For those who travelled to Dublin from abroad, what did you think?

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I would like to know what those who came to Ireland from abroad thought of Ireland, Croke Park, Dublin, their stay here etc.

Please post your experiences here! Thanks... JTH :)
 
Mr Hugger,

Came over from Leeds on Monday for the 3rd night.
Have been to Dublin before so wasn't to bothered to do the tourist thing.

Was very lucky to get into the pit as I arrived at stadium at 3.10pm, thought there would be loads of people there before me.
I would have gone up later, but was on my own, and only had one pint in Dublin city centre (The Temple Bar - what was that I was saying about the tourist thing ?!) before setting off to soak up the atmosphere at the ground.

Positives and negatives (in my opinion)

Good venue, very well organised, stewards and security excellent

Lack of atmosphere in dublin city centre - usual capital city vibe - tourists - where were the U2 fans? (at work I expect, the venue only