The Dublin Community Blog

In my opinion, one of the most interesting events that is currently happening in Dublin city is this monthly themed night of music, spoken word and performance: The Brown Bread Mixtape. Happening upstairs at the Stag’s Head is an evening full of great entertainment, prose, poems, song, laughter, fun and the odd Swedish pop song. MC’s, chief organisators and jacks-of-all-trades Kalle and Enda present a hand-picked array of artists, and are spicing it up with their own performances in between.

Dublinblog sent some questions their way, and here’s what the two main men had to say:

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There is a fan page on Facebook called Secret Dublin. Secret Dublin aims to provide a forum for Dubliners to share their insights on places and talent in Dublin to discover “hidden gems”. The idea is romantic, but sadly a short peruse of the page shows few suggestions. With this in mind, I am going to share my little bit of Secret Dublin I happened to stumble across two months ago.

Weeks and weeks ago, my French friend, Maryline, told me of an evening called Milk & Cookie Stories.

“It is a group of people that come together to tell stories and have cookies,” she explained. She described the event as if it were common place.

“What has cookies got to do with stories?” I asked in puzzlement.

“I don’t know, replied my friend. “It’s just what they do.”

“How much is it?”

“It is free.”

I was suspicious. I gave the first two events a wide berth by politely declining an invite. Then came a funny phase of mine; I realised I needed to be more open to new things and new people. When Maryline reminded me yet another Milk & Cookie Stories evening approached, I agreed to attend. I remained sceptical, but reminded myself of the new things and new people I craved.

On a wet Tuesday evening Maryline and I made our way to the Dublin Exchange, Temple Bar. We arrived to be greeted by friendly faces, most of whom –  I guessed – were students. We were early. Rows of seats and large cushions on the floor remained vacant. Across the open plan room were tables bearing baskets of biscuits. We were offered tea and helped ourselves to the fare on offer.

When I asked one of the organisers about the evening, I was told that it was an open mic evening where attendants were invited to share a story. The story could be anything from a lament to a personal experience. An emphasis was placed on first timers. Anyone interested in spinning a yarn was invited to put their name on the list. They would be called up when their moment came.

My friend and I warmed ourselves next to a solitary radiator in a remote corner of the gallery. We watched as the number of attendants slowly and steadily increased. We were both taken aback by the friendly atmosphere. I was introduced to a considerable number of people. I noted how simple it was to strike up conversation with relative strangers. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

“We will be starting in around five minutes,” a girl named Sarah announced to the eighty or so people gathered. This prompted a hush to descend on the room.

The first story teller was called up. He received a supportive applause from the congregation. He told his story. Following another round of applause, the next story teller was called. The most memorable performances from the evening were a recital of Arabian Nights, an Hungarian folktale and a Celtic myth. The featured performer of the evening – whose name has unfortunately slipped my mind – told a personal story that was both moving and humorous.

I went again last Tuesday and had an equally enjoyable experience. The featured performer, Clare Murphy, told two Irish stories and a Nigerian tale. Her performance was uniquely engaging and animated. Clare drew loud laughs and planted ideas in our minds. I would gladly have listened to her for hours had I the chance. Clare embodies the skill and art of storytelling that Milk & Cookie Stories strives to promote.

Milk & Cookies Stories meets on the first/second Tuesday of every month at Dublin Exchange, Temple Bar. The atmosphere is friendly, the stories are entertaining and the cookies are tasty. The event is free, but the organisers do encourage attendants to make a small donation when the “cookie jar” is passed around.  Should you find yourself available from six o’clock Tuesday, 9^th February, you should come along.

What’s the worst that can happen? You enjoy a unique experience and open your mind to some new ideas? Come along, it’s a great evening.

The Norsemen are upon us again! As last year, the Dublin Viking Festival is taking place next weekend.

The Dublin Viking Festival takes place on Dublin’s Wood Quay and Temple Bar from Friday the 16th October until Sunday 18th October 2009.The Vikings were the first settlers at Dublin and old reminants of their settlement have been found at Wood Quay in Dublin City Centre on the site of Dublin City Council’s civic offices.

Dublin City Council invites you to come down and explore our Viking Heritage from 12 noon – 6pm October 16th, 17th & 18th for a family fun packed weekend.

I’ve been there last year, and have to confess that it is a bit dull for a veteran roleplayer like me; plus the post-modern surroundings of the civic offices are not really helping in recreating the image of the Viking world. On the other hand it was great fun for the kids, and it seems the festival is generally more aiming at family entertainment than drinking mead from the skulls of slain enemies. And if there’s the same re-enactment group as last year, you’ll get at least an overview of how to form a propper Viking shield wall:

Our friends at The Dubliner magazine are at it again (you know, that sassy, satirical, ‘progressive’ publication that occasionally gets into some controversy with golfers’ wives) with Old City, New Dreams. This year finds an expanded list of events and venues to play host to the lively debates involving various Dublin luminaries.

