Seano said Dublin was now a toilet, with unemployed scoundrels thronging the bread lines every since Ireland’s economy imploded. Seano is also on crack. Dublin, at least the city center that we were selectively exposed to, seems to be doing its best to deny the fact that Ireland’s economy is supposed to be imploding. “What? There’s a recession on? Huhwha?” It’s reminiscent of Paris, how full the restaurants and shops are. Then again, maybe either things aren’t going so badly, or the locals managed to fill up the piggy banks nicely during the boom times. However, from an RTE broadcast: Ireland’s now at 12.5% unemployment. Yikes. Maybe we can chalk it up to denial. Or to the possibility that the English got some bad PR from ruining the Icelandic economy and are reluctant to blow up another small country’s livelihood. Or maybe Gordie Brown’s just too thick to tell the difference between the two.
At least the clubs and restaurants here seem to be doing a bumper business, judging from the hordes of expensively (and scantily) clad Russians descending on the club next to our hotel, and late-model BMWs running around town. By contrast, the poor saps thrown out of their jobs at two underperforming Thomas Cook offices with three weeks’ redundancy pay, while their boss collected a few million, ended up getting arrested for their troubles after staging a lock-in. To be honest, guys, having the socialist worker’s party, or whatever-they-call-themselves, picketing outside probably didn’t do much for your public image. Still, poo.
In short, Dublin is a great city, good for about 2-4 days of bumming around unless you have the wherewithal to dive more deeply into the cultural, architectural and fun bits. We checked out the bits one checks out; St. Patrick’s cathedral is worth a close look inside just for the amazing tombs and memorials of local sons who met their maker in the name of empire in the weird corners of the globe. Puts you into a melancholy mood, just right for heading out for a drink or five and an amazing dinner from the plethora of great, creative places about town.
Without too many details (none needed, as usual, it’s all good), here are some great restaurants and our hotel near Grafton Street:
Diep Le Shaker
55 Pembroke Lane
Dublin, IE
+353 (0) 1 661 1829
www.diep.net
Eden
Meeting House Ln
Dublin, IE
+353 (0) 1 6705372
www.edenrestaurant.ie
Mermaid Café
69 Dame St
Dublin, IE
+353 (0) 1 6708236
www.mermaid.ie
Hotel La Stampa
35 Dawson St
Dublin, IE
+353 (0) 1 677 4444
www.lastampa.ie
