Some Don't-miss Dublin Attractions

Dublin has become a ‘cool’ city. The wealth engendered by an economic boom not experienced since Dublin’s much celebrated Georgian heyday has meant that there are restaurants, clubs, trendy shops and tourist attractions opening in abundance, making the visitor experience more exciting and varied than ever before.

But no matter how much Dublin changes, the fundamentals – the Georgian elegance of Merrion Square, the Norman drama of Christ Church cathedral, the Christian history of St Patrick and the foamy pint at an atmospheric pub – are still there to gratify. It’s these things that make a visit to Dublin so special.

For me, the real appeal of Dublin is the experience of meeting the locals over a pint of Guinness, of walking the cobbled streets of Temple Bar, and admiring the buildings around Merrion Square.

As seems appropriate for Ireland, the number one visitor attraction in Dublin is a visit to a brewery. Actually you don’t get to go into the brewery but the Guinness Storehouse is a tourist development inside part of an unused section of the brewery. More than a million visitors a year crowd into here to see the displays and have a pint of the black liquid that has become an Irish icon. Some stay the whole day but unless you are a fanatic, an hour will suffice. What you learn in that time is probably not essential to anything but most visitors find it enjoyable. One visit is certainly enough.

Another Irish institution is Jameson whisky and again an unused facility has been turned into a visitor attraction. In this case you make the visit in a group with a guide. The tour begins with a short movie on the history of whiskey, then you walk through an extensive series of displays. At the end of the tour, each participant is invited to taste some Jameson whiskey and four in the group have the chance to compare Irish, Scotch and American whiskeys. It’s a visit I enjoyed.

No visit to Ireland would be complete without seeing St Patrick’s Cathedral. I was surprised to find that this church named after Ireland’s patron saint is, in fact, a Church of Ireland cathedral rather than a Roman Catholic one. There is history galore here and the building and adjacent park are a nice refuge from the outside world.

My wife tells me that Grafton Street needs to be on my list. This pedestrian precinct is a nice place to walk and watch the crowd but she confirms it is also Dublin’s best shopping area. You will explore here at your own pace but don’t miss seeing the Molly Malone statue and the Powerscourt Centre which is in an adjacent street. You also find the main office of Dublin Tourism in this area.

Finally, give yourself some time to appreciate Georgian Dublin. This was the city’s hey-day and even today it has a major impact on the city. Merrion and Fitzwilliam Squares are two of the better areas.

Quick Tips:

If you go to Guinness Storehouse, then book in advance via the web site in order to avoid the queues. If you just turn up at peak periods then do note that after you have queued in the street (for however long) you will also have to queue inside for up to forty minutes.

If you're a fan of Guinness, you'll probably love the Guinness Storehouse. Otherwise, you'll find the first part of the self-guided tour quite interesting, and the second half (from the advertising section onward) almost a waste of time. If so, skip to the bar on the top floor and enjoy the view.

After the tour of the Old Jameson Distillery, the gift shop awaits and they have some very fine whiskies available. You can get a bottle of Jameson with your name on it and are able to buy a bottle of 18 year old Jameson.

The tour of the Old Jameson Distillery lasts for about an hour but you can spend much more time there. There is a restaurant and an excellent bar where you can spend a few pleasant hours.

When visiting St Patrick’s Cathedral make sure you get the little pamphlet that highlights the things to see inside but they also have other guides available to purchase.

Pat Liddy's Walking Tours of Dublin were winners of the Culture and Tourism category in the Irish Times Living Dublin Awards recently and their Georgian Splendours tour of 18th & 19th century Dublin (Fri 2.30pm from outside Tourist Information Office, Suffolk Street) is certainly worth doing.

Best Way To Get Around:

Although central Dublin is relatively small, you will struggle to visit all the places in this journal on foot. From the Guinness Storehouse to Fitzwilliam Square is probably about two kilometres and some of the other places are not close to where you would walk.

A solution is to buy a Dublin Bus ticket and get off the bus near each of the attractions. The only one that is not exactly on the route is the Jameson distillery but this is only a 400-metre walk from the nearest stop.

