We didn’t have much planned for this St Patrick’s day which is a bit slack, come to think of it. It’s amazing how things materialise though. I got a phone call from my boss on Thursday, wondering if we would be interested in spending the weekend in Dublin. The shop would pay for travel and a hotel and I would help out at the Dublin store which was in the process of moving.

 

So a day or two later, very early in the morning, we found ourselves on a train from Cork to Dublin. I think it’s safe to say that the train is by far the least stressful way of travelling between the cities.

 

Arriving at Heuston Station, Dublin, it was clear that something was going on that weekend. The station is 2-3 km from the city centre and the Luas (a space age tram thing) was packed with overgrown leprechauns so we were forced to take our chances with a cab. Dublin cabbies have a bit of a reputation but the one we got was great. Despite severe traffic restrictions in the city, he managed to get us close enough to the hotel and cheerily pointed the way from the drop off point.

 

We just had time to check into the hotel and get back on the street before the parade started. For the next hour and a bit we craned our necks to try to see the various marching bands, wearable art groups, puppets, monsters and random processionists as they passed by. Despite a bit of usually good natured jostling and the constant threat of rain, it was a good way to spend St Patrick’s day.

 

If only things had gone right for Ireland in the rugby that day, it would have been almost perfect. For those of you who missed the final shakedown in the six nations, Ireland and France were neck and neck in points difference. Ireland slipped up at the end of their match against Italy to give France a chance of the title if they could thrash Scotland later that day. They did. Just.

So it was left to the cricketers to save the day by beating Pakistan in the World Cup. Who would have thought it possible? Certainly not the Irish public who in general don’t have a notion of what cricket is all about, and up until 2 weeks ago had no reason to.

 

The following day I worked while Jane went to (Kilmainham) Jail.

By the end of the day, as we wandered around St Stephens’s Green, we agreed that Dublin wasn’t a bad old city.

 

 

Before returning to Cork on the Monday, and after a few more hours of work, we visited the Old Jameson Distillery Chimney- a tourist trap if ever I saw one but one with a decent view. You ride in a lift to a glass box at the top of the chimney for a wonderful 360 degree panoramic view of the city. It was a nice way to end the weekend, taking in the city with a new found admiration.

Okay, so it’s no Cork. It’s expensive, congested and usually wet. But it does have character, history and a load of statues.

And it’s the best place in the world to be on March 17th.