Hello all,
Anyone here into boxing? Ok, me neither. But I’m going to indulge in a pugilistic metaphor anyway. Remember when Dublin, backed with foreign investment, swaggered into the new millenium like a prize-fighter entering the ring – all lean and coiled and rippling with confidence? Me too. Twelve years later, rope-a-doped by the banking crisis, the city’s all battered and bruised and nose-bleedy. But not quite out for the count yet. Weirdly, Dublin is that little bit more exciting for having taken a few lumps.
For a tiny city on the edge of Europe, Dublin now offers better drinking, dining and doing experiences than ever before. People who are into food are starting businesses, serving-up what they enjoy cooking and making a modest but fulfilling living from it. The music and visual art scene here is booming; instead of waltzing into jobs with multinationals, kids finishing college are picking up guitars and synths and paint brushes and are competing on a creative par with our neighbours in the UK. And the growing circle of social media nuts, including local bloggers and twitterati, are linking in with these great scenes, generating a real sense of excitement about where we’re headed.
My new role with Google Places is to help share all those things that are great about this city, its surroundings and what makes us unique.
Anyone here into boxing? Ok, me neither. But I’m going to indulge in a pugilistic metaphor anyway. Remember when Dublin, backed with foreign investment, swaggered into the new millenium like a prize-fighter entering the ring – all lean and coiled and rippling with confidence? Me too. Twelve years later, rope-a-doped by the banking crisis, the city’s all battered and bruised and nose-bleedy. But not quite out for the count yet. Weirdly, Dublin is that little bit more exciting for having taken a few lumps.
For a tiny city on the edge of Europe, Dublin now offers better drinking, dining and doing experiences than ever before. People who are into food are starting businesses, serving-up what they enjoy cooking and making a modest but fulfilling living from it. The music and visual art scene here is booming; instead of waltzing into jobs with multinationals, kids finishing college are picking up guitars and synths and paint brushes and are competing on a creative par with our neighbours in the UK. And the growing circle of social media nuts, including local bloggers and twitterati, are linking in with these great scenes, generating a real sense of excitement about where we’re headed.
My new role with Google Places is to help share all those things that are great about this city, its surroundings and what makes us unique.
Community-minded: this is me teaching a disadvantaged
young puppy how to play keyboard like a boss
young puppy how to play keyboard like a boss
My background is in new media and journalism. I’ve freelanced for the Irish Medical Times, RTE and The Small Print among many others and I worked for the OFFSET creative festival. Last year, I co-founded MOB Rule Media Ltd. with a friend of mine to publish a print and online gig and event guide called The Stripe. I also run summer camps and workshops at Fighting Words, a creative writing centre for children and young adults.
I’m a Dublin native – if we’re counting Skerries as Dublin – and like most Irish people, I’m well travelled. I’ve lived in Germany (where I was a butcher. Sort of – ask me about it sometime), Melbourne (where I house-shared with a dancer, a pro-poker player, a webmaster for x-rated sites and mandolin player). I’ve spent time in Chicago (where I was so poor I used to do a $10 weekly food shop at Dominick’s that mostly consisted of penne pasta and ragu) and Stockholm (where I learned how to survive in the wilderness in -20°C).
I’m a Dublin native – if we’re counting Skerries as Dublin – and like most Irish people, I’m well travelled. I’ve lived in Germany (where I was a butcher. Sort of – ask me about it sometime), Melbourne (where I house-shared with a dancer, a pro-poker player, a webmaster for x-rated sites and mandolin player). I’ve spent time in Chicago (where I was so poor I used to do a $10 weekly food shop at Dominick’s that mostly consisted of penne pasta and ragu) and Stockholm (where I learned how to survive in the wilderness in -20°C).
It was very, VERY cold here: But I still ate better in the Scandinavian wilds than I did in Chicago.
I think what Dublin does best is character. And our pubs and restaurants are starting to reflect that again. Living right on George’s St, as I do, means that I spend a lot of time in Hogan’s, Grogan’s and the Long Hall. Whelan’s is still the king of live music venues but the Twisted Pepper keeps improving as a gig spot (although I still don’t know how to dance to dub-step). 3FE keeps me in a constant state of caffeine dementia, I eat far too many Lolly and Cooks’s sausage rolls than is good for me and No Name for Sunday brunch and Bloody Marys is still a winner.
Saturday lunch is usually at one of the stalls in Meeting House Square and since I get (a little too) excited by reasonably-priced, great food and decent beers, I’m obviously a huge fan of L. Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter. If it’s sunny, driving home to Skerries for a pint and some chowder at Stoops always seems like a good idea.
But hey! Everyone’s Dublin is different. And I’m sure you have your own favourite spots.
You can find me on Twitter @GoogleDublin where I’ll be sharing everything I’ve found great and good about Dublin, and hopefully, with your help, discovering all the cool things I’ve missed. I’ll also be giving you the lowdown on the many happy-hours, meetups, hangouts and cook-offs that we’ll be hosting. Stay tuned...
Oh! We’ve got a newsletter in the pipeline too; a weekly missive that’ll be stuffed full of info on upcoming events, festivals, dining experiences and whatever else looks like a fun time in this rainy city of ours. Sign up here.
Posted by Brian Herron, Dublin community manager
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