The Jameson attraction is also close to the Red tramline and Grafton Street is near the end of the Green line, if you happen to be near this form of transport. Regular city buses go near all areas but I don’t really know how you get between each using the bus. Obviously taxis would do the trick. These can be hailed on the street.

Friends had told me that this was one of the top attractions in Dublin and that it was now Ireland’s No. 1 international visitor attraction. The Guinness Storehouse is located in the heart of the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, and since opening in November 2000, it has attracted over 4 million visitors. I don’t fully understand why.

The Storehouse is laid out over seven floors surrounding a glass atrium taking the shape of a pint of Guinness. On the ground floor the exhibit introduces you to the four ingredients; water, barley, hops and yeast, all of which combine together to make a pint of Guinness. Visitors are also introduced to the fifth and vital ingredient, Arthur Guinness himself.

As you move up through the building, you next encounter an exhibition on the history of Guinness advertising, including viewings of many of the well-known TV ads from down the years. This is where I started to wonder why I was here. Unless you are a dedicated Guinness fan, this has very little appeal.

The Guinness Storehouse claims to promote responsible drinking in the "Choice Zone", an interactive exhibit that encourages the visitor to examine their own drinking habits, and to recognise the dangers of drinking to excess. If you didn’t know your own habits and the dangers associated with them before coming here, I doubt that this would really enlighten you.

Going ever upwards, you can learn to pour your own pint of Guinness and receive a certificate to prove that you have mastered the craft. This floor is also home to the Source Bar, an artistically designed bar and beside this, the Brewery Bar is an informal and relaxing place to dine.

The seventh floor of the Storehouse is taken up by The Gravity Bar, which features an almost 360 degree view of Dublin. A free pint is given to those of legal age upon completion of the self-guided tour. As the entry to the Storehouse is 14 Euros, this is the most expensive ‘free’ beer you will ever have.

The Storehouse was originally built in 1904 to house the Guinness fermentation process. The building was constructed in the style of the Chicago school of architecture, with massive steel beams providing the support for the structure of the building. The Storehouse housed the fermentation process of Guinness beer until 1988.

It is about a 20-minute walk from downtown Dublin to the Storehouse. From Dame Street (outside Trinity College), keep straight ahead. Follow the road around, passing Christ Church on the right and go onto Thomas Street. At Crane Street turn left, and at the end of the road turn right onto Market Street. The Guinness Storehouse is on the right.

Originally built in 1780, this Distillery was once considered one of the largest and finest Distilleries in the world. It no longer operates as a distillery but the site has now become a tourist attraction where you can eat, drink and see how whiskey is made. You complete the journey of whiskey making with a whiskey tasting in the Jameson Bar. The hour-long guided tour of this ancient distillery, gives you a good insight into the fine art of whiskey making.

You re-live the story of John Jameson & Son through the history, the atmosphere and above all the taste of his special brew. You will discover the time honoured secret of how three simple ingredients - water, barley and yeast - are transformed into the smooth golden spirit that has always been, and continues to be, Jameson Irish Whiskey. At the end of the tour, all visitors are rewarded with a Jameson signature drink and lucky volunteers are selected to participate in a tutored whiskey comparison and earn a much coveted personalised Whiskey Taster Certificate.

If you like whiskey, you will be impressed with this tour. There is a tour every hour or so, from 9:30 to 17:30pm, and tickets are purchased in the lobby. No reservation is required and cameras are allowed. The tour begins with a short movie on the history of whiskey, then you walk through an extensive series of displays. The company's tour guide explains every stage of the procedure and answers questions. At the end of the tour, each participant is invited to taste some Jameson Whiskey either straight, with cranberry juice or with ginger ale. There is also the opportunity to buy Middleton and Jameson Reserve here -- something you cannot do at shops in the city or at duty free at the airport.

