flannagan’s. It’s a pleasure to watch one of many matches in progress at one of the courts. But it’s more exciting playing the game, even if you and your team struggle. The festive atmosphere and the bubbly demeanors of your teammates can lighten your mood during the matches. I wish the Friday Night Mixer would be brought back. Since they placed you on a team, it provided a great opportunity for anybody, especially those with no sand volleyball connections, to play in the matches. I never participated in open play at Flannagan’s, but I did at the Ultimate Beach Center in Hilliard. At that indoor facility, I played in several matches and was complemented by some of my teammates for my decent play. But there were people I had a desire to play with, but they kindly said no because they had enough players, which happened to be their friends. I was frustrated with this. That’s why I liked the Friday Night Mixer very much. It provided every player chances to be on a team.
I was on a team during the league play in the spring of 2014. It was the first time I played at Flannagan’s since 2010. The sand was cold I thought I was going to get frostbite. Despite the team never winning a set or a match, I was elated in being part of a team and having the opportunity of playing sand volleyball on a weekly basis. Even though the team members were strangers, looking back, I felt we should’ve made a concerted effort to improve our play by working on basic skills such as passing, setting, and spiking. During the matches, a majority of us freelanced, hitting the ball back to our opponents right way when passing, setting, and spiking could’ve been better. I asked the team leader about working on the skills, but he didn’t seem interested and, instead, led us in doing the typical pass the ball warmup prior to each match. I thank him for welcoming me to the team. Yet, he has a jokester, laid-​back, bubbly demeanor who took the matches as fun and didn’t seem serious in attempting to improve the team’s play. But the best match we played was when it was just him, myself, and a female, who was a pretty good player. Our opponent had all of their members, but we were competitive. Since we were short of players, they offered a player to be on our side, but our leader refused. I felt it was a shame because even though we played our best match, that player could’ve been helped us immensely. I thought I played a very good match, yet I had an embarassing momment. Late in the match as I made contact with the ball, I lost my white Ohio State visor. The ball may have knock it off since it had contact with my head. As play stopped and I gathered myself and saw my visor lying on the sand, my female teammate was near me and said the ball «was off your head». She seemed to care about me, but I’m surprised that she didn’t pick up my visor.
Despite these drawbacks in being a member of a team and in playing the matches, I still felt it was a good experience for me being part of league play for the first and playing sand volleyball at Flannagan’s once again.

Bottom Line: Best place for Sand Volleyball in Columbus. Unfortunately, after that I don’t think they have much to offer — but they are trying I suppose.
Let’s start with the good. If you’re a fan of sand volleyball, you’ll be a fan of Flannagan’s Dublin. They have I think 8 – 10 courts (are you kidding me!!). I can think of no other bar in Columbus with more than 5. – but if there is, please tell me! The leagues are fun and fairly priced and most people who play in the recreational leagues are just that — not overly competitive, which is good. They do offer competitive leagues if you are looking for someplace to get out aggression.
The bar itself is pretty big and the enormous outdoor seating area surrounding the courts make this a pretty good destination for a summer night out.
The not so good? Let’s talk about beer prices. Wayyy to high. $ 6 – 7 for draft yuingling, $ 5 for miller light? You can drop some serious cash in a hurry. **TIP: Go across the street to draught house before volleyball league games and save a lot of money!**
The pizza is noticeably better than it was about a year ago, but still not much better than bar pizza. I have never tried out the new elly bay pool, which includes a swim up bar. It’s pretty small and just feels sleazy — who starts making out in a public pool on a Monday night? — not sure to be disappointed in Flannagans or the «jersey shore» Columbus-​ites. Either way, I’m not getting in the pool anytime soon. But I will be playing volleyball here for many Columbus summers to come!

SPRING BREAK OHIO! WOO HOO
Every spring break requires at least the following: volleyball, less clothing than is normally acceptable, booze, and the possibility of catching a disease in the water
So if you really want the SPRING BREAK OHIO! experience, you’ve found your spot.
Filled with brahs and… ladies, you’ll find this place bumping nearly every night of the summer. This is, my brahs and ladies, because of the summer volleyball league. We’re talking Top Gun-​esque semi-​indecent shirtless people. Haven’t seen Maverick or Iceman out here yet, but I’ve seen several impersonators. Nailed it for the volleyball and clothing requirements.
Booze is easy: does Flannagan’s have it? Yep. Moving along.
Luckily for our spring break aspirations, there may be a HIGH probability of catching something if you go into the pool that is at Flannagan’s. I mean, we’ve already talked about the clientele. Plus, I’ve heard you need a membership to go into the pool. You know these people are serious if they’ve bought memberships. At a bar. In Ohio. To go to a pool.
I HIGHLY recommend the volleyball league. Just be careful not to fall into the pool, spring breakers.

I’ve been coming to Flannagan’s for years to play volleyball. However, it’s not really a place that I would frequent if it wasn’t for the volleyball leagues. I do applaud them for adding more volleyball courts, as well as a swimming pool (which I would never be caught dead in). Clearly, they know their crowd. A lot of the patrons here are kind of douchey, but hey, can’t win them all.
The staff here usually seems pretty lackadaisical, but they make some damn good pizza, so there’s that.
I’ve also been to Flannagan’s once for St. Patrick’s Day, but I don’t feel that it was worth the $ 10 (I think) cover to get in. Too crowded, expensive drinks and annoying drunk people. But, there are bands if that’s your thing.

