Dublin Things to Do

Held in honor of the region’s world-renowned prawns – large, flavorsome crustaceans that originated from Dublin’s coast – the Dublin Bay Prawn Festival is one of the city’s most exciting food events, running over 3 days each spring in the coastal suburb of Howth.

Ireland might be better known for its national brew than its cuisine, but the Irish capital has come a long way since the days of corned beef and cabbage. A wide range of restaurants now line the capital’s streets, serving up a variety of international fare, but if you’re looking to sample some authentic Irish dishes the best place to go is the local pub.

From January 25-29th, 2012 the 7th annual Irish Music and Culture Festival will bring Temple Bar and the rest of Dublin alive during the cold days and dark nights of winter.

Headline concerts will be held in some of Dublin’s landmark buildings, with performances at the nearly 1,000-year-old Christ Church Cathedral, including The Dubliners 50th anniversary concert and Ralph McTell. Plus lunchtime and intimate evening concerts of Irish music at Dublin’s City Hall, including some of Ireland’s leading musicians such as Voices and Harps, featuring Moya Brennan.

These are places in Dublin where you’ll find the locals having a pint, a coffee or a meal. Dubliners are all about getting out and about and socializing over good food and drink, the craic as they call it. Here are a few places to find them.

No trip to Ireland would be complete without a trip to a good Irish pub. Luckily, The Stag’s Head Pub is right in the heart of Dublin but it is a hidden gem. This means that those propped on the stools around the bar tend to actually have Irish accents, not American or Australian or any other backpacking nation, even in the height of tourist season.

Every city has its key landmark café that has survived the test of time; in Dublin that café is Bewley’s. Beginning in the tea trade in the 19th century, the Bewley family moved into coffee roasting and opened their first café in 1894. These days the flagship café is in Grafton Street – it was opened in 1927 when Ireland was just emerging from the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent civil war.

It is a well-known pattern of cities that over time business changes, industries close down or shift away, and whole areas fall into decline and decay. Rents drop and artists move in. Gradually the area becomes lively again, interesting, attractive. Cafes and bars open and flourish and the area becomes a cultural hub. So it was with Temple Bar in Dublin.