Dublin – one of Europe’s great mid-size capital cities, with plenty to do without having to deal with a crushing metropolis. Established in the 9th century under the Norse-Gael Kingdom of Dublin, at the confluence of the Liffey and (the now underground) Poddle rivers, which formed a “dark pool” – hence the Gaelic name Dubh Linn. The Poddle now flows underground via Dublin Castle and a stone tunnel into the Liffey.
River Liffey
Dublin is a very cosmopolitan city with a strong component of EU citizens working or visiting and a largely Georgian and Victorian feel, in part owing to English/British control or occupation since the mid-1100s through independence in 1922. Being an island in the Dark Ages meant you had to put up with invaders. First of these were Norse raids which started in the 8th Century, followed by occupation such that the eventually assimilated Norse-Gael kingdoms became a dominant military and social force. The traditional neat dividing line between Norse and Irish dominance of Dark Ages Ireland is the Battle of Clontarf (1014), where Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, defeated the Norse-Irish alliance but lost his life. More recent historical interpretation suggests the transition between Norse and Irish rule of Ireland was more protracted; but either way, Clontarf today is a pleasant coastal suburb of Dublin.
Dublin is very walkable and compact and you can cross the core areas easily enough. Here are a few ideas of places to go.
GPO Witness History Visitor Centre, O’Connell Street Lower. Located beneath the General Post Office, which the leaders of the Easter 1916 uprising used as headquarters, this is a good insight into the events leading up to and during the armed rebellion that led to Ireland’s independence in 1921. The post office was shelled by the British military, along with other parts of the city, and largely destroyed during the uprising and so this is a rebuild from 1929.
Dublin Castle, Dame Street. Dublin has been a major Irish city since the Norse invaders and the castle has been on its high ground location since the Dark Ages. The Norman invaders of England in 1066 then moved on to invade Ireland in 1169 and built a stone castle in the early 1200s, of which one complete tower survives above ground. The current castle compound is more of a Governor’s palace dating from the 18th/19th century and is now the Irish Government’s ceremonial center. It’s very grand.
As always, more fun can be had going below ground (guided tour only) to observe the original medieval castle wall and boat landing stages that would have fronted the River Poddle, with ground water still leaking up into the base of the excavation.
National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square West. The national gallery has a comprehensive Irish art collection from the 18th century onwards and a wide European collection. There is a great portrait section that captures a range of figures from Anglo-Irish artists to modern cultural icons.
Notable is a huge painting of the fair at Donnybrook, which has leant us the word for a fight or other disturbance.
St. Stephen’s Green. A large Central Park downtown, it’s a good place to grab a bench and a lunchtime sandwich and play at being an office worker. There are also various memorials scattered around amongst the well-tended flower beds, including this rather natural memorial to Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, the Fenian leader.
National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, Kildare St. Ireland has a rich archaeological heritage and the museum displays Bronze Age, Viking and medieval artifacts with plenty of context.
Trinity College, College Green. Established in 1592, Trinity College is Ireland’s oldest university and the repository for the Book of Kells, a 9th Century illuminated gospel book. It’s worth a detour to see where Edmund Burke, Jonathan Swift and Samuel Beckett studied. Book ahead online if you want to see the Book of Kells Exhibition in the library.
Little known fact: Samuel Beckett is probably Ireland’s most recognized 20th-century playwright, and worked as a lecturer at the Sorbonne in Paris at the outbreak of WW2. Despite being a citizen of a neutral country, he joined the French Resistance as a courier and was awarded the Croix de Guerre, but never really mentioned it. Samuel Beckett is also one of the few writers anywhere to have a warship named after them, an Irish Navy offshore patrol vessel.
LE Samuel Beckett
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, Custom House Quay, North Dock. This is another innovative museum detailing the emigration experience and is particularly with a visit if you have forebears who came over, including a family history center for genealogical research.
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street. The National Library has on ongoing museum on its lower level for important Irish writers; as of 2019 it has an excellent exhibit on the life and works of W.B. Yeats which is worth a visit. For some reason, Yeats sought research data from the Eugenics Society – which actually still exists, renamed, although while apparently membership peaked in the 1930s, its association with fascist ideology may have caused a subsequent decline.
Logistics. Dublin is very manageable and easy to get around with a very walkable central core. The airport is about 10 kilometers from the center, served by the 700/747/757 buses with a 10 euro fare each way. I stayed at the Castle Hotel on Gardiner Street which had good rooms and a solid breakfast.
F&B. There are excellent food options beyond traditional pub meat & two-veg, although those aren’t bad either. The area south of the river and east of the Castle, bounded by Trinity College in the east and St Stephen’s Green in the south, has a high concentration. Some good traditional pubs serving meals places are O’Neills (2 Suffolk Street) and Arthur’s Pub (28 Thomas Street), with L. Mulligan Grocer (18 Stoneybatter) and Delahunt, 39 Camden Street Lower, offering a higher end take on Irish food.
Given the strength of the immigrant community, there are plenty of overseas options as well such as Zaytoon (Persian, 15 Parliament St) and Admiral (Russian, at Marlborough and Cathal Brugha Streets). Obviously, the Irish pub finds it’s highest expression in Dublin and it’s hard to provide any great insights, although The Hairy Lemon (Stephen Street Lower), The Brazen Head, 20 Lower Bridge St, and Mulligan’s (8 Poolbeg St) are worth a visit. Live Celtic session music is common. Craft beer is making it’s entry into what is a well-served market and decent places to try Irish microbrews include The Brew Dock (1 Amiens St), The Beer Market (13 High St), and the Black Sheep (61 Capel St).