The Dublin Community Blog

Just a few useful phrases to bear in mind when you’re visiting Dublin. There are probably hundreds I’m forgetting so feel free to add more in the comments.

Greetings

Howaya – Dublin for ‘how are you’?

Ah Jaysis Howaya! – same as the above, but more exuberant, for when you’re REALLY pleased to see someone.

Story? – Dublin for ‘what’s the story’ another greeting, when you’re just too lazy for howaya.

Take it handy – has many meanings, usually used as a goodbye, when you’re waving someone off, to mean ‘take it easy’ or ‘mind yourself’ but can also be used when giving directions to warn someone to watch their speed while driving, as in ‘take it handy on the road near the church, it’s very narrow’.

Swear words/curses

Jaysis – Dublin for ‘Jesus’ used in numerous different ways, both positive and negative. For example ‘Jaysis it’s great to see you’ or ‘Jaysis my wife got knocked down by a bus last night’ or ‘Jaysis, this dress is a terrible price’.

Feck – the Irish for f*ck, used in everyday speech, for example ‘for feck’s sake’.
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Going to bend the rules here slightly, but, it’s St Patrick’s Day (in Oz already!) so that’s my excuse, and I’ll mention Dublin somewhere, promise!!

Attended the Paddy’s Day Parade here in Brisbane at the weekend, along with the younger brother and best mate. I was actually surprised by just how many people turned out (there were estimates of 30,000, which knocks the socks off London’s 10,000) and how good everything was. It was a nice balmy autumns day, temp hovering around the late 20′s and the sun shining and everyone out in shorts, not quite your typical Paddy’s day!!

There was a good mix of Aussie’s, Paddy’s and just about every other nation in the world around town to watch the parade too! St Patrick himself even turned up for the occasion, and in true Aussie style, traveled on the back of a ‘Ute’

But, just to remind us that we are Irish, and to ensure that we don’t miss home too much, about 10 minutes into the parade, the sky opened and the rain began! Now, being Irish we’re well used to rain, however, rain in Queensland is slightly different (warmer and a hell of a lot heavier) than anything we’re used to back in Ireland.

However, the bands marched on, and everyone continued to have a fantastic time. More photos below and at this link. Hope everyone, no matter what part of the world that they are in today has a fantastic day.

So here it is…the summer. Well, sort of. As the temperatures soar to highs of (brace yourself) 17 degrees in places, out emerges the dark underbelly of Irish society- the spring-summer wardrobe. Summer clothing is not something we Irish do well. For men, the awkward mix of sandals, wool socks and ill-fitting shorts makes even the most manliest of man look like some sort of overgrown boyscout. For women the confidence and security afforded by baggy winter clothes vanishes as the heat forces us into string vests and shorter skirts- leaving the cankles nowhere to hide.

Walking down the street is now an adventure in all sorts of horrors- sun blistered skin, tans that end at the elbow or knee and give way to pasty white skin thereafter, people squeezed into summer clothes that fit them last year but, alas! not so much anymore….it is an endless catalogue of crimes against fashion and in some cases- humanity itself.

Forget Government funded ad campaigns on the dangers of global warming-the ice caps are melting already! We need to spend that money on drafting Trinny, Susanna, Gok Wan et al to come to the nation’s rescue in theese, our darkest days…..

All this good weather seems to have given the city an extra spring in its step – the streets seem even busier in the evenings with people taking advantage of the last of the sun. With the skies staying bright until 8:30 at least, it’s the perfect time of year for enjoying a few drinks outdoors. These are some of my favourite beer gardens in town:

Porterhouse North, Phibsboro
Located beside the Cross Guns bridge on the north side of Phibsboro, the Porterhouse North stocks the same vast range of beers as its sister pub in the city centre (and serves an even bigger range of food). It has a large beer garden at the back of the pub, which is sheltered but still gets the sun.

Dicey Reillys, Harcourt Street
A Dublin staple! Right in the city centre too – which means it’s usually buzzing with people.

Fitzsimons, Temple Bar
Yes, it may be in the centre of thronged Temple Bar, but Fitzsimons’ beer garden has the unique advantage of being on its roof, which means lovely city views. Worth it for a short stop.

