St. Patrick's Day in Dublin

Here in Dublin, we're counting down the days to the big St. Patrick's Day Festival, when all the world celebrates Ireland. The festival runs for five days here in Ireland and you can see a partial schedule of the festivities at StPatricksDay.ie. I say "partial" because it is the "official" festival of the tourism industry here in Ireland, but there will be plenty more happening with various art galleries, charities, pubs, restaurants, etc.

Our family just obtained tickets to go see Pearl at Docklands on Saturday evening. We're also discussing taking our 5-month-old to the Baby Rave (where "the only drug is calpol") on Saturday and the Big Day Out in Merrion Square on Sunday. That is, IF the weather cooperates more than it has over the last few days.

Along with the festival website, be sure to check in with DublinBlog.ie for more. Also have a look at our pictures from last years St. Paddy's Day parade here in Dublin, as well as the Dublin Blog Flickr group's pics.

Here's a little preview of what will be happening in the Docklands.

Falling Slowly

Yesterday, The Irish Times featured a cartoon that brilliantly synchronized two facets of Irish current events: the Oscar award to Glen and Marketa and the Mahon Tribunal.

All I know about this Mahon tribunal is that it has something to do with the Taoiseach (pronouned "tee-shook" for you non-Irish - he's essentially the Prime Minister of Ireland) accepting money 10 or 20 years ago that he shouldn't have accepted and that this "tribunal" is going on and on and on and on.

As for the Oscar award for the film "Once," what a moving experience to see Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová performing that simple, beautiful song from a simple, beautiful film on Hollywood's biggest stage. People here in Dublin who are tuned in to the music scene have always known that Hansard is a brilliant song-writer. Too bad that the YouTube video of Markéta's little speech has been pulled, but props to Jon Stewart for bringing Markéta back onstage to share.

Cartridge Green

Here in Dublin, there's a brilliant way to both save money and be environmentally sound in your use of computer printer ink. It's called Cartridge Green and there are four shops in Ireland (three in Dublin). I took my black ink cartridge in to the shop in Leopardstown Road today and it cost me only 10 euro to refill it. That's about half as much as it would cost to drive down to PC World and replace the cartridge with a new one!

Cartridge Green are also promoting franchising opportunities. So if you're an entrepreneur type, have a look at those options as well.

Once in America

So it turns out that the independent Irish film "Once" is having loads of success in the U.S. It played at the Dublin Film Festival last winter, but sold out in a matter of hours. Critics are raving about it and Bob Dylan even asked The Frames to tour with him in Australia. (CLICK HERE for Channel 4's report.)

Can't wait for the film to make it's way back to Ireland at some point!

Indeed, the Sun DOES Show Up in Ireland!

It's the end of August, and summer has finally agreed to show up! The sun is out, it's 21° (70°F), and it's meant to reach a blistering high of 22° by Friday. Aaaaah, the Irish summer.

Just in time for the late summery weather, the Festival of World Cultures is happening this weekend in Dun Laoghaire. Also, on Friday evening, rumour has it that Fionn Regan will be playing Grafton Street in front of HMV. Looking forward to that! In recent weeks, I've really come to appreciate Fionn's music. Later, Friday night, I'll head over to the Crawdaddy to catch DeVotchka.

Should be a great weekend here in Dublin!

Strange Day in the News & A Riverdance Experience

Thursday was a very busy day in the news here in Dublin. During a regatta event for teens in Dun Laoghaire harbour, the weather went bad rather suddenly and capsized more than a dozen boats. (CLICK HERE for video coverage from RTE.) Earlier in the day, at the "Dead Zoo," a stone staircase collapsed on a group of school teachers involved in a training programme. If you've ever walked through the Natural History Museum, you won't be surprised at this. It's a fascinating place, but it's obviously been around for a while and probably due for some structural upgrades.

News stories aside, the wife and I had a brilliant time at Riverdance later that night at the Gaiety Theatre. You don't have to be a big fan of dance to be truly awed by this classy performance. The live musicianship, the theatrics, the lighting and effects, and of course the phenomenal dance routines combined to create an absolutely stunning theatre experience. Starting out with a Celtic flavour, the show did an amazing job of capturing the earthy, mythological feel of ancient Ireland. Late in the first act, a Spanish/Flamenco-flavoured theme was introduced, followed by a Russian dance routine - both of which were visually pulsating and brimming with aesthetic brilliance. The second act took on more of an 18th/19th century theme and collided with a more modern jazz tap routine that was very entertaining.

The show will move on from Dublin at the end of August and will tour through Europe and North America. We considered it a little extra special to be able to catch the show here in Ireland.