Bank Holiday weekend in Dublin

My family and I all took the LUAS into the city centre of Dublin on Saturday. My wife had some things she needed to do in the city and when she suggested that we might all go in on the LUAS I thought it was a great idea. Our 5 year old loves travelling on trains, while our youngest boy has only been once or twice.

It was a nice day in Dublin, warm but overcast. I think the lack of blue sky takes the edge off what would otherwise be a fantastic day with temperatures near 20° C and a little warmer out of what little breeze there was.

The first place we went was to the Joke Shop. This shop is just next to the LUAS terminus and it's been here for years. Our 5 year old likes practical jokes and tricks and we've been promising to take him here for a while now.

We went inside and he was astounded by all the stuff on display. He did what most kids do in that situation, namely shouting "DAD, LOOK AT THAT MASK! AND LOOK AT THAT ONE! AND THAT ONE" and so on. So excited and so funny. He chose this. Let's move on.

It's popular on days like this to make for Saint Stephen's Green, a small urban park right in the middle of the south side of the city so that's where we went next.

Aside: If you didn't know it, right through the centre of Dublin city runs the River Liffey. It has had the effect over the years of dividing the city into the Northside and the southside although in truth the city layout is now much more complex than that.

Anyway on days like these Saint Stephen's Green is pretty much packed with people sitting on the lawns essentially spending the afternoon watching the world walk past.

Inside The Green as it is known there are some lovely walks with tall trees and gardens everywhere and a nice lake in the middle.

The people who maintain the park maintain some pretty impressive flower displays in the various beds at the centre of the park.

In common with many other urban parks The Green has pigeons. Loads of pigeons. They are everywhere. We often bring bread for the ducks and end up having to fight off a flock of pigeons who want to grab the bread before the ducks can get it. Some of these pigeons are pretty brazen and keep coming back at you. Yesterday I spent most of the time at the lake's edge trying to prevent my 5 year-old son from accidentally following the bread into the lake. He puts a lot of energy into his bread-throwing action and forgets where he is.

The lake is the centrepiece of the park and it's full of gulls and bread. The ducks have the good sense to sleep in various quiet points along the side of the lake or to fly to other nearby waterspots until the crowds have died down in The Green. The shot above is from a nice little humpbacked bridge that spans the lake right in the middle of the park.

A wedding party sauntered through the park coming from a little church at the corner of the park, passing through on their way to a nearby hotel I suppose. They struck a lovely contrast with the rest of the people in the park, with hats and bow-ties standing out among t-shirts and jeans everywhere.

Foreign accents, tour guide books and european styled shoes were everywhere, suggesting that many many people are touring the city this weekend. It's great to see so many visitors to the city and so many people enjoying this lovely little park on a day like this.


When we were finished walking through the park we sat down on a bench just inside the entrance of the park (above). I then noticed a dirty finger print on the camera lens. Blast! If you go back and look at the previous pictures above you might notice a bit of blurring, a little lack of sharpness perhaps. Typical!


Sitting there on the bench I thought it was interesting how all kinds of people end up in the green. Businessmen and students side by side, discussing the trials and tribulations of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears perhaps?

We jumped on the LUAS and headed out of town with two tired little boys. The tram ride home is interesting as it passes up Harcourt Street with all the distinctive Georgian doors.

Once home the fun and games with the fake poo (with flies) began in earnest.