The Dublin Community Blog

It has been on for a short while, but the Polish Art exhibition at the National Gallery is well worth going to see before it ends on 27th January. The exhibition charts the evolution of Modern Art in Poland in the period 1880-1939. This period is particularly significant in Polish history as both Russia and Germany threatened the country’s very existence by their expansionist views on its territory which ultimately aimed to eradicate Polish culture and language. In the face of these pressures, the Polish people resisted in a positivist fashion, forging themselves a strong sense of national identity, very much visible in the art of the period. In a sense, Poland shares a common cultural history with Ireland, as both forged their own national identities in the face of a hostile other. This, as well as the burgeoning Polish presence in Dublin and Ireland, makes this exhibition poignant as well as relevant.

Moreover, the exhibition is free, and thus accessible to all and sundry. For more details go to www.nationalgallery.ie

    I would like to share my concerns with the Dublin community over the obscene rise in gig prices over the last couple of years. When I first moved to Dublin in 2003, concerts were still, bar a few ‘big names’* affordable and allowed for a relatively inexpensive evening. One could see a good act and have a couple of pints for under 30€. I remember seeing The Skatalites at The Village in 2004, and it cost me 15€.  I believe, although I could not verify this, that a ticket last time around cost something in the region of 30€. In recent times, I have missed out on a number of gigs that I would have liked to see due to the steep entry fee- Soulwax cost 33€, and Groove Armada (DJ set!) followed by Dizzee Rascal was a mere 44€95! Why is this happening? The music industry is in danger of pricing out many fans. As a student, I probably have more time for fun and games than a professional, but I can’t afford to spend that time at concerts. This is wrong. What is the justification for this? Has the average Skatalites fan become twice as rich in the last 3 years? I think not.

     I believe that the causes for this lie in the quasi-despotic monopoly on gigs held by large promotion companies such as MCD, an organisation that has more than erupted onto the Dublin music scene in the last few years. Their sole aim is to make money rather than to spread the love of music. Two examples- the first LCD Soundsystem gig was moved to Tripod from The Button Factory, so as to allow for more tickets to be sold. The Groove Armada/Dizzee gig, originally set in Kilmainham Jail (which to some extent would have justified the hefty sum demanded of the unsuspecting public) was also moved to the aforementioned venue of the many names (Pod, POGO, Crawdaddy, Tripod, Redbox- make your minds up, please) for the same reasons. Enough of these outrageous capitalistic practices, I say, and more independence of mind from the bands, venues, and, if necessary, promoters. Bonde do Role, a Brazilian electro-funk band from Curitiba, are coming back to Dublin for their third gig in over a year in November. Seeing them will set you back 15€, as it did the first time they played here, despite a very succesful year that saw them recording an MTV hit. However, they have stayed level-headed and, their fans will be able to carry on following them without submitting to the tyranical organisations governing the Dublin music scene. Obrigado, Bonde, e ate pronto.    

* Big names? When the unsuspecting public pays 70-something euros to see Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake something is wrong, but the point of this particular rant is not to question the public’s tastes. Maybe another time. 

Last week, I found myself back in Dublin along with thousands of other students looking for a flat. I had been discarded by the Trinity accomodation services and was fortunate enough to have to look for a room in September, the most competitive of months in this respect. My search was crowned in success in under 4 days, but I realised along the way that it is extremely difficult to find somewhere that is both affordable and acceptable, and that prices have been steadily rising since I moved here in 2003.

Finding a place to live in Dublin is akin to a theatrical audition/beauty pageant. It is all about making a lasting first impression which will convince a landlord of your ability to pay the rent and keep a place clean. In these circumstances, being a student evidently does not help, and one is inevitably thanked for one’s interest upon delivering this news in an apologetic fashion. As if being a student wasn’t compatible with normality and responsibility, even more so for us male students who are deemed more likely to burn a house down at the end of a 4-day binge.

Initially, my search took me to public viewings along with dozens of other punters. Once I had shown interest in overpriced bedsits due to a lack of alternatives, I went through the usual rejection process whereby overwhelmed landlords rejected me based on prejudiced first impressions, choosing the most ‘respectable’ of candidates instead (ie. a young professional, a shit-for-brains accountant who likes getting ‘trolleyed’ 3 night a week, living solely for the weekend). Some use scare tactics, doubling or tripling the required deposits to narrow the field down. One memorable character took advantage of the situation and opened a bidding war: “Whoever gives me the most money gets the place.” In this world, students don’t have a chance. 

Eventually, it becomes clear that second-tier housing is the only remaining option to us low-lives. Here is proof: one letting agent, unaware of my student stigma due to my English accent (which, surprisingly, helps!), told me over the phone that he did have a 2 bedroom flat available but that he couldn’t really show it to me because it could only really be rented to students, and would I please wait for something more suitable to come up, please? So we worthless human beings are left with so-called ‘student housing’, synonymous with ’shit-rundown-cold-dreary-overpriced’. Some of the places on the market are appalling, and it is commonly thought that a student should be grateful enough to be given somewhere to live, and should accept whatever is thrown his way.

The solution, it seems, is for everyone to engage in a show of solidarity with the student population of our wonderful city, and give up all rented housing, and squat in the city centre until all accomodation is done up to standard. Then, and only then, should places be re-allocated randomly, and life can resume. Until then, I will carry on paying 650 Euros a month for the right to live in a damp, dark, dump in Dublin. Savage.