School Demolition

Just got this video/audio track from a friend today. Hilarious, even if it isn't really an 8 year old girl. I don't know who it really is, but my guess is that it's a radio DJ speaking through some digital effects or something.

Dublin Babies

Late last month, our daughter Caitlyn was born at Holles St. maternity hospital. Needless to say, I haven't given a lot of time to blogging since then. I will say this however - Dublin is a great place to have a baby! We used the community midwives scheme through the Irish national health service and we were very impressed. Not only were the midwives really helpful in the months leading up to my wife's delivery day and during the labour, but they also dropped by our house for a visit every day afterward for a week. Those of you who've gone through the experience of having a baby understand how helpful that is for clueless first-time parents!

Irish Breakfast Blog

I'm a big fan of the Full Irish Breakfast (even manage to swallow the black pudding down these days!) Sometimes I'll even order it for lunch, if it's on offer. That's while you'll understand my excitement about a great blog that I found today that will assist me in my search for the perfect breakfast in Dublin - Rashers and Eggs. Never imagined a blog could make my mouth water so much.

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.

A Walk Thru Dublin Culture Night

Kristy and I were out for Dublin Culture Night on Friday. First, we met up with a friend for a quick bite to eat at Zaytoon – THE BEST kebab place that I’ve found in Dublin. From Camden, it was over to play tourist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral where they were offering free entrance and guided tours. (Yes, I know they need to revamp their website!) The choir rehearsal that was happening during the tour was a nice touch. It’s a beautiful cathedral, but I’m glad we were able to bypass the €5 entrance fee that’s usually required.

From there, it was over to a brilliant new art gallery called Gallery Number One on Castle Street, directly across from Leo Burdock’s chippy. The folks at Gallery Number One have given the place a very cool vibe conducive to just chilling out in one of the sofas, surfing the internet or reading one of a handful of art books laying around. There’s a collection of live concert photography, as well as a few paintings hanging on the walls. Next door is a design agency called Ebow which seems to be run by the same artist(s).

Next, we strolled down Lord Edward Street to Parliament Street where we popped our heads in to the Oxfam bookshop. They had some live music going but it was bit crowded so we took off for Meeting House Square where they were supposed to be showing a film in the open air called “About Adam.” We're pretty sure it was some other slower-moving film that was actually showing.

After that, it was beginning to get difficult for my wife, who’s now 37 weeks pregnant, so we headed over to O’Neill’s for a seat and a few drinks. So, in the end, we only made 4 out of the 100 events, which we were okay with. I wouldn't think that the organizers would expect people to do much more than that. Everywhere we went in the city centre, we saw people pulling out their Dublin Culture Night brochures and maps, so it was obviously a big success. Looking forward to it again next year!

Shakespeare in St. Stephen's Green

It was a warm, dry (though humid) day in Dublin. Having come into town in search of WiFi and good coffee, I discovered the city bustling with activity.

The buskers were out, of course, taking advantage of the favourable weather.

Dave was also out, doing his chalk art thing, though shifted from the corner of College Green and Grafton to the median in the middle of College Green. When he explained to me that the Guards had kicked him off the corner, I told him he’s doing the city a great service and that they should know better! I also informed him about Dublin Culture Night (and, later in the day, delivered a brochure to him). He wasn’t sure if he would take advantage of the evening’s “cultured crowds” moving through the city and keep up the chalk drawing, or try to attend a few of the free events for himself.

Later, in St. Stephen’s Green, Public Shakespeare were putting on a free performance of The Taming of the Shrew at the W.B. Yeats memorial. It was an absolutely brilliant show and the performers often walked through the crowd and interacted with the audience, evoking both laughter and applause. It’s been on twice every day, at 1 and 4pm, since 26^th August. This Saturday will be the final performances.

Also in St. Stephen’s Green is an installation of wildlife photos by South African photographer, Steve Bloom. CLICK HERE for a sampling of some prints that are for sale from his website.

