The Glendalough International Youth hostel is in a fantastic location (very quiet and picturesque, and only a few minutes walk from the Glendalough visitor centre). A selection of wonderful walks can have their start and finish point at this hostel.

I am comfortable using hostels and have used others.
The downsides of this hostel were:
The extremely rude/sarcastic and disrespectful man at reception when we arrived was the one reason I would never use the hostel again. (By the way he is the tall bald guy in his late 20's early 30's - you need to go on a good customer relations course - mor0n)
The noise - OH God the noise on the first night. Rampaging female teenage brats spent most of the night and early morning running up and down the bedroom corridors shouting and banging on doors, with not obvious intervention from Hostel staff or minders) The rules of hostelling are very simple - BE QUIET AFTER 11PM

The cooked breakfast (6.50) was completely unhealthy, greasy and the staff were under pressure and barely able to cope with a full room of customers.
.We got no tea and toast even though it was paid for.
The 6 bed dorm was worn but clean and the sheets were freshly laundered. There is an adeqate ensuite but no where to hang a towel or place toiletries. There was one chair in the room and 4 coat hooks - not enough. I'm not asking for IKEA storage but a few shelves wouldn't go amiss.
The self catering kitchen needs a good bit of organisation as kitchen utensils and other kitchen stuff is everywhere and it's in a bit of a mess even when all the punters have cleaned up their own gear.

The upside of this hostel is the lovely Blonde Lady (small, pony tail) who seemed to me to be the only one doing any work in the place. She made up for the tall brutish langer at reception.

The reception and lounge area is quite snug and it was my favourite part of the hostel. The eating area is fine.
Most of the staff seem human.
I would recommend it but you might be better off staying there midweek when the school brats may not be there, and that ignoramous of a receptionist might have a few days off work. I will go there again when I know he has moved on to pastures new.

On a trip to Ireland, I found myself without lodging in Dublin due to a big rugby match to be held in the very middle of my trip. Grudgingly, I sought shelter in the suburbs and found a place to stay at the Glendalough International Youth Hostel. This 2 day/1 night trip to the mountains turned out to be one of the best excursions in all of my travels ever. First, a warning: If you don't like hiking or the outdoors, or are looking for a hopping night life, Glendalough isn't the place for you. The "town" (a hotel, tavern and craft store) shuts down at 9:00 pm and a nighttime walk requires a flashlight, as there are no lights around. There are the ruins of a monastic city, c. 6th century, to be explored, but the real draw for me was the amazing nature exploration. Bring hiking boots. We spent the day hiking the Spinc trail, an exhausting steeply uphill walk that brought us along the cliffs above the two lakes (for which the town is named) and down through the old mining town. There's the Poulanass Waterfall to walk along (beware, though, as it is a steep climb) and goats to spy along the way. It was amazing. Bring water and wear layers, as it gets hot en route then colder at the summit. As for the hostel, it's a great place.
Comfortable, clean and quiet (despite the school group with whom we shared the building) and the manager is a fountain of information about the area. Breakfast and dinner are served for a nominal fee, and are quite tasty. Finally, getting to and from Glendalough in the off-season (ie: anytime that's not July or August) is a bit difficult, especially if you're not traveling to or from Dublin, so plan ahead. And don't forget your camera.