The Westbury |
The Merrion |
Clontarf Castle |
The Schoolhouse |
The Burlington |
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The Clarence |
The Morgan |
The Fitzwilliam |
The Morrison |
The Shelbourne |
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The Beacon |
The Conrad |
Four Seasons |
Portmarnock |
Radisson Blu |
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When I die, Dublin will be written in my heart (James Joyce)
No wonder the lustful Vikings who made their way up the Liffey in the middle ages were reluctant to raid and move on. Dublin has retained its zest for life digesting rebellion, civil war, Emergency, recession and the rest with vigour, all of the above serving to fuel the literary, cultural and musical appetite of its natives throughout the ages.
From Strongbow to Swift, Samuel Beckett to Brendan Behan, Joyce to O’Casey and right up to Cecelia Ahern (Cecelia that is) and Roddy Doyle, Dubliners have never been short of wry observations on human nature and on their own city.
For the literary buffs, trace Joyce’s steps from Merrion Square where Nora stood him up to Sandycove and beyond, take a seat along the canal bank in Kavanagh‘s company, pass through the hallowed halls of Trinity, alma mater of Beckett and Oscar Wilde but beyond the pale for Behan and Joyce.
And for movie buffs, you will be spoiled for choice of photo opps from some great movie locations especially that of Michael Collins (Liam Neeson) past the Four Courts, around Dublin Castle and of course Kilmainham Jail.
For a festival frenzy, go green for the country’s biggest party with the St Patrick’s Day Festival or do your heart good with a bellyful of laughs at the Vodafone Comedy Festival.
Home to both Guinness and Jameson, you can wet your whistle at or near both historic brewing and distilling emporiums.
And if the stage is your thing, you will be spoiled for choice at the historic Abbey (home of the Anglo Irish Literary revival in the early 20th century), the nearby Gate where McLiammor strutted his stuff and to more contemporary music venues like Vicar Street and the National Concert Hall.
From Trinity College, around St Stephens Green (once very common), via the National Gallery and Museum and up to historic Dublin Castle (now also home to the Chester Beatty Library), you can feed your soul with works from the old masters and further back to the vellum inscribed gospels penned by the monks of Iona in the eighth century in the Book of Kells.
For less spiritual pursuits, you can shop till you drop along Grafton Street, all the while being entertained by buskers (read Glen Hansard and the hit movie Once) further afield to Dundrum Shopping Centre, a shopper’s paradise under one tropical roof, not for the faint hearted.
And when you’ve had your fill and need some sustenance and tlc, stay at one of our superb 5 star hotels Dublin which include, The Schoolhouse, The Beacon, The Burlington, The Merrion, The Morgan, The Morrison, The Westbury, Brooks Hotel, Clontarf Castle, The Conrad, The Four Seasons Hotel, Radisson Blu St Helens Hotel, The Clarence or The Shelbourne.