Only problem is, if you haven’t ordered your free tickets by now, you’ve only got a few choices left. Most of the events next week are all booked, leaving only two left, as of this afternoon. I’m hoping to get to the ‘Fluffy Capitalism’ event myself. But only after I convince a friend who works in finance to come with me so he can feed me questions to throw out that make me sound like I know what I’m talking about.

And while you’re looking through The Dubliner blog, be sure to check out the ‘Dublin’s 10 New Commandments’ posts. After walking through the city centre in the rain today, I can really appreciate this one: Thou shalt not carry a golf umbrella through the city.

Further ‘recession buster’ deals to be taken advantage of in Dundrum these days. The Counter are offering a free Signature Burger to the first 100 people to visit from 12noon tomorrow. That gives you seven options in the ‘Signature Burger’ category. The Counter is located below Hamley’s toy store in Dundrum Town Centre.

Also, Milano are offering two pizzas for just €12 (except on Saturdays) through 4 October. CLICK HERE to fill in a form and receive a voucher to print out and take with you to any one of seven restaurants in Dublin.

The free Mind the Gap Operetta will be running again next Friday night, as will a few other public art exhibitions in conjunction with Fringe Fest. And yes, there will also be plenty of buskers and stag do/hen party folks around next weekend. Can’t guarantee that we’ll see another group of Austin Powers look-a-likes running around (anybody else see Elvis suddenly appear in that video?), but in Temple Bar, you just never know.

Two days on a limited budget and I’m a bit exhausted. But this may well have to do with the fact that I mostly used my legs as means of transport over the weekend. Before I sum it all up, here’s what I did yesterday:

Due to Saturdays experiences I hit Aldi today before getting hungry, and was able to purchase a nice lunch for only 4.36€ – but I’m not big fan of Aldi’s policy to only sell water in 4- or 6-packs. For comparison, in Lidl they have at least some single juices and waters to purchase at the cashier.

My first stop today was the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, where I was also able to enjoy my budget-lunch in the sun at the formal gardens of the museum. By far not as crowded as St. Stephen’s Green, and there are outdoor artworks on display – most of the time corresponding to the current exhibitions.

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Now I’m sitting here with some hastily scribbled notes, pictures and loads of tweets tagged 15Euros and will try to relate what it’s like to go around Dublin on a limited budget. First of all, it’s possible. I know that this is harsh reality for loads of people out there, but normally I do not have to worry about buying a water in Spar and not to have enough money left to buy dinner. So it was / is quite an interesting experience. And, with a little help of my (online) friends a quite entertaining one as well.

After filling myself on tea & toast, my starting point was as promised the Litton Lane Hostel from where I headed towards the Temple Bar Food Market, hoping to get some free samples. But as it was just 10.30AM I was only able to get a sliced apple due to most stalls not being open yet.

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This being the time of the recession, I thought it to be a good idea to try and find out what it feels like to be in Dublin on a limited budget. And maybe share my experiences and provide some hints and tips of how to entertain yourself without handing over 2,20 € for a breakfast roll and 6 Euros for a pint in Temple Bar. And as this blog is also read by (future) visitors to our dirty old town, I’ll pretend to be a backpacker on a shoestring. Especially as I am planning to do this on the next weekend and the next payday is far away.

And here’s the plan: On this Saturday & Sunday I’ll pretend to have stayed at the Litton Lane Hostel, because it is a) one of the most central ones, b) serves breakfast and c) the price for a dorm bed start at 12,50 €. Not that I am actually staying there (but did so when I came to Dublin for the first time though), but it is a good starting point. And from there on I’ll explore Dublin on foot with 15 Euros in my pocket, sharing my experiences on the go via the Dublinblog-Twitter-Account and my personal one as well.

And will need your help, dear reader: I have planned my days roughly until lunch, but from then on I need input of what to do and where to go FOR FREE (or as cheap as possible). And, pretending to be a tourist, will try to save enough money to finish the day with a (cheap) pint in the evening before writing a post about my experiences.

So please, keep on posting comments and have those tweets coming to avoid me being stranded and scratching at the St. James’ Gate with bloody fingers…

This weekend is the start of Heritage Week in Ireland, with free tours, exhibitions, and other events happening across the country, as well as in other countries across Europe.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “So they’re trying to get Irish people to come out and see all the things that they’ve never seen before that tourists from around the world travel thousands of miles to see? Sounds horribly dull, actually.”

Unfortunately, the website doesn’t help much. The stated purpose of Heritage Days is “to promote awareness of our built, natural, and cultural heritage and to promote Europe’s common cultural heritage.”

“Right,” you say, with the enthusiasm of a museum curator. “I think I’d rather gnaw on the leg of this pub table.”

But before you throw out the idea completely, I’ve done a bit of looking into the whole thing and can recommend that you at least consider the following “TOP 5 HERITAGE WEEK EVENTS IN CO. DUBLIN.” (And if you don’t like my list, have a go for yourself. CLICK HERE to see all 48 events in Co. Dublin or HERE for other counties across Ireland.)
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