The Dublin Community Blog

So here it is…the summer. Well, sort of. As the temperatures soar to highs of (brace yourself) 17 degrees in places, out emerges the dark underbelly of Irish society- the spring-summer wardrobe. Summer clothing is not something we Irish do well. For men, the awkward mix of sandals, wool socks and ill-fitting shorts makes even the most manliest of man look like some sort of overgrown boyscout. For women the confidence and security afforded by baggy winter clothes vanishes as the heat forces us into string vests and shorter skirts- leaving the cankles nowhere to hide.

Walking down the street is now an adventure in all sorts of horrors- sun blistered skin, tans that end at the elbow or knee and give way to pasty white skin thereafter, people squeezed into summer clothes that fit them last year but, alas! not so much anymore….it is an endless catalogue of crimes against fashion and in some cases- humanity itself.

Forget Government funded ad campaigns on the dangers of global warming-the ice caps are melting already! We need to spend that money on drafting Trinny, Susanna, Gok Wan et al to come to the nation’s rescue in theese, our darkest days…..

I used to walk past a living legend in Dublin quite often, nearly every day when I was working in Temple Bar. He’s a man who certainly brightened up my childhood, and that of many, many Irish people of my age. The man in question is poet and artist Pat Ingolsby. One thing I always wanted to do, both for my personal satisfaction, and also as it would have made for a fantastic post here on this blog, was to stop off for a chat with Pat. However, for reasons that are beyond me, that never happened!

There is a brilliant post by another Darragh (albeit with different spelling to my name!) over here that is well worth reading. And, if you are around and about Dublin, and pass by Pat, it really looks like you should stop off and say hello!

All this good weather seems to have given the city an extra spring in its step – the streets seem even busier in the evenings with people taking advantage of the last of the sun. With the skies staying bright until 8:30 at least, it’s the perfect time of year for enjoying a few drinks outdoors. These are some of my favourite beer gardens in town:

Porterhouse North, Phibsboro
Located beside the Cross Guns bridge on the north side of Phibsboro, the Porterhouse North stocks the same vast range of beers as its sister pub in the city centre (and serves an even bigger range of food). It has a large beer garden at the back of the pub, which is sheltered but still gets the sun.

Dicey Reillys, Harcourt Street
A Dublin staple! Right in the city centre too – which means it’s usually buzzing with people.

Fitzsimons, Temple Bar
Yes, it may be in the centre of thronged Temple Bar, but Fitzsimons’ beer garden has the unique advantage of being on its roof, which means lovely city views. Worth it for a short stop.

The Hole In The Wall, Blackhorse Avenue
Arguably the biggest beer garden in Europe! The Hole In The Wall still carries on a century-old tradition of serving great pints and passing them through – yep, a hole in the wall – to the Phoenix Park. Genius.

What have I missed? Suggestions welcome in the comments…

One of my favourite stores, Habitat has gone into voluntary liquidation and closed its Dublin and Galway stores suddenly on Friday last. According to news reports, staff were told of the closure on Fri evening and 60 are now out of work.

The notice on their website states:

Due to a severe downturn in sales in both our Galway and Dublin stores, it has become impossible to trade through the subsequent financial difficulties, particularly in light of the current economic environment.

Are companies too quick to cite “economic downturn” as an excuse for everything or is this really a sign of things to come?

There has been some discussion on Liveline today regarding outstanding orders and money owed to customers. Consumers rights in this case seem a little vague.

Its a sad day for former staff and customers.

UPDATE: 14th May 2008, London

Received this from Habitat this morning:

Habitat UK Ltd stands behind its valued customers in Ireland

Habitat UK Ltd has confirmed that it will honour all outstanding customer orders placed with Conai Designs (Ireland) Ltd.

Conai Designs (Ireland) Ltd, who have operated Habitat’s stores in Galway and Dublin under a franchise agreement for the past 6 years, ceased trading on 9th May 2008. In spite of this unfortunate situation, Habitat UK Ltd is pleased to confirm that it will honour all outstanding customer orders placed with Conai Designs (Ireland) Ltd. In addition, there is a process in place to ensure that all gift cards and vouchers will be redeemable in Habitat UK stores.

Habitat UK Ltd will be contacting all valued customers in Ireland with outstanding orders to secure arrangements on a one to one basis as a matter of priority.Customers wishing to contact Habitat UK Ltd in the meantime can do so via our dedicated email address below. However, we would like to reiterate that all customers will be contacted as soon as feasibly possible.