The Hole In The Wall, Blackhorse Avenue
Arguably the biggest beer garden in Europe! The Hole In The Wall still carries on a century-old tradition of serving great pints and passing them through – yep, a hole in the wall – to the Phoenix Park. Genius.

What have I missed? Suggestions welcome in the comments…

The BBC 5 day forecast today reaches to Monday (St Patrick’s Day) and tells us that the rain over the weekend should pass by Monday and there will be sunny spells with a max temp of 6C or 42F.

So the weather is expected to be dry but cold. If you are travelling to Dublin and plan to attend the parade make sure to pack a warm hat, scarf and gloves since you will probably be standing on the same spot along the route for 2 to 3 hours.

Just in time for rush hour today Pearse Street station has been closed due to storm damage and will remain closed for the rest of the day. Rail services are running as normal through the station so go to the next nearest station and travel from there.

Iarnród Éireann advises customers that due to storm damage to the roof of Dublin’s Pearse Station, the station has been closed for the remainder of the day.

Rail services will operate normally, through Pearse Station, but will not stop at Pearse Station.

Update: The station reopened this morning.

I’m hearing ads on the radio talking about water shortages and the amount of water thats wasted watering your garden etc. And I’m thinking, its been raining for weeks, why would anyone need to water their garden? Infact according to the Met Office, total rainfall measured in Dublin Airport for June was 126.4 mm – officially the wettest June since 1958. Then yesterday I spotted a few of these signs on the Liffey walls. Yes I know water is life and we should conserve as much as possible, but I think theres a better way of spending advertising money than reminding us all not to water our gardens when we can’t even sit in them! And I can safely say, with todays torrential rain, no-one is going to notice those banners in the Liffey.

Further information on water conservation can be found here.

Anyone who lives in Ireland knows it’s a damp country. I wont say it rains every day, but it’s fair to say most days would see a drop or two of water somewhere in Ireland. Unfortunately if you live in Dublin you also know that it only takes a couple of sunny days before the city council is declaring a drought and cutting off water to some part of the city or other.

Of course for years it has not been their fault. It was people like you and me who watered our gardens, washed our cars or left the tap on while brushing our teeth. In Dublin water was a precious commodity and we were wasting it. Now it turns out that Dublin Council is doing a little bit of maintenance on some pipes. 100 year old cast-iron pipes that have some problems.

Dublin City Council deputy city engineer Tom Leahy says because of the pipes’ age and increased workload, “many of the old water mains are leaking or corroded, resulting in millions of litres of high-quality drinking water being lost every day and poor water pressure in some areas”.

800 kilometers of pipes will be updated over the next 5 years. That’s a lot of work, and a lot of taps left on while brushing teeth. Ok, I should not be so sarcastic towards them, we all knew the pipes leaked and we all wanted them to fix the mains but it’s nice to hear them admit the problem was so bad.

Anywhere that I have lived there has been a joke that if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it’ll change.  Well, that was certainly true today.  When I got up, it was sunny.  A little later, it was cloudy.  Then it got cold and windy.  Then it was hailing.  And finally: snow.  And 15 minutes after the hail started, it was sunny (but cold) again.  Unfortuntately, the weather meant that some of the St. Patrick’s Day festivities got cancelled.

  

Anyone who has attended a couple of St Patrick’s Day parades will know that the weather on the day is notoriously random. Some people say it’s always raining, some that it’s always warm, some cold. Personally I know it’s a lottery, one year I got sun-burnt, the next I got soaked and last year I was so cold I found it difficult to use my camera after a couple of hours, my fingers were too cold out of my gloves and the gloves were too bulky for the buttons.

Met Eireann has the 3 day forecast available today (the 14th), which is usually reasonably reliable:

Friday night will become more breezy and cloudy, with spells of rain expected in the west and north by morning on SATURDAY, St Patrick’s Day. This rain will turn showery as it moves into the east and south; it’ll largely die out through Saturday afternoon and evening; with only small rainfall amounts away from the west and northwest coast. It’ll feel cold and raw through the day with a strong west or northwest wind, and temperatures remaining in single figures.

So cold and damp, wrap up warm if your going to the parade and dont forget your umbrella.