Flannagan’s has lost its identity. Several years ago, it was hopping for volley ball, good bands, and a packed house most weekends. In the last couple of years the volleyball remains a major draw and during the summer, the new pool is there. Personally, I’m not a big fan of community pools full of drunks. Hope they use a ton of chemicals. As for the music scene, aside from St. Patrick’s Day and Halloween, Flannagan’s has become a ghost town. On some winter weekends, they do not bother to open their doors. I guess they can sustain the year on the money they make during the volleyball and pool season. The last few times I’ve dropped in for a band, there might have been 15 – 25 people there. There are better places to go for a bar atmosphere and live music.

GREAT people watching! I mean when they put that pool in. it has brought some of the most ridiculous people showing off their true colors. I myself like Catherine J. over here am kind of shocked to be giving Flannagan’s so many stars.
I have been really enjoying myself these past few weeks playing some Sand Volleyball and socializing. I have never really had any bad experience’s here, I guess that comes to a surprise for the «type» of people you see or would expect there.
There pizza is also really good, little over priced but you do get a lot of pizza there.

I’m shocking myself by giving Flannagan’s four stars, but the high points just can’t be ignored!
I’ve come to love summer volley ball leagues. I look forward to our games, and it feels good to have a space to compete (in the most laid-​back sense of the word) outdoors. It’s fun to see the rest of Columbus kicking back and kicking up sand, being active and hanging out with friends steeped in team camaraderie.
Flannagan’s, at first blush, is a top-​40 douchey meat market plopped in the middle of strip malls and big box stores. But, when you admit to yourself that you love top 40 and it’s easy to get to, then Flannagan’s starts to become kind of charming. You couldn’t pay me to go in the pool, but it’s there if that’s your thing. There’s really nothing else like it in Columbus.
Compared to the only other organized sand volleyball facility I’ve been to, the VolleyPark (
), Flannagan’s has much more of a party vibe. You’ll need to show your 21+ ID right away, at the gate. The bar is bigger, the crowd is rowdier. The courts are a little smaller (not as much space around the in-​bounds), but there’s more of them.
This place is perfect for a mid-​week (or beginning of the week) pick-​me-​up. You might even trick yourself into thinking you’re on vacation with a bunch of friends instead of chilling at Sawmill and 270 on an otherwise lameo Tuesday night. Get a team together, sign up for the next session, and grab a bucket of beers before or after your game!

Love it here, but it’s a biatch to get a drink. The lines are really long and the bars are typically not staffed heavily enough. My recommendation — get a couple when you visit the bar… not just one.
Otherwise, great volleyball leagues, a pool, an amazingly huge St. Patty’s day celebration, a second floor (balcony) for chillin’ out on not-​so-​busy evenings.
Overall, a great place to go wind down after work on a Friday, or party it up on a Fri or Sat.

This place was pretty cool. It was a nice, relaxing atmosphere where you can chill out and play some v-ball…(or in my case, watch!)
The crowd was down when I went (from what I was told), but it was still a pretty neat place. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Strong 3 stars.

I’ve decided the management of this place blows! We go there when particular local bands are playing. They have good food and I come hungry. On two occasions they give flimsy excuses for not even having a single DAMM chip or pretzel in the entire building.

Lets stick with something you are pros at… volleyball and st. paddy days parties. You know nothing about pools! Being a CPO (Certified Pool Operator, I swear this is real) for over 8 years and working at a pool in the OBX, it is my professional opinion that it is a terrible idea to have a pool in the middle of a bar that is 80% sand. Lets think about this… Imagine all the sand that will be in the pool. it will be clumped in the corners and hard to get areas. In a few short days, maybe hours depending on the day, there will be a very large amount of sand in the pool. Given the filters they have are probably high pressure sand filters it wont make a bit of difference.
Now onto the sanitary aspect… sweaty, drunk people… They pool clarity will be a huge issue. People’s sweat/​dead skin/​dirt will sit on top of the water and will turn into pool scum. Gross! Which in turn will make the pool very cloudy. Not to mention on the people peeing in it. I know I wouldn’t want to get out just to take a leak. True pee is sanitary coming out but no one wants to be sitting next to a guy/​girl at the pool bar and all of a sudden hit a warm spot. Some people maybe into that but not this guy!
Dear Flannagan’s, as this idea might be awesome… scratch that its a terrible fucking idea!

There’s something to be said about a bar where sweatpants, a t-​shirt & barefeet are totally acceptable; scratch that… encouraged! I sometimes laugh at the people who enter this place entirely too overdone.
Flannagan’s is Columbus’ «wish-​it-​was on a beach» kind of place; and with the tons of sand and Landshark on tap, one can only dream.
It’s mostly known for the dozen-​or-​so sand volleyball courts but it also boasts a stage inside for live bands, a pool table, lots of HD tv’s to catch a game, and one helluva rooftop patio.
Most volleyball games are through leagues but you can usually find a lively, competitive bunch or two to play a couple pick-​up games. It’s a GREAT way to meet new, cool people in Cbus. Fridays are usually best for pick up games.
Beer prices are really reasonable and I more than appreciate an atmosphere where I can not shower and no one would judge.