Customer enquiries can be sent to:

CustomerEnquiries.Ireland@habitat.co.uk

As I blogged about before, my wallet was stolen a couple weeks ago.  Discovering my wallet gone started a whole series of events that mostly involved me not having access to my money.  First, I called my bank at home.  They told me that I would have the replacement card the following Tuesday (2 business days from when I reported it stolen).  Well, a week later and I still didn’t have my card.  So, I called the bank again and it hadn’t been ordered!  I complained a bit and the person I talked to put it in super fast UPS delivery and I got it the following Wednesday (Monday had been a bank holiday and I had been at work when they tried to deliver it on the Tuesday).

During this time, I still had not gotten my Irish laser card replaced.  When I called initially, I was told that it would be 5 business days to get the new card and pin.  On the third business day, I received my pin.  After 6 business days, I hadn’t gotten my card yet.  So I rang Permanent TSB and asked about it.  They said that it could take up to 7 business days!  I told them that I had gotten my pin already and they then informed me that it takes 2-3 days just to make the Laser card!  So, when I still hadn’t gotten my card as of Thursday (12 calendar days after I reported it stolen), I rang again.  The person that I talked to also said that it can take 2-3 days to make the card and then didn’t know how long the postal service would take and that it may be slowed down due to a small postal strike.  I explained that I had actually been getting my other mail.  I then asked them why it took so long and how come my bank at home could get me a card in 4 days including a bank holiday.  The person reminded me that I wasn’t at home!  The person then decided that maybe my card had gotten sent to branch.  He then checked and yes, it had been sent to the branch but he had no way of knowing if it was actually there!  I then rang the bank and they had had my card at least 2 days before mailing out that they had my card.  Well, at least that is what the person estimated because there was no date stamping or marking in anyway of when my card arrived at the bank!

This whole experience was so frustrating.  I didn’t have full access to my money and when saying this to the bank reps, their response was that I could go to the bank.  But I work.  I had to take time off of work to go to the bank.  Why does it take so long here in Ireland to print and mail a card.  Why can’t things be delivered faster, especially after someone has just had their wallet stolen?  If I wasn’t already leaving the country, I would certainly be changing banks, not that any other Irish bank would be better…

As Brandon mentioned in an earlier post the Dublin Improv Group held it’s slow motion egg and spoon race down Henry Street on Saturday afternoon. A fun and unusual event that was well received by on lookers who were puzzled and amused but wanted to join in. Here are some photos.

The Dublin Improv group are at it again tomorrow on Henry Street. They’ll be hosting an ‘egg and spoon race’ and anyone is welcome to join in for 2pm. The starting line will be Butler’s Chocolates near O’Connell Street. Go to the Dublin Improv Ning site for more details (LINK).

The Dublin Community Blog has posted about the wonderfulness that is The food market @ Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, before, but I just thought I’d share some pics as a reminder of just how lovely it is; if the weather is in any way good this weekend, it’s a brilliant way to spend a Saturday.

It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve already done it in a given month or how many hung-over hens I have to push my way through: it always puts me in a good mood. There’s lots of pretty, colourful organic fruit (it’s a bit pricey though):

A delish and very authentic Mexican stall (try the organic chicken fajitas or veggie burritos served with a dollop of frijoles refritos, guacoamole, salsa, cheese and sour cream):

Wash it down with some very yummy, tangy apple juice:

And, finally, treat a few greedy scoops of chocolate-covered hazelnuts, flakey truffle thingies or even sugar-free choccies from Chez Emily:

There are lots and lots of other stalls, serving everything from mussels to noodles to cheeses. Definitely worth a visit.

And while you’re there, why not pick up some of these:

Newstalk today carried a news story at 6pm about the removal of historic monuments for several years as part of the development of the public transport infrastructure in Dublin historic monuments. Listed in the report were the O’Connell Monument, the Parnell Monument and the Spire on O’Connell Street. 

I’m surprised at this but I would not be against the idea of removing the monuments in the same way I am against the destruction of large parts of St Stephens Green. Statues and Spires can be restored with a few weeks work and I’d rather see them removed than risk their collapse into a trench or being hit by cranes and diggers. A city center park full of mature trees takes several decades.

Add to that the rumour that the Guinness Brewery at St James’s Gate may close and move to a green field site in Clondalkin (more about that will surely come after Diageo hold a press conference tomorrow) then this year may be a good time to visit Dublin before it becomes a building site.

On a side note, a recording of Minister Dempsey was played where he said you cant make an omelette without breaking some eggs. Does he read this blog? OK, probably not but you never know