The Dublin Community Blog

As you may know, there will be loads of women in trainers running around in the city tomorrow afternoon.  And all will be running for a good cause – or good causes:

The Flora Women’s Mini Marathon is the biggest all women’s event of its kind in the world. It has grown steadily in numbers since it began in 1983 with its popularity increasing significantly over the last few years.

Over those years some 600,000 women have entered the event – and the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon had a record field of 40,516 on Bank Holiday Monday, June 2nd, 2008.

Charities are the big winners. In 2008 it is estimated in excess of €10m was raised by the participants bringing the total since the race started in 1983 close to €100m. All charities benefit. The women decide themselves who they will support and many local causes gain vital revenue from the event. It is now the biggest single day charity event in the country.

Supported charities include the Dublin RSPCA, Barnados, Debra Ireland and many more. You will find all necessary information on the official website of the marathon. So if you have nothing planned for tomorrow’s bank holiday (and the perfect weather), please go and cheer for the good cause(s).

Please note that the following roads will be closed due to the marathon between 2.45 and 5.30 PM:

Nutley Lane
Stillorgan Road from Belfield to Donnybrook
Doimybrook Village
Morehampton Road
Leeson Street

Recently, on returning to Dublin after several months in the States, I knew I was back in Ireland when:

. . . Three separate people gave me directions to a Garda station with reference to the Yellow House Pub. (And let me tell you, giving imprecise directions is an art form in Ireland. But you always get there in the end – especially if you know your pubs!)

. . . My wife put the laundry out on the line to dry in the bright sun and thirty minutes later we were pulling it off in the lashing rain. (Fifteen minutes later, the clouds parted once again, ostensibly daring us to put the laundry back out.)

. . . I heard three house alarms going off in my estate at the same time and I didn’t even stop to consider whether my neighbours were having their house broken into. (The sound of house alarms in Dublin suburbs is about as common as weekend stag parties in Temple Bar.)

. . . I learned more about this bloke named Alan who’s been out to work on our boiler (every day this week!) than I know about many of my friends in America. Alan moved back to Dublin eight years ago after living for years in London. He’s got a cousin who played football for Luton, a friend who runs sound for Def Leppard, and a cousin in the U.S. Air Force who doesn’t want to retire for fear that he won’t be able to find a job in Ireland. Etc., etc., etc. (In my personal experience living in Dublin, I’ve discovered that Irish people are some of the friendliest in the world!)

Might be worth a look if you’re looking for something to do this weekend! Weather forecasts are looking good, and I’d love to have a poke around some of the tall ships along with the Le Aoife.

http://www.dublindocklands.ie/maritimefestival/

There’s an outdoor market, along with some street entertainment. Pat Liddy will be holding walking tours of the Docklands area over the weekend.

A really interesting combination of competition, event and exhibition for all photographers and photo aficionadas has started in April at the No. 3 venue on Fade Street:

On Monday nights from 7.30 -11.30pm, No. 3 hosts SHOOT-OUT, an evening of cutting-edge music and photography. Each night, the work of 5 photographers is showcased on flat screen TVs and projector screens. Throughout the night, patrons are given voting cards and invited to choose their favourite image. The photographer behind the winning image joins 9 other winning photographers over three months to compete for the grand prize. The final is co-adjudicated by public vote and a panel of experts.

I attended yesterday’s  showcase and was really impressed by the quality of the works on display – not to mention that it was quite difficult to pick one “winner” out of the evening’s 50 pictures.  You can view all participating photographers and their works here. If you are interested in participating yourself, you’ll find the application form on the website of the Shootout Crew. A very neat idea indeed.

Image from Leinster Rugby website.

I was privileged to be present in Murrayfield for Leinsters win yesterday. What a great year for Irish rugby. Long may it continue.

RTE report can be found here.

Image courtesy of Dave Cahill on Leinsterfans.com

From June 2nd to June 7th, this year’s Dublin Writers Festival will be “celebrating the very best of Irish and International Writers”. The programme will feature many renowned Irish and international writers such as Val McDermid, Colm Toibin, Seamus Heaney and Melvyn Bragg in readings, talks and discussions. As our Lord Major says:

We’ll agree and argue, we’ll compliment and dissect the works brought before us but most of all we’ll value our writers and their contribution to our communities. Our Writers Festival allows Dublin to celebrate a living heritage of the written word.

You can find the official festival website here, the Facebook-group here and can listen to some podcasts as well. Unfortunately no more volunteers were needed when I applied last month, so I’ll be only there as a spectator this year…

The newest bridge across the Liffey arrived in Dublin today. Called the Samuel Beckett Bridge it will connect Guild Street at the northern quays and connect with Sir John Rogerson’s Quay with four lanes of traffic, cycle lanes and footpaths, it may also carry a Luas line at some time in the future. The design is similar to the Luas Bridge in Dundrum but has a curved upright support designed to resemble a harp on its side.

It will be floated into the city tonight passing through the East Link at 2am. If you are in the area and cannot sleep it should make for an interesting sight.

Update: High winds prevented the bridge being floated down the river last night. They will try again tomorrow at high tide.

The Niall Mellon Township Trust is having a national Flag Day called “Hard Hat Day Homes for Children” today, Friday the 8th of May to raise much needed funds for children presently living in shacks in townships of South Africa. The conditions are unbearable with no water, no toilets and inadequate cooking facilities. When it rains, as it does for a number of months in the year, the shack leak badly and when it’s sunny, the shacks are like ovens. Normal living is made impossible. The new houses we build transform lives and dramatically improve children’s health, school attendance, life expectancy and job prospects. To date we have built 11,000 houses and have set a target to house 48,000 people in 2009. To achieve this we need to raise as much money as we can from Hard Hat Day – please buy a virtual hat on line now. Simply click on http://www.hardhatday.com/virtual-hard-hats/. Hats off to you!