Even though we did not make it into the final round of the IBA’s this year, we are still looking forward to the festivities in Galway next weekend. Red Mum (nominated for Best Photo Blog! ) and my humble self will be there to represent the Dublinblog, and will update you via our own Twitter-accounts and the Dublinblog-Twitter.

In the meantime, I’ll try to lay my hands on a nameplate that says “Hi, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father.” and will also try to get a shitty haircut. See you next Saturday.

image via.

I’ve been long absent from writing for this blog (living the other side of the world from Dublin is a slight contributing factor!), but I’m still tinkering away in the background making things work and keeping it alive! Having come up with the idea for a Dublin Community Blog quite a few years ago, I’m delighted to see it still ticking along and with a healthy global readership and still plenty of interaction with those readers! Many people have come and gone over the years, but there’s still a hard core crew who started out on this project as part of the team, and still producing some great insights into life in and around Dublin.

Firstly, to, and secondly on behalf of all the team behind this blog, I’d like to thank everyone involved, writers, readers, commentators, who make it what it is. Secondly, for everyone who has nominated us once again in the ‘Best Group Blog’ category at tomorrow’s Irish Blog Awards, a massive thank you for your support! In the face of some excellent competition, I don’t expect us to pick up the gong (Red Mum, need you to collect it if we do win!), but just the satisfaction of being shortlisted is good enough.

As always, we are always on the lookout for new contributors, so if you are interested in joining the team, click on the ‘Write For Us’ link at the top of the page.

To everyone heading along to the awards, have a fantastic night, big shout out to Mr Mulley once again for all his efforts in putting together what I know will be a fantastic night based on previous experience!

Ok, so, seeing as most of the Irish Blogging Community is no doubt drunk or sleeping at this stage, and I’m sitting on my balcony in Oz sunning myself, I thought I ought to post the winners from the Irish Blog Awards which took place a few hours ago. Unfortunately, we here at The Dublin Community Blog didn’t win the Best Group Blog award, but at least our own Rick won an award!!

So, without further delay, here’s the winners:

* Best Popculture blog
DZ-015 by Rick O’Shea

* Best Blog from a Journalist
Present Tense – Shane Hegarty

* Best Food/Drink Blog
Italian Foodies

* Best Crafts Blog
A Simple Yarn

* Best Arts and Culture Blog
The Sigla Blog

* Best Political Blog
Irish Election

* Best Group Blog
Beaut.ie

* Best Use of the Irish Language in a Blog
Blag Ghael gan Náire

* Best Technology Blog/Blogger
Robin Blandford’s ByteSurgery

* Best Designed Blog
Sabrina Dent

* Best Sport & Recreation Blog
Arseblog

* Best News/Current Affairs Blog
Joint winners: The Limerick Blogger & Maman Poulet

* Best Specialist Blog
The Voyage

* Best Newcomer
John Braine

* Best Business Blog
Ice Cream Ireland

* Best Music Blog
nialler9

* Special Recognition Award
Simon McGarr from Tuppenceworth.ie & Ryan from Rymus.net

* Best Personal Blog
Joint Winners: Grannymar & Head Rambles

* Most Humorous Post
Twenty Major – Tonight’s Debate

* Best Photo Blog
Gingerpixel

* Best Blog Post
Fatmammycat.com – Fox hunting, horses and a girl’s awakening

* Best Blog
Twenty Major

Many many thanks to those of you who nominated us and those who judged us in the Irish Blog Awards, the Dublin Community Blog has made it through to the shortlist of the group blog category.

I know I speak for everyone here at Dublin Blog when I say we are thrilled and delighted to have reached this far. So once again thank you all.

Unfortunately, last night, we here at The Dublin Community Blog didn’t manage to pick up the gong for Best Group Blog, that going to the wonderful In Fact, Ah but it was certainly great to be nominated, and all those of us who were there have been bitten by the bug and are going to do all that we now can to work on the blog and hopefully get ourselves that shiny award, and more importantly the bottle of bubbly next year.

Thank you to all those who supported us and voted for us, and continue to read and interact with us, it’s all very much appreciated and we’re glad that you enjoy!

Umm, yay!!!

We here at the Dublin Community Blog are delighted and gracious to have been shortlisted in the Best Group Blog category for this years Irish Blog Awards which take place this coming Saturday, March 3rd in the Alexander Hotel in Dublin. Everyone in the group is delighted that the Blog has proven to be as popular and successful as it is, and we’d like to take a moment to thank each and every one of our readers, occasional and regular, for stopping by.

As always, we’re always on the lookout for new people to join up, so, if you’re interested in joining the team, drop a mail to write4us@dublinblog.ie and if you would like to see any changes or improvements to the blog, please do let us know too!

If you are intending to come along to the awards, you should register your intention here as I hear that places are filling up fast.

BEFORE I start, I know it’s been an absolute age since I posted here (work literally crazy) but I haven’t forgotten about the writers or readers here and check in regularly.

When the nominations for the Irish Blog Awards began I nominated this blog as Best Group Blog because of all the hard work and dedication that has gone in to keeping it up and running from Daragh and everyone else. (Perhaps others nominated too, hopefully, as it’s a great blog)

So while I personally have fallen by the wayside, I still thought this blog deserved a mention so I’m delighted to report that we’ve made the long list for Best Group Blog and now all we need is for our readers to vote for us, to ensure we make it to the short list and be in with a chance to go before the judging panel.

We need your help. Please visit http://www.awards.ie/vote/ and vote for us in the Best Group Blog category. Whatever you do, don’t spam as that will result in your votes being discounted and us getting into trouble with Mr Mulley. Keep it to one vote each and everyone will be happy. The writers here all have ‘day jobs’ and so fit this blog into their spare time so I think they deserve some acknowledgement and I hope you’ll agree with me. If you’ve found this blog helpful, amusing, interesting or even just plain good then get your clicking finger out and vote for us.

While you’re there check out the other categories such as Best Personal Blog, Best Photo Blog and Most Humourous Post where some contributors here such as Red Mum, Rick O’Shea and myself (links in the sidebar) have also been nominated. If you could see your way to voting for us as well as this blog, that would be great.

As always, everyone is welcome to attend the Irish Blog Awards which will take place on March 3 in the Alexander Hotel. More details from www.awards.ie and www.mulley.net

Many thanks for your support and help over the past year and hope to see you at the Blog Awards. For now though, get a-voting – or I’ll send Twenty Major around!

EDIT: Also, could you maybe drop us a comment here when you’ve voted, so we’ll have an idea how well we’re doing? Cheers!

(Note to other contributors: The techies among you might be able to stick up an oul Blog Awards button or something? It’s beyond me but it might help to have it up in the corner there where the polls usually are. Cheers!)