The Dublin Community Blog

Being snowed in can have it’s advantages. After doing the laundry and cleaning the living room, I will no try to summarise the year 2009 on the Dublin Community Blog.

Gloomy January showed us that the recession is in full swing, as Dublin indie institution Road Records was forced to close its doors (which thankfully re-opened later due to massive support from many a successfull Irish musician) and Dublin Bus announced massive cutbacks, laying off 200 staff. Add some snow causing massive disruptions to traffic and you had a very bleak start into the new year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow is Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day, and to mark the occasion there’ll be free scoops on offer at the following locations and times:

11:30am-1:00pm: IFSC George’s Dock

2:30pm-4:00pm: Grand Canal Dock (near Fresh)

5:30pm-7:00pm: Heuston Station Luas stop

More details can be found at the Free Cone Day Facebook page here. Hopefully the sunny weather will hold up!

From urban beaches to urban gardens…! Smithfield Square in Dublin 7 will be transformed into a colourful civic garden this coming Saturday, July 12th, for the second annual Urban Garden event.

Organised by Dublin City Council, the event aims to add colour to urban spaces through gardening initiatives on both an individual and community level. Talks and workshops include a Life In Your Garden workshop by Australian environmentalist Dale Treadwell, an interactive workshop on wildlife in urban spaces by Dublin City Council’s Biodiversity Officer, Mairead Stack, and a series of gardening demonstrations by landscape gardener (and blogger) Peter Donegan.

A number of market stalls selling food, jewellery and clothing will also be set up on the day. Admission is free and the event runs from noon to 6pm – further details can be found here.

The OPW have announced details of this year’s summer cultural programme at Farmleigh House, the official Irish State guest residence and rumoured future pied-a-terre of Taoiseach Brian Cowen. The house and its beautiful gardens are nestled in the north western corner of the Phoenix Park and are open from March to December each year.

Some of the events will be ticketed, such as their drive-in movie programme and a concert series. Tickets are free and will be issued on a lottery basis. Other highlights include regular farmers’ markets, a family fitness day, and an Irish version of Oktoberfest (Septemberfest!)

Full programme details and ticket lottery information can be found here. Now, if only the weather would improve…

The Luas Red line (Connolly-Tallaght) will only operate to and from Abbey Street from mid-June until early autumn (exact start and end dates unknown!). Work will be carried out during this time on a new three way interchange at Amiens Street to facilitate the Luas extension to the Point. Updates should be posted here as the project progresses – here’s hoping they get it done on schedule!