“It’s not that Dublin is horrible, it’s just that cities with history/beautiful cathedrals/ museums are 10 a penny really aren’t they?” December 14, 2019
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
For my mind there’s no better grounding for getting a sense of a city’s potential than having a child, whether your own, a relatives or a friends, with you. Having been in all those situations the pluses are considerable – but you have to have prepare before hand, know where food and drink is, not expect to spend too much time anywhere (I’m a philistine in any case tending to the view that a museum or gallery is on a single visit going to be a skim at best and if you’re serious about it you’ll want to spend days so an hour or two will usually suffice – except for aerospace or science museums in which case I’m happy to stay there all day). The down side, well, forget about pints during or early afterwards, but hey, that’s a plus because you wind up healthier except for the scones.
On that level I think Dublin is pretty good actually in terms of places to go, things to see. Working in the city centre where the National Gallery, Library and Museum are a stones throw (or rocket launcher) away, where for all its faults The Little Museum of Dublin is pretty excellent, where there’s the Dead Zoo or even the far from bad Leprechaun Museum (yes, gentle reader, I’ve been there too and have the badges to prove it). There’s the Municipal. The GPO. That flat boat that goes up and down the Liffey is pretty great too. Cast the net wider and the National Museum on the quays has some great stuff in it. The National Print Museum in Beggars Bush. Croke Park. Haven’t been in Kilmainham in a few years but always worth a visit. There’s the Botanic Gardens, or you want a beach, Dollymount, a park, St. Annes. Sea views, Howth. All on the Dart. There’s the Southside, Bray and so on.
I’ve often thought that an interesting holiday would, with unlimited funds, to check into – say – Buswells Hotel and spend a weekend in Dublin as a tourist.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
There’s the Southside, Bray and so on.
I can think of few more depressing spots on the island.
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I have heard the same complaints from family and friends at times, regards the city centre’s cleanliness (dead right, though it’s made to look worse by wet weather and a lot of grey buildings) and a perception that the locals are less friendly than expected (expectations certainly a bit warped there, some people think the Irish are going to be Cead Mile Failteing their whole trip). And the prices, which is a given.
Plenty to see and do in Dublin all the same, if you plan a trip properly. If you don’t you’ll probably end up getting ripped off in Temple Bar.
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Dublin would be a pretty fine city if you could get the cars out of it. It’s cramped, but that would be a source of character, if 50% of the public surface space wasn’t sacrificed to the motor car.
Now it’s not alone in that, either in Ireland or the rest of Europe. But its small architectural scale – with respect to other capital cities, means that the plague of poison-emitting, climate-destroying lumps of metal plastic and rubber have a more than usually detrimental effect on the quality of life there, either as a resident or visitor.
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Yeah, I ‘d agree with that – Dublin hasn’t really been sacrificed to the car in the same way as many British cities (and Belfast): here in Leeds, there are full scale M’way interchanges within a km of the city centre and the same is true of Birmingham and Sheffield. You don’t really appreciate the landgrab that such a junction entails until you see it in an urban context. About 200m from me, there are 6 lanes of traffic going under the university. The problem with Dublin is that, without such infrastructure, insane numbers of cars are forced through narrow streets, to no ones’ benefit.
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Dublin’s city centre hasn’t been sacrificed to the car in the sense that unlike many British cities plans to demolish swathes of it to put a motorway through it never came to fruition (Nassau St was to be demolished for such a road at one point). But the greater urban area is a nearly irreparably car dominated suburban/exurban sprawl to a greater degree than anything the Brits have managed.
I don’t think this particularly impacts tourists because frankly unless you live there is no reason for anyone to go to Dublin’s outer suburbs, bar perhaps a few fancy coastal ones. But it has huge knock on effects in terms of car traffic in the centre.
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“because frankly unless you live there is no reason for anyone to go to Dublin’s outer suburbs, bar perhaps a few fancy coastal ones. ”
Don’t know how outer this is but I’d recommend the Tolka Valley Park walk from the Finglas Road to Ashtown. Seriously well worth a visit. Hidden jewel of the northside.
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Dublin’s city centre hasn’t been sacrificed to the car in the sense that unlike many British cities plans to demolish swathes of it to put a motorway through it never came to fruition
This is correct (see Frank McDonald’s books). Pearse Street and Clanbrassil Street unfortunately weren’t as lucky.
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*Parnell Street, not Pearse St.
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I have had discussions with various leftwingers on a congestion charge. They all seem opposed. If we are serious about pollution and other green issues it is a no brainer. At least a feasibility study should be commissioned. To my surprise, the far Left in London opposed it too. Obviously, the revenue gained should be ringfenced to subsidise public transport, maybe free between canals. I feel that the position of some Left groups about this and related matters such as Climate Change is that nothing can be done this side of the revolution.
I would add that the City should go up and not out.
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People on the left have generally opposed congestion charges, Jim, because they are socially regressive in the manner of all flat taxes and because they are essentially a way of allowing people with money to continue doing as they please while pricing people without money out. Now you can quite reasonably argue that these considerations should be ignored because a congestion charge pragmatically is an effective way to reduce traffic and raise cash, but you can’t really pretend that it’s shocking that those considerations are seen as important on the left.
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It’s easy enough to solve apparent : have a progressive charge that isn’t a flat tax and biased against the SUVs and Mercedes of the well off, and use the proceeds for lower-cost or free public transport. That could proceed in parallel with pedestrianising much of the city centre.
I’ve no idea whether these lefts are proposing such a solution, instead of just waiting for the revolution.
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So no to a genuine prioritising of buses, trams, rail and taxis. Indeed with the technology it would be possible to have different rates for cars based on size and cost. Did you oppose the coal ban. Sure workers accnot afford it.
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