Dublin

Over the years I’ve been in and out of Dublin. Dozens of times, usually flying visits, gigs, rallies in and out. Never one of my favourite cities I always found it to be worn out with an air of menace about it. 

Nothing ever happened but it was a feeling I could never shake. And as a seasoned traveller I learned to trust my instincts and if my spidey sense was tingling there was usually a very good reason for it.

Dublin airport by the way is great. Heartily recommended unless time is of the essence we fly out of Dublin as opposed to Belfast. 

We were down when Dublin was booming, the celtic tiger was in full swing, buildings and houses were going up all over the place. Everything was glitzy and glossy. The buses looked washed. Taxis drove like………..well taxis driven by people who know that the normal rules of the road don’t apply in their case. 

Once you got off the beaten and well marched tourist trap, things went south very quickly. grim housing, concrete buildings, potholed streets and generally worn out infrastructure. This we were assured would all be rectified as the celtic tiger and progress swept all before it. 

Sadly the wheels fell off. The property bubble burst a lot of people found themselves in in serious debt and the economy collapsed. 

We were back 12 years later, with talk of a recovery. Sure enough Temple Bar and O Connell Street were well scrubbed and polished anywhere the tourists were invited to gather were well lit and wide open. Off the main thoroughfares things aren’t so good.

We took two modes of transport. One bog standard SPW and a Literider 3  scooter. Having seen the state of the roads, pavements and amount of diversions due to roadworks. The self propelled one sat in the car. We took the scooter 

The amount of effort  necessary to propel the chair across some decidedly dodgy pavements and roads made it a none starter. The scooter a well known   sturdily but, tubular frame, 4 wheeler with all the good points of a 3 wheeler. it coped. You just had to keep a very weather eye on what was ahead of you. Some of it was worrying. Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted. If you’ve a spotter or a pathfinder use them. We spent a lot of time in the liberties and around Croke Park. neither of which filled us with confidence. Again as a venue Croke Park is accessible and the staff are really helpful and switched on.  Its the infrastructure around it which is the problem. You would swear that the whole renovation and refurbishment programme had been handed to a family of gypsy tarmacers. 

Dropped kerbs looked to be recent additions either up or down just slung bits of tarmac to build an edge up. It was better than nothing, but then its the 21st century,  so maybe its not. 

Dublins public transport system used to be called CIE which we  thought was meant to stand for Confusion, Inefficiency  and Exasperation. We didn’t  use public transport, so have little idea of whether its viable. Some of the pavements are in poor shape, potholed, street furniture sticking out or just proving to be a barricade. 

One of the main bugbears in getting around Dublin is people parking cars on the pavements. some them have got it down to a fine art. Just parking so theres just not enough room to get past on the inside. Theres no doubt Dublin has its European influences. When it has a sloping kerb it really has a sloping kerb. 

One major terraced, dark stone, Georgian  street had a a narrow pavement sloping towards  a three kerb, eight foot drop on to a very  main road. We should have taken photos but were  just glad to get off it and on our way. 

Freshly filled potholes in the pavements and roads hastily chamfered kerbs it’s like for the moment they’re just coping so be aware. Like everywhere,  what has become my mantra. Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted. 

We got around it all right. But Care and taking it easy, is very much the watchword. 

Road crossings, traffic lights,  crossings. Obey the rules, I don’t think jaywalking is illegal. I think the view is you shouldn’t need to be told that it’s wrong to step in front of fast moving traffic. I think the sheer speed of the traffic  should give you a clue as to how I advisable it is. 

If like me you run around (sorry) without headphones in, the odd squeal of brakes and a solid thump should give you a clue. Colourful language too. 

And bicycles, yes this a modern 21st century European city. It has bicycle lanes, which means wankers  on bikes. 

Now here I would add another word of advice. Cyclists are the same the world over. They don’t look where they’re going.

They’ve now arrived in Dublins fair city.

You can see where they spent the money and where they continue to spend it, and its mostly accessible. Temple Bar, Grafton Street all accessible the seem to be building and road working everywhere else. it looks busy.

The 3 Arena where a lot of the gigs take place is utterly completely and totally accessible. They get you in, get you out and if you’re staying in The Gibson Hotel which is literally across the street. You can get in, get a pint and sit and watch the crowds streaming out to the venue. 

Accesible parking right underneath. it really couldn’t be more convenient.