Irish eyes will have you smiling
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I HAVE a confession to make... I seriously underestimated what Dublin has to offer.
I had thought that 48 hours would be enough to see the major attractions, take some photos and come home. That was a mistake.
Dublin is a city that would take a week of serious sight-seeing to fully appreciate it, but it is not a serious place. There is fun and a warm welcome everywhere.
I stayed at the Trinity Capital Hotel in the centre, which has recently been given 4 stars; I can only imagine that they don't have 5 stars as there is no swimming pool because they have everything else. It is excellent value for money, as most Irish hotels are. Prices generally are higher than here, a cup of tea (my universal price benchmark) is around 2.50 Euros, about £2.20, and other prices are about the same level higher than ours, so it makes sense to buy a Dublin Pass card to get around and have free or reduced price entry to the attractions – and there are so many; see www.visitdublin.com
There is also a 3-day "Freedom" card giving free transport on buses, including the airport transfer bus and the open top tour buses; see www.dublinsightseeing.ie
The population of Dublin is around 1.1million people, not too big, but it is packed full of things to see and experience. Too many to simply list them all here, so I will just mention some to show the range to suit all tastes. The zoo is one of the oldest in the world, with over one million visitors a year, and is wheelchair accessible, as are most places. The splendid natural history museum has over 2 million specimens on display; Dubliners call it the "dead zoo". If you think that museums are boring, then take your children to the National Leprechaun Museum; they will love it and so will you; see www.leprechaunmuseum.ie
You can visit Jameson's Distillery where they claim that whiskey was made in Ireland before Scotland, but I'm not sure I agree with that. Guinness, of course, is a national institution in Ireland, and the massive Guinness Storehouse site has a very popular visitor experience. You go up and up, floor by fascinating floor, to finally reach the Gravity Bar on the sixth floor, with magnificent views all round. You can have a free pint of Guinness, or a soft drink.
It was comical to watch a young Japanese couple. He had a pint, she an orange juice. They both stared at and sniffed the Guinness, then cautiously he took a wee sip, and instantly recoiled and pulled a horrible face. She tried and also screwed up her face, then they quickly took the lift to the ground floor.
There are a few tourist offices in the city centre, which is very useful. When I arrived at 7.30pm on Sunday, the tourist office was still open and busy. The main office in a converted church, St Andrew's, is huge and includes the Northern Ireland tourist people as well. If you are feeling hungry, close by on Suffolk Street is Avoca. There is a large shop frontage full of drapery. In 1723 a family owned company started hand weaving at Avoca Village and still does, having scarves on display and mohair and wool garments, household items, books, including a pile of 'Avoca café cookbooks'.
Go on through the shop, up the stairs and you will find a busy café where the "Dublin ladies" of quality go for tea and scones.
About 75% of the customers are Irish, so it must be good. When you order your meal, be warned, the plates are so piled with food that heads turn and you hear people saying "Look at that!" You will certainly not go hungry, and it is excellent quality. There are now 10 Avoca stores/cafés around Ireland; see www.avoca.ie
In the city centre is Trinity College, which dates from 1592. The university comprises 40 acres of beautiful buildings and tranquillity, and a steady stream of tourists passes through, admiring the grandeur and the sudden transformation from city noise and bustle to calm and peace. The cultural aspect of Dublin is not to be missed. It is a UNESCO City of Literature".
Statues of a great many famous Irish writers dot the streets, as well as the life-sized statue of Molly Malone with her wheelbarrow, heroine of the famous song. There is even a programme of readings in the streets of various writers' works, and a writer's museum to visit; see www.dublincityofliterature.ie
The national art gallery www.ngi.ie contains over 2,500 paintings from Irish artists, and 10,000 other items. There is also an international film festival, and no fewer than 20 theatres and, of course, the renowned Irish singing, music and dancing. Many pubs and hotels have events every evening, some a little too "touristy", others very authentic, and always accompanied by that open friendliness that typifies Irish people. You are always made to feel welcome.
One special idea promoted by the tourist board is www.cityofathousandwelcomes.com
As many as 2,000 Dubliners are ready to meet you, take you into their homes if you like, for a tea and a chat, sponsored by the tourist board.
You can actually go and meet face to face genuine Dubliners and get a feel for the way life really is, what they think and fear, and get below the surface. What a great idea.
If you have had enough of culture, there is always shopping. The main street for this is O'Connell Street, wide with a broad central strip with statues of famous Irishmen all along it.
There is also the rather bizarre (to my eyes) 120 metre high stainless steel needle, the Millennium Spire. Certainly striking, but it seems out of place with the classic buildings surrounding.
Pedestrianised shopping streets cross O'Connell Street, as do modern trams, so there is plenty of scope for serious shopping. Shop assistants seem to have time to actually notice you and chat quite openly.
This openness for me was typified when I went to Connolly Station to photograph a steam engine on a special train (some Aberdonians were on the tour train) and the station has the ticket barriers. I went to the help point on the concourse and asked about the train, the railwayman telephoned to make sure which platform it would be on.
Then I asked if I could buy a platform ticket to get through the ticket barriers – no need – just tell the man there. I did so, "No problem, on you go," Try doing that in a London station.
Ireland suffered greatly from the potato famine, which caused a mass emigration to all parts of the world. If you think that you have Irish roots, you can check the genealogy section of the Glasnevin Museum, www.glasnevinmuseum.ie
Getting to Dublin is easy for us. There are direct flights from Aberdeen (although only Belfast from Inverness) and there is the ferry from Cairn Ryan if you prefer to drive. You still drive on the left in Ireland, they speak English, and you get excellent cups of tea everywhere.
There really is so much to see, as well as the pubs, music, dancing, the casino, greyhound racing, horse racing, Phoenix Park (one of the biggest in the world) which has a massive monument to the Duke of Wellington, another Dublin native, who was the only Irishman to ever to be Prime Minister at Westminster.
The River Liffey runs through the centre of Dublin and its many bridges include the Halfpenny Bridge and a new one that is like a harp at the docks area that is being opened up for housing and retail development.
The Viking festival – I was passed by a DUKW amphibious vehicle full of tourists wearing plastic Viking helmets with horns, Croke Park with hurling and Gaelic football, the Temple Bar quarter, and I could keep going on about the place. I really must go back again, and surely will – I cannot recommend it better than that.
