Delights of the fair city (From The Northern Echo)

Delights of the fair city

12:29pm Saturday 6th June 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

Tim Wellock visits Dublin and discovers attractions old and new.

THE Celtic Tiger, as Ireland’s booming economy was known, has ceased to roar. But that’s no reason not to sample the modern delights it has produced, sitting enticingly alongside the glorious attractions of old.

I decided years ago that I didn’t care for the modernisation of Dublin, partly because of the huge cosmopolitan crowds it attracted, with the attendant traffic chaos.

While it has always been famed for wonderfully atmospheric bars, once it became a magnet for stag weekends and hen parties there was an inevitable slide downmarket.

So it is hugely reassuring to discover that good taste still prevails, as indeed it should in a city which gave Guinness to the world, not to mention a plethora of great writers.

The humour survives as well, thank goodness. To those pieces of modern sculpture which were dubbed “the tart with the cart” (Molly Malone) and “the floozy in the jacuzzi” (mermaid in fountain), has been added the “stiletto in the ghetto”. This was supposed to be the Millennium Spire, but it wasn’t finished on time, so it’s simply the Dublin Spire. And the ghetto down by the docks has been cleaned up beyond recognition.

As we passed one grand building our tour guide was asked what it was and replied: “It’s the Custom House. This is the back of it and the back’s round the front.” It’s the Irish way: by all means admire our heritage, but have a laugh while you’re at it.

A stunning example of how something old can be turned into something new in a blend of the best features of the 18th and 21st centuries is to be found in The Church.

Even though Arthur Guinness, the brewery founder, was married here in 1761, some might question the ethics of turning the former St Mary’s Church into a bar, restaurant and nightclub. But it had lain derelict after closing in 1964 and the magnificence of the restoration makes it a place to behold.

The food’s not bad either (not bad at all, at all), and should you be a smoker or the weather’s hot it’s one of the few places in central Dublin with outside seating.

But the vast majority will want to soak up the internal atmosphere, overlooked by a spectacular stained glass window and the beautifullyrestored organ. The main bar is on the ground floor, with the main dining area on the gallery above, and in all there are five distinctive settings on four levels.

Near The Church, down by the Liffey on Ormond Quay Lower, is another modern creation, a boutique hotel called the Morrison. Again, the contrast of old and new can be seen nearby with the famous Ha’penny Bridge being rivalled by the Millennium Bridge, while inside the hotel original modern art stands alongside fine antiques.

The Morrison’s theme is described as “east meets west”, and whatever else it might be, it is ultra-modern, stylish and clean. Obviously it’s not cheap, but a special offer of 175 euros each for a couple in a double room for two nights’ bed and breakfast, plus one dinner, offers good value for a hotel of this quality.

While you might consider a Liffey cruise more relaxing, one of the best ways to learn about Dublin is on a Pat Liddy walking tour. Liddy, a historian, author and artist, has devised a series of tours, mostly lasting for two hours, such as the Guinness Pilgrimage.

This explores the rich legacy left to the city by the brewery family, and includes a skipthe- queue entrance to the Guinness Storehouse.

Other tours take in the castle and cathedral, Trinity College, the national gallery, Oscar Wilde’s home, and Temple Bar, the oldest part of the city now becoming famous for its shops as well as its bars.

The streets broad and narrow may no longer throng with wheelbarrows, but as the fair city emerges from its makeover the words of W B Yeats seem peculiarly apt: “All’s changed, changed utterly.

A terrible beauty is born.”

DUBLIN AT NIGHT: The sparkling scene along the River Liffey.

Travel Facts

The Morrison: Lower Ormond Quay. Tel 01-887- 2400.

morrisonhotel.ie The Church: junction of Mark St and Jervis St.

Tel 01-828-0102.

thechurch.ie.

Pat Liddy’s walking tours: walkingtours.ie Further information: discoverireland.com