Emerald City
It’s just over the Irish Sea but Dublin is a world away from our land of English reserve. Loud, generous and hospitable to a fault, those Irish are really something, says Ginger Harrison
Above: The Guiness factory in Dublin
‘Coddle? You don’t want to be eating that. It tastes ‘orrible.’ And so begins my introduction to the folk of Dublin. When asking a taxi driver what a traditional dish to sample might be, this was the response, along with a long bout of laughter and a firm reminder that while coddle (a sausage, bacon, onion and potato hotpot) may well be a good Irish diet, the alcoholic one is much more fun. Dublin is a blessed place. Never before in my travels have I ever been welcomed so readily by the natives and made to laugh so hard. The degree of friendliness, that is sadly far too uncommon in our nation’s capital, is off the radar here and makes a visit a sincerely memorable occasion. Dubliners appear to recognise any tourist as a friend, with a motto that speaks volumes; any visitor that has taken the trouble to come to Dublin deserves utmost respect and above all a darn good time. And both are delivered accordingly.
I stayed at the beautiful Four Seasons, just ten minutes drive from the city centre. Located in one of the most affluent areas of the city, a taxi driver referred to it as ‘the Kensington and Chelsea of Dublin’.
Very nice to be in familiar territory. The rooms are spacious with all the usual compliments and delicacies that the Four Seasons affords its guests and together with a superb spa complete with stunning swimming pool and impeccable treatments – it is most definitely worth visiting this city in style.
The restaurant is especially worth sampling, with beautifully presented and innovative dishes including lamb with pomegranate and yoghurt and a Grand Marnier soufflé which adequately rivals the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo.
An added touch from the concierge is a free car service to drop you into town on a Sunday, complete with driver whose knowledge of the city is unsurpassable.
If you are only in Dublin for some 36 hours, there is an awful lot to cram in, especially if you want to sample some of the finest brew and interact with the locals. Highly recommended is the open-top bus tour which, if you go with City Tours (the green buses) you have a live commentary by your driver throughout the trip. And, if anything, it is worth it for the jokes and the singing. ‘Alive-alive-oh, alive-alive-oh, crying cockels and mussels, alive-alive-oh.’ Dear Molly Malone whose statue resides on the corner of Grafton Street, turned many heads in her time – something which I and the rest of the tourists aboard also managed to achieve with our dulcet tones emanating from the top deck. A concise history of specific buildings and places in and around Dublin is fascinating and hopping off at the Guinness Brewery for a complimentary pint of the black stuff and hopping back on again to see Bono’s infamous Clarence Hotel is great fun. At just over an hour, it doesn’t feel like too much of an information overload, especially when you know that O’Malley’s, Flanagans and O’Reilly’s are all too ready to wet the lips.
O’Connell Street is the widest street in Europe at over 50 metres. With a vast array of shops and activity, it is most definitely the hub of the city. The river Liffey runs across one end and as a contribution to the city’s dedication to the arts, the Spire of Dublin reaches some 120 metres upwards into the air – and is most definitely a sight to behold. Whilst looking a little incongrous with the surroundings and receiving a few strange looks and opinions from the locals, it is great to try and get your picture taken with it in its entirety.
If you manage to incorporate a Saturday night into your stay, be sure to soak up the atmosphere of Temple Bar and get inside John O’Gogarty’s. Three floors of Irish beer, Irish music and Irish food – you won’t receive a more authentic experience than here. On the top floor is a restaurant that comes so highly recommended, the accents that filter through from various snippets of table conversation help you understand how far and wide people have come to sample the cuisine. An excellent array of fresh seafood dishes are on offer, that is, once you have managed to secure a table. Views of the surrounding cobbled streets are visible through the quaint windows and the service is top-notch.
Following a banquet of lobster and shellfish, the second floor beckons with its bar and live music – courtesy of four gents who play the guitar, the fiddle, the banjo and a small set of hand drums respectively. The lead singer takes an enormous gulp of Guinness, downs a shot of Irish malt and says, ‘The more you drink, the better we sound. The more we drink, the better you look,’ and the tunes get faster and faster and the crowd dances and dances. Old classics mixed with some downright rude compositions are among the repertoire and it is impossible for anyone not to love this kind of music by the time the evening is out. U2? U who? An absolute must is a visit to Merrion Square – the location of the first dwelling place of Oscar Wilde and, on a Sunday, a haven for local artists to sell their work.
A statue of Mr Wilde reclining in comfort within the gardens is indicative of the laid back nature of this city and the artistic beauty at its heart as, hanging on the iron railings that seal the square’s gardens from the elements, on all four sides no less, are numerous works of art available for purchase or just to view. This is a free exhibition held outside for everyone to see and it is impossible to just walk by without being tempted to lay down some money and walk away with a large canvas under your arm.
I must pay special note to the artist Louise Mansfield, whose oil paintings of children by the sea were some of the most beautiful works of art I have ever seen – and who I would never have had the pleasure of meeting had I not been in Dublin. It was regrettable that I didn’t have a spare €1,600 lying around, but one day maybe…
As a neighbour, I don’t think we could wish for anything better than Dublin. I am just ashamed that it has taken me so long fly that simple 60 minutes to sample everything it has on offer. Everyone talks about the Irish nature and how their idea of hospitality is leagues ahead of everyone else but to experience it first-hand should be among the top fifty things you do before you die. If it was like this during a simple spring weekend, I can only imagine what this city becomes on St Patrick’s Day. The coddle might well be horrible but the locals certainly aren’t.