I thought the tour would be through the old distillery but in fact you watch a 15 minute video and are then brought through a room-by-room mock up of what parts of the distillery was like back when it was still operating in this Dublin location. While there are no working parts here, the models and videos are excellent. Definitely volunteer to do the taste test at the end of the tour - 5+ free whiskey shots (three Irish Whiskey's then one Scotish whisky and finally an American) and a fun certificate to take home.

I thought this was a good tour even though I am not normally a whiskey drinker. It is well worth going to and anyone who is not a whiskey fan is still likely to appreciate the distinct flavours of the Irish brew. I must say that we indulged a couple of times in coming days.

Tour costs are Adult - €11.00; Student - €9.00; Senior Citizen - €9.00; Under 18s - €6.00.

Saint Patrick on his journey through Ireland is said to have passed through Dublin. In a well close to where the cathedral now stands, he is reputed to have baptised converts from paganism to Christianity. To commemorate his visit, a small wooden church was built on this site, one of the four Celtic parish churches in Dublin.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 1191, is the larger of Dublin's two Church of Ireland cathedrals, and the largest church in Ireland. Unusually it is not today the seat of a bishop, as Dublin's Church of Ireland Archbishop has his seat in Christ Church Cathedral, with Saint Patrick's being (since 1870) the National Cathedral for the whole island.

The basis of the present building was built between 1191 and 1270, though little now remains of the earliest work beyond the Baptistry. Much of the work was overseen by Henry of London, a friend of the King of England and signatory of the Magna Carta, who was also involved in the construction of Dublin's city walls, and Dublin Castle.

Although originally a Roman Catholic church, after the English Reformation (at St. Patrick's, effective from about 1537), St. Patrick's became an Anglican Church of Ireland Cathedral, although most of the population of the surrounding Pale remained Roman Catholic.

Throughout its long history the cathedral has contributed much to Irish life, and one key aspect of this relates to the writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, who was Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to 1745. You can see his grave in the nave just to the right of the entrance.

Another significant happening was when the cathedral choir took part in the first performance of Handel's Messiah in 1742.

The major reconstruction, paid for by Benjamin Guinness in 1860-65, and inspired by the fear that the cathedral was in imminent danger of collapse, means that much of the current building and decoration dates from the Victorian era. To me this didn’t matter.
Saint Patrick's is a living building with services held every day of the year, and sung services on six days of the week. The choir sings two services every day during school terms (9.40am and 5.45pm), the only cathedral in Ireland or Britain to do so.

Today the cathedral is the location for a number of public national ceremonies. Ireland's Remembrance Day ceremonies, hosted by the Royal British Legion and attended by the President of Ireland, take place there every November. Its carol service (the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols), celebrated twice in December is a colourful feature of Dublin life, the last medieval pageant in the city.

The cathedral is open to visitors March to October, daily from 9am to 6pm. From November to February it is only open on Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and Sunday from 9am to 3pm. No visits are allowed during Sunday services.

Immediately north of the cathedral is a small park with statues of many of Dublin’s literary elite.

Grafton Street, located between Trinity College and St Stephen's Green is Dublin’s smart shopping area with fashionable stores such as Brown Thomas, the department store catering for many designer showcases, both foreign and local. Dublin's leading and most exclusive jewellers, Weirs, is also here, as well as the famous Bewley's Café. Other principal shopping streets in the area include Wicklow Street, Duke Street and St. Anne Street, which all run off Grafton Street and Dawson Street, Drury Street and South Great Georges Street which are nearby. The Powerscourt Town House on Clarendon Street is one of the nicer, albeit small, shopping centres in the city. Also close by is The Georges Street Arcade, an indoor market well worth a visit.

Grafton Street is quite short. It will take you no more than five minutes to walk it if you don’t stop. But a Dubliner will allow at least a half hour, particularly on a Saturday afternoon, because this is where everyone comes to browse the shops, or just to hang around and watch the many buskers or meet and chat with friends before slipping off for a coffee or a pint.

The street was named after the first Duke of Grafton, who owned land in the area. The street was developed from a then existing country lane by the Dawson family in 1708, after whom the parallel Dawson Street is named.

