I spent the day in Dublin today. It’s the weekend after St. Patrick’s day and a truly magical time to visit Dublin. It’s easy to be cynical about the green tinged buildings, the fairground fun and the open air food markets. But as one of Dublin’s favourite sons once said ” a cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”. (10 points for anyone who can place the quote) Dublin is the beating heart of Ireland and Ireland is never prouder then on St. Patricks day.

And the heartbeat is getting stronger and stronger. There is an easy air to the capital city these days. It is a city that has, for good and ill,  has long since resigned itself to the vagaries of capitalism and there is no changing that. Its open vulgar, commercialism is strangely joyful, productive and compatible with a good life of easy pleasures and cultural riches.

There is a treasure trove of museums here. The national museum, national library, natural history museum, national gallery and, of course our national parliament all sit within the one block adjacent to Trinity College (home of the Book of Kells and a monument in itself). There are also more quirky offerings at the National Wax Museum, the Little Museum of Dublin and the leprechaun museum while Kilmeinham  Jail, a personal favourite of mine, offers a highly imaginative exploration of times past with a special emphasis on the heroes of the 1916 rising. A must for history buffs.

All of these attractions deserve an article in themselves here and I will explore them in later posts…. til then please feel free to comment and tell me what you are interested in , slan agus beannacht, alan

Alan Coakley is a Travel Director with Trafalgar Tours based in Ireland.