Dublin

The Spire

Dublin is strangely quite difficult to describe.  Its an ancient city with a long history of turmoil and triumph, and stories of riches and poverty.  And that can be felt in the air everywhere you walk.  It was originally established as a Viking settlement before becoming Ireland's main centre following the arrival of the Normans.  After that, it was the centre of the British Empire's Irish lands before achieving its current status as the capital of the Irish Free State, or Ireland as we know it today.

Its full of history, a morning spent in the Ancient History Museum demonstrates that, yet its architecture doesn't really reflect that.  Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful old buildings such as the Post Office, the old House of Parliament, and Trinity College.  But there are equally so many periods of development and then decline reflected in the built environment that I always find myself trying to identify a true sense of what makes Dublin tick. Funnily enough, an old Dublin-born fella in a pub put it simply "if you want the Disney version of Dublin, go to Temple Bar.  But if you want to really feel Dublin, walk further afield and stop and chat".  And that is about right too.

As is always my want, I did wander aimlessly along the Lifey zigging and zagging into the side streets for coffee, lunch and just general sticky beaking.  And consequently, I had some great experiences.  On one side street, I came across a group of pyjama clad half toothless children who had clearly just had chocolate cake for afternoon tea.  For the tiny sum of 50p each, I got a Capella version of a U2 song.  Interesting and musically challenging but with gales of laughter and excitement over their 50p, it was a moment to cherish.  Another fabulous experience was The Brazen Head which is Ireland's oldest pub, dating back to 1198.  Wonderfully cramped and a mish mash of buildings, it does have what is possibly the best Sunday session you'll come across.  I love the fact that the 'band' just sit around on stools wherever they can find them and then just play what comes to mind.  What I especially liked was the folk songs they sang - not the ones I grew up hearing, but songs about revolution and independence.  And the spoon player.....wow!

But Dublin today is such a multicultural city such that along with all those wonderful lilting Irish accents, you will also hear French, Italian, Polish, Arabic etc and you will also be able to enjoy foods from all corners of the planet with a dash of Ireland thrown in.  My advice, enjoy Dublin with an open mind and you won't be disappointed.