Since the 1980s, the street has been mostly pedestrianised, with the exception of the short stretch running between Nassau Street and College Green. This short stretch contains two notable Dublin landmarks, the eighteenth century Trinity College Provost's House, home to the head of the college, and the late twentieth century statue of Molly Malone, which has become a popular Dublin meeting place.

"Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels") is a popular song which has acquired the status of an Irish anthem. It has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City. The song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but died young, of a fever.
Molly is commemorated in a statue designed by Jeanne Rynhart erected to celebrate the city's first millennium in 1987; this statue is known colloquially as 'The Tart With The Cart' or 'The Dish With The Fish'. The statue portrays Molly as a busty young woman in seventeenth-century dress, and is claimed to represent the real person on whom the song is based. You must see it before leaving Dublin.

Though not easy to find (despite being signposted from Grafton Street), the Powerscourt Town House is worth the search. It is also Dublin's strangest shopping mall. It was created by combining old buildings and a (glass-covered) yard area and the wares on offer, range from spectacular crystals to original art, from portrait photography to gourmet chocolate.

This is the place you will want to go for unusual gifts or new ideas. It is an Aladdin's Cave of curios, collectibles and crystals. It also is a rabbit's warren. The conversion of the old house has created a shopping mall in which you could well play hide and seek. Corridors don't always connect in a logical fashion, while exhibits sprawl into adjoining areas and onto outside walls. The large, open, central area is an ideal space to relax and revive with a coffee.

One of the things that I most enjoyed about Dublin was the Georgian planning and architecture that is obvious in several parts of the inner city. There are certainly some resemblances between the eighteenth century buildings in Dublin and in other cities in Great Britain and mainland Europe, but Dublin architecture has its own distinctive flavour and it is easy to quickly distinguish the Georgian architecture of Dublin from that of Bath or Edinburgh.

In Dublin, the predominant building material is brick and the wide streets and squares combine considerable uniformity of appearance with charming contrasts in detail which give an individual touch to the buildings. The thin glazing bars and the painted reveals of the windows give a brightness to the otherwise somewhat austere exteriors. This impression of colour is further emphasised by the classical entrances and the beautiful woodwork of the doors, many of which have survived until today with their polished fittings.

So how has this come about? The eighteenth century saw a rapid growth in the size and population of Dublin. The city prospered. The mediaeval walls were swept away and new broad streets and squares constructed in the open countryside on either side of the Liffey. The river itself was embanked and graceful bridges built. The new wide streets and the squares reflected the importance of Dublin.
The expansion of the city towards the east and south-east was particularly significant. Already by the 1720s, the Dawson and Molesworth Street areas were being developed. The Mansion House was bought by the Corporation and happily much of the original house remains despite later alterations.

Plots of land were being sold around the margins of St. Stephen's Green and on the nearby Fitzwilliam Estate where some of the most exciting building work took place. From the 1750s onwards, for about a century, great houses were put up around Merrion Square, which was laid out as a private park. Then followed Fitzwilliam Square and thoroughfares like Fitzwilliam and Baggot Streets gave a sense of space and dignity to the new quarter.

In the two centuries that followed, when the Irish Parliament was dissolved and the MPs moved to England, severe economic decline, terrible tragedy and political upheaval translated into minimal architectural investment. The result of this 200 year period of very little building and development, is the preservation of an incredible number of Georgian homes, streets and squares, which would have otherwise most likely have been demolished in favour of Victorian Gothic style.

Merrion Square, which was laid out in the 1760's and is open to the public, is considered the core of the best preserved section of Georgian Dublin. Over the years, many of the town-houses here were the residences of Dublin's leading citizens. Walk around the square and you will find plaques commemorating former residents such as Daniel O'Connell (no. 50); William Butler Yeats (no. 82); George Russell (no. 84); and Oscar Wilde and his parents (no.1).

Today you can wander these areas appreciating the buildings and the architectural details to your heart’s content. For me it was educational, relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable. I could have spent hours doing this and the fact that there are several companies offering organised walks here means that others must feel the same way.