Dublin Things to Do

Dublin is not just about the late and the great, there is a vibrant cultural scene putting out good, innovative theater and art as we speak. One organisation that has been important in spawning new talent since 1966 is the Project Arts Centre. Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, U2 – they’ve all done a turn on the stages of the Project Arts Centre.

Dublin is a UNESCO City of Literature. There are only a few of them in the world (Dublin, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Reykjavik and Iowa City) so it’s significant and worth adding into your planning of a trip to Dublin. In fact, in Dublin it’s quite difficult to ignore its literary status and history. There are libraries, bookstores and museums in writers’ houses dotted all over the city, and many of the pubs claim to have been the haunts of the more famous Irish writers: James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde – although many of them spent years away from Dublin and spent more time at their typewriters than in the pub. Still, even writers need a drink at the end of the working day and in Dublin that means a visit to the pub.

Springtime. The end of the long cold winter. Time to get back out onto the streets and into life, to enjoy walking through parks with spring flowers and blossom on the trees. In Dublin, spring is the driest time of the year, and May the sunniest month. But I’d still pack a coat, gloves and a scarf. Oh, and a hat. Ireland can be sunny yet cold, dry but raining an hour later.

That’s what the pubs are for: warming up with a Guinness and checking your photos of those spring bulbs blooming in the park half an hour earlier. But spring is a great time to go to Dublin for several reasons: the flowers are coming out and the parks are coming back to life. This is a great time for walking along the river and enjoying the smiling greetings of the locals – they are really as friendly as they’re reputed to be.

Is your name Pink, Patsy, Tricia, Paddy? If it’s Patrick or any of its world-wide and gender variations you’ll gain entry to the Guinness Storehouse for free on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. There’s nothing new there – they extend this handshake to Patricks every year.

What is different this year is that they are aiming to set a new record for the Guinness Book of World Records. No, it’s not the greatest number of Patricks in one place, though perhaps it should be, it’s the World’s Friendliest Day record. It makes sense. Ireland has always had a reputation for being friendly, they’re known for their welcome to tourists, the craic in their pubs.

Yes, the day of green beer is growing closer, the day of the year when all of Ireland goes crazy for their patron Saint Patrick, he who rid the country of snakes and made it the green and pleasant haven it is today.