Dublin, Ireland - The Craic is On
Temple Bar, Guinness Brewery, St. Stephen's Green, Tattoos
Apr 7, 2007
Spend Some Time in Dublin, Ireland
Many people only use Dublin as a springboard to their Irish holiday. This is a big mistake. Although Dublin is a small city by international standards, it has all the big city conveniences, without the drawbacks and is worthy of so much more than just a stopover.
Craic Addicts in Dublin
Oh, and for the uninitiated, Craic ( say "crack") is Irish slang for a good time - having a blast as in: "What’s the Craic and where can you find it? In Dublin you will find plenty of Craic addicts, hanging out during the days in cyber cafe's (those are the tourists) or coming into the city in groups for bachelorette and stag parties - those are usually from the UK. The local craic addicts are a bit harder to spot, but they're the ones with the cool accents - and they're everywhere.
Visit the Dublin Tourism Center
The Dublin Tourism Centre is a one-stop-shop for all information and reservation needs. It is located in the beautifully restored former Church of St. Andrew on Suffolk Street in the heart of Dublin's city center.
Get a Free Drink at the Guinness Brewery
It is a whole outing to visit the brewery where the “Black Stuff” is made, and there is a glass of it for free after the tour. It is the largest brewery in Europe and the Guinness Storehouse site you’ll visit at St James Gate sprawls over 26 ha (65 acres). Guinness also owns Harp Lager and Smithwick’s Ale.
Get a Tattoo in Dublin Center
Tattoos have served as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, decorations for bravery, spiritual symbols and pledges of love. Travelers also use them to remember places they’ve visited. Dublin has great tattoo shops and a Celtic tattoo is a perfect souvenir of your visit to the Emerald Isle. Tattooists in Dublin say they get plenty of requests for leprechaun tattoos and shamrocks and black Celtic tribal tattoos, but what about a beautiful Trinity Knot from the Book of Kells?
- The Eagle Tattoo Studio in Capel Street has been established in Dublin for over 50 years;
- Wildcat ink. Celestial Ring has two branches – one in Upper Abbey Street, near the Jervis Stop on the Red Luas Line and the other on the top floor of the St. Stephen's Green Shopping Center. They do great tattoos and they also do great piercings.
The Craic is On in Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland
There are nearly 1000 pubs within the Dublin city limits and a good many of them are in the Temple Bar area. Down a pint or two in McDaids on Harry Street, off Grafton in Temple Bar, former drinking spot of playwright Brendan Behan. This pub dates from 1779.
While in the Temple Bar area, stumbling over the cobblestones, tourists may be tempted into many traditional bars hosting fiddle sessions. For those prefer more modern pubs they there too, as are the so-called super-pubs that hold more than 2 000 people. Absorb the atmosphere and sample the wares with enjoyment - the red Smithwick’s Ale is delicious.
Dublin Film Festival at the IFI
Culture vultures and those who like vegetarian food meet at the pub/restaurant at theIrish Film Center off Meeting Square – the independent, foreign and art movies they show at the IFI can be pretty good too. This is the venue for the annual Dublin Film Festival.
For pure entertainment just wander up and down the streets and alleys in Temple Bar, watching the street theatre and buskers or the drunken stag parties and bacheloretes from the UK over for the craic on weekends. You'll know them by the matching T-shirts and the big green hats.
Shopping in Grafton Street - Trinity College to St Stephen's Green
In Dublin Center you'll find Grafton Street. This is a very busy shopping street on weekends, but there are great (and very expensive) shops, stalls, buskers and people from all over the world. It joins Trinity College to St .Stephen's Green, so it's easy to find.
Running parallel to Grafton Street isDawson Street, where the three biggest and best bookshops in Dublin, Hodges Figgis, Easons and Waterstones, are within 50m of each other. There are no pubs on Grafton Street, but the surrounding streets offer pubs and eating places.
Dublin - City for Craic Addicts
So, whether the "Craic addicts" want to learn to step dance like Michael Flatley when they hear an Irish fiddle; buy a book on Irish Whiskey and sit and read it on St Stephen's Green or get a shiny new tattoo and a lusty green eyed Wild Irish Rose to help it heal, they'll surely all agree that it this city on the Liffey could be named Dublin, Craic Central.
There is plenty of accommodation here, swanky hotels (U2 owns the Clarence), b&b's guesthouses and hotels, but it is less noisy and cheaper to stay a bit further out of Dublin Center. Public transport is great in Dublin so getting around isn't a problem.
Don't, delay, get to Dublin - the craic is on!
More articles on Ireland:
Cliffs of Moher and the Burren
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