Dublin Culture Night

The second annual Dublin Culture Night is happening next Friday (14th September) involving 82 venues (museums, galleries, theatres, libraries, etc.) and 100 free events. Events will include such highlights as free tours of Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Croke Park, lectures on Dublin literary figures, art exhibitions, a film making workshop for kids, and loads more. Whether or not you decide to attend any of the free events, Dublin Culture Night will be difficult to avoid with guides and street entertainers spreading out across the city to answer questions and point people in the right direction.

As a preview to Culture Night, The Dubliner Magazine are holding a debate this Friday night exploring the notion that Ireland has lost its cultural identity. The lively banter will involve writers and musicians such as Mik Pyro from Republic of Loose and Sunday Independent journalist Victoria Mary Clarke.

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!

New Organic Restaurant - The Farm

On our way to Lemon Crepe & Coffee Co. (Dawson Street) for lunch the other day, Kristy and I noticed a new restaurant across the street called The Farm. After taking a quick look at the lunch menu, we decided that the pricing seemed reasonable and it would be good to try something new. Turns out, it was a great decision!

The Farm boasts all natural, organic food on the menu, including a coffee bar with organic Bewleys brand espresso drinks. I decided to go with the hamburger off the lunch menu (admittedly, not a very adventurous choice) and I must say, it was probably one of the tastiest burgers I've had. I don't know if it was the seasoning they used or the organic nature of the beef or a combination of both, but the flavour of that simple hamburger will have me going back for more! Kristy had a pasta dish (penne) with meatballs and really liked it as well.

Between the two of us, our lunch bill came to about €28, which included a half pint of Heineken for myself and a bottle of fruit juice for my wife. Considering that most organic food vendors put a premium on the “organic” label, I'd say it's a great value. The staff were also very friendly and helpful, which is always a big plus.

As impressed as I was with The Farm, however, it's not to say that the Calzone crepe at Lemon will lose it's place in the top rankings of my favourite lunch meals in the city!

Sand Sculptures

Upon arriving in Dublin this time last year, my wife and I stumbled across an excellent sand sculpture exhibition in the courtyard of Dublin Castle, put on by Duthain Dealbh. This year, they've done it again with an Irish literature theme. (Last year's theme was "the 5 senses.") The exhibition reflects the works of such literary figures as James Joyce, Jonathan Swift, Flannery O'Brien, and Samuel Becket. (Click on one of the pictures below to see more.)

Funniest Man in Dublin

Recently Kristy and I heard about “secret” performances that David O’Doherty has been giving this week for free at The International Bar. So we invited a few friends to meet us for some good craic at “The DOD Show.” Unfortunately, the comedy theatre above the International Bar is quite small, so it filled up really quick and only one of our friends was early enough to be able to join us before they stopped letting people in.

Even though David was just rehearsing some new material in preparation for Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival, he was in good form last night. Even when he stumbled around a bit on stage to put things together, you got the sense that he didn’t actually have to put that much into it to be funny. He’s just naturally a hilarious bloke. David’s act usually includes his signature use of cheap Casio keyboards to perform songs such as the one in the YouTube clip below. I haven't seen a lot of comedians in Dublin, but O'Doherty is one of the funniest stand up acts I've seen anywhere.

Here in Ireland, you can catch David on RTE2 for “The Modest Adventures of David O’Doherty.” Also, CLICK HERE to go to David’s MySpace page.

Food & Drink in Dublin

So if you find yourself visiting Dublin from some other part of the world and you were shooting for summer with the hope that the weather would be cooperative, you've picked the wrong summer. But alas, Dublin has a great restaurant/pub/cafe scene to find shelter in. One resource that we've begun to use a lot is MenuPages.ie. Whether you're looking for a place to eat/drink or you want to look into a place you heard about from someone or somewhere else, it's a very helpful and thorough web site for all things Dublin cuisine. There are lots of personal reviews submitted by users, as well as maps and directions, and glimpses at menus.

The Dubliner magazine also gives a few helpful "best of" lists. CLICK HERE for their review of the 100 best bars in Dublin or HERE for "The Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants" with a review for each place.

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.