I had a great time here, and I'd say Dublin is one of my favorite places visited. The city was lively and full of visitors even though it was the end of November. There are several live bands playing every single night of the week. It helps if you like Irish music. The organization and information available for tourists is excellent, so its easy to settle in.
All people live in pubs and leave only when absolutely necessary.
Here you see a typical family at the Cobblestone pub:
Once in a while, they go to a rugby game, but temporary pubs are set up
inside the stadium grounds, just a few meters away from the field.
Here's a little clip of the band there. (2.8mb, 14seconds)
My first rugby game ever: Ireland vs Romania, at
Landsdowne Road
, which I was told is the oldest rugby stadium in the world.
The Irish team had players from both South and North. I think its the only sport
where this happens.
I sat between two guys and asked them a couple things about the rules
of the game. They introduced themselves and it turned out they were both
from the same town up North, so they started a lively conversation about
the exact street they grew up on, who they knew, and who they went to school with.
Anyway, I eventually got some answers about the rules:
you basically push the ball forward by sending the opponents to the
hospital. It's the only game I've
seen where players are treated by medics on the field while the game goes
on.
In this
clip
the Irish team scores its first touch down.
(2.5mb, 14seconds)
A brief visit to Trinity College, the oldest university in Ireland, and
one of the oldest in the British Isles:
I took a bus tour to
Malahide Castle
one day. Nice little place, not for sale unfortunately.
In the 17th century, fourteen members of the Talbot family had
breakfast together
there, before all going off to battle. None of them survived. I wonder
how the cook felt.
On the way we passed this structure. I dont remember its name, but I
think it was the oldest something in Ireland.
We also passed a few beaches on the way back, but I didn't feel like
swimming. This one was actually used as an airfield for some of the first
cross-Atlantic flights that took place.
The bus ride to Malahide lasted just over one hour, and the driver had
all 40 passengers laughing out loud for most of the trip with his little
comments about everything. Best tour guide I've ever seen.
Dublin isn't only about old things. And in general, Ireland is a place of
major technological development. They recently built this elevator to
the moon:
Ok, so its just a steel spire, with some interesting
nicknames
So, back to pubs... Well, here is (you guessed it) the oldest one in
Ireland: The
Brazen Head
The central area with most pubs is called "The Temple Bar". The name
might be misleading, but this is the
"cultural quarter" of Dublin too. Trust the Irish to stick the word
BAR in there somewhere. One pub
carries the same name and thus gets a first visit by all the tourists. I
found it a bit too commercial on Friday and Saturday nights, but on Sunday
night they had an excellent live band.
Right around the corner is the Ha'penny Bridge Inn, which is regarded as a
relatively
unspoiled place in the heart of the tourist area. As a local musician
said, "in a real Irish pub you'd never find pots, pans and bicycles
hanging from the ceiling. And I personally find it offensive to see
musical instruments pinned to the wall".
The name "Ha'penny" comes from the Ha'penny bridge just outside. This was
the first (and last?) bridge for which pedestrians had to pay to cross.
The amount was half a penny.
The place which keeps the live music going the longest is
Oliver St.John Gogartys pub.
Even though the Temple Bar area is for tourists (as opposed to
Cobblestone, as seen above), its a great place with lots of selection for
those who enjoy traditional tunes (a.k.a. "trad" by the Irish). And a
major bonus for me was this:
Not allowed in public buildings.
Here are some videos I took inside pubs. Most of them are only good for audio cause
it was too dark to capture much.
Lyrics and some notes about the meaning to all songs that I recognize can be
found here .
Here are a couple songs I liked and which I had never heard before.
Monto
(4.3mb, 24seconds)
Waxie's Dargle
(6.1mb, 34seconds)
Mountain dew
(3.7mb, 20seconds)
Star of the County Down (5.8mb, 33seconds)
This is a slow song, but i like it anyway. Actually i first heard
it on the radio, with
remixed lyrics , sung by 40,000 Liverpool fans
at the end of a soccer game. But that's another story... Here it is
at Gogarty's:
Fields of Athenry
(part1)
(10.7mb, 60seconds)
... and last bit
(2.7mb, 15seconds)
A tune that I don't recognize, at Gogarty's (1.9mb, 11seconds)
Two songs that aren't quite *trad* :
Man of constant sorrow (4.0mb, 23seconds) (American, country)
That's alright
(7.5mb, 42seconds) (Elvis)
Hurley's classics, at the Temple Bar: (Hurley's is the main place for this kind
of music in Montreal)
Dirty old town
(10.3mb, 57seconds)
Whisky in the jar
(5.3mb, 29seconds)
Wild rover, part 1
(7.4mb, 41seconds)
Wild rover, part 2
(10.8mb, 60seconds)
This is part of a musical tour I went on, where the musicians got the
whole tour group to join in:
Bound for South Australia(8.6mb, 48seconds)
Some instrumental bits:
Banjo at the Vat House (3.7mb, 20seconds)
Early evening session at the Cobblestone pub (2.3mb, 12seconds)
The band right next to the rugby game (2.8mb, 14seconds) (same link as the
one way above)
I dont remember the name of this one (6.0mb, 33seconds)
Flute and banjo at the Temple Bar (3.5mb, 20seconds)
Fancy footwork at Gogarty's
(4.2mb, 23seconds) ...(actual use of video, for once)