If you know anything about the Irish, it’s that they are a lot of fun. Dublin is the city of a good time that has modernised to encompass all that makes traditions great with all the new values of a surprising people. Welcome to the Irish capital! Ireland is rooted in so much of what I associate as a good time back at home, from drinking Guinness in pubs with names like Bridey O’Reilly’s, listening to The Pogues on a road trip, reading Oscar Wilde or having a big serving of mash potatoes. I didn’t really know what to expect of the Irish capital other so when I arrived one misty grey morning at the beginning of November, I had a lot to learn.
Dublin is a lot like the stereotype of itself; there is the Book of Kells, College Green, The National Gallery, Georgian facades, Ha’penny Bridge over the mystic waters of the Liffey and the unmistakable red of The Temple Bar, but Dublin is also surprising. The sculptural minimalism of the Samuel Beckett Bridge, activist street art, fringe festival advertisements and gay bars, yoga studios and a thoroughly modern people who enjoy craft beers next to their Guinness and man buns with their fiddles.
One thing that remains steadfastly Irish, is their culture of drinking and their deep reverence for the perfect pull.
Temple Bar:
Temple Bar (which is actually an area and not a single pub) is a huge tourist attraction, but also a must hangout for the locals. You cannot have a night out in Dublin’s fair city without the inevitable street party of a Friday or Saturday night in Temple Bar. Modern raves and top 40 songs are replaced with live renditions of Irish classics from the Dubliners to the Pogues and Van Morrison accompanied by the banging of beer glasses on wooden tables and the many dancing feet of happy-go-lucky locals and foreigners alike. It is like stepping back in time, to a less serious era where the drinks where cheap and cheerful and the company a mixed bunch from many walks of life. It is ridiculous fun, from dancing in the street to standing on table tops. Even stag nights seem less obnoxious here. Fair warning, everyone gets pretty messy and by 3am its likely to see a few staggering drinkers, raucous debates and a fair few spilt drinks. This is all part of the party fun and is somehow more endearing and innocent when its the by product of folk music and bar drinking games than vodka sodas and pumping techno. Call me old, I know…
Guinness Factory:
Ahhh, Guinness, the almighty Irish export, which, did you know, is actually a deep ruby red colour? The Guinness factory is a pilgrimage of sorts for many visiting Dublin, for the legend (and first hand proven fact) goes that the closer you are too the source the better the taste and quality; hence the ring of pubs surrounding the factory are known for their Guinness quality. By the time Guinness leaves the fair shores of Ireland it is a completely different drink and almost undrinkable to those true purists who refuse to drink it any other way than professionally pull from a tap, let alone from a can on a beach in Australia. So basically, its a must go, even if you don’t like beer (which I don’t but I make an exception here).
Dublin is full of drinking holes. They are most filled with a lot of laughter and fun, just remember that no one likes having to carry you home at 4am while you mumble about one last dance and dribble down your front. So keep it classy and fun !
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