The deep pulsing of techno music radiates throughout the room, beating so strongly that you can feel it throughout your body. Brewery signs advertising what’s on tap hang from the walls as patrons line the stools, forming a mob around the bar.

This is not your typical Irish pub.

Music ranging from hip hop to Irish drinking songs to folk music from the old country can be heard on any night or day at Finn MacCool’s, an Irish Public Alehouse. It is located not far from the University of Washington campus at 4217 University Way N.E. Crowds flock there to socialize, drink and simply take in the atmosphere.

“Everyone is actually friends,” said bartender Roni Campbell, speaking of its staff and regulars. It has a family-like atmosphere.

“We all play practical jokes on each other,” said general manager Amber Davis. This can include putting salt in each other’s drinks and Tabasco down straws, to name a few.

Regulars tease the bartenders who tease right back. “I can’t believe the [stuff] I get away with sometimes,” said Davis. “I once dumped a pitcher of water over a guy’s head.”

It’s always fun and games at Finn MacCool’s. The bartenders try to keep things light; this bunch is never too serious. The crowd is constantly changing throughout the day and it keeps the staff on their toes, Davis said.

It is mostly middle-aged and older regulars during the day for lunch and for happy hour, Campbell said.

The freshly turned 21-year-olds come to celebrate their induction into adulthood, while old men, or the “archaic hang arounds” as they refer to themselves, come for their daily drink. College students, working adults and even the retired can be found plopped down on a bar stool or settled into a booth at

Finn MacCool’s.

Part of the hype created around spending one’s 21st birthday on the Ave is the free shots from bars and of course a “Mind Eraser” or a “Blowjob Shot” at Finn MacCool’s.

“We like to make people feel special on their birthday,” Davis said. “Because it really is their day.”

If it’s your birthday they will definitely throw a party for you by announcing to the bar that you are 21 and encouraging everyone to drink a little more.

“We get to work with friends and get paid to throw a party,” Campbell said.

Finn’s cannot be pigeonholed into just one type of establishment. It is a little bit of everything, as a restaurant, bar and some nights a music venue. Open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., patrons can buy breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. Essentially, you never have to leave.

Specials are offered every night, with a two-hour happy hour every day beginning at 4 p.m.

“Thursdays are a circus,” said Davis. “But they are fun and there’s a lot of energy.”

According to Campbell, Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights are the busiest.

On Monday nights, teams compete in trivia competitions for a $25 reduction of their tab while second place receives $10 off. Since drinks add up, even with the $3 Mac & Jacks from 8 p.m. to close every Monday night, the contest can be worth it.

Other special nights include Thursday Karaoke Night at 10 p.m. and Tuesday Wii Night at 10 p.m., where games are displayed on the bar’s big-screen television and everyone can show off their video game skills.

Finn’s has always been a party and a good time, but before Peter Johnson owned the pub it was called Rain Dancer. Johnson, a Belfast native, transformed the once Native American-inspired bar and music venue into the Irish pub that it is today.

He has owned the bar since 2002. Johnson began by buying O’Shea’s Easy Street Pub in Wallingford about four years prior to acquiring the Rain Dancer.

He brought his staff from O’Shea’s Easy Street Pub with him, along with many loyal customers, and named the pub after the Irish legend of Fionn Mac Cumbail. Cumbail, a military leader in Ireland, reportedly died serving his country, but legend has it that he hid in a cave in order to eventually return to resurrect Ireland.

Finn MacCool’s will turn six years old this October and hopes to be around for years to come.