On Friday nights, there's no bigger party in Centreville than at Ned Devine's Irish Pub Restaurant. The name may hint at a cozy spot for conversations and pints of Guinness, but the casually dressed 20- and 30-somethings crowding the dance floor and the two bars are here to groove and flirt while bands rock out in the background.

This is the third nightspot bearing the Ned Devine's name to open in Northern Virginia in the past six years. The first, a half-Irish, half-Australian pub called Ned Devine's and Ned Kelly's, arrived in Herndon in 2001. Ned Devine's Irish Village, a much more ambitious pub-and-dance-club combo, debuted in Sterling in late 2005. The Centreville location, the most recent addition, is the least Gaelic of the bunch. Its main feature is a large concert hall area that welcomes the more popular acts from the local alternative rock and cover-band circuits, including JunkFood, Welbilt or the '80s-centric Reflex. And when the music is over on Fridays and Saturdays, the crowd jumps up to dance to Beyonce or Outkast. (Tuesday nights, on the other hand, cater to a different crowd with country music and plenty of line dancing.)

The main bar area (that's the section with the "Melbourne Gaol" sign and a number of tables and wooden booths) is more Aussie than Irish. Dedicated to the legendary Australian bushranger Ned Kelly, it features a life-size replica of his famous metal armor. Behind it, wax heads peer through the bars of heavy prison doors. It's all very Madame Tussauds chamber of horrors -- fitting, since Kelly was executed in Melbourne Gaol in 1880.

Despite the other entertainment options, which include Texas Hold 'Em tournaments every Monday and regular screenings of Six Nations rugby games, live music remains the best reason to head to Ned's. The cover is usually not too bad (about $8), and there's a coat check, so you don't have to lug your jacket around as you hop from the bar to the dance floor and back.

-- Fritz Hahn (March 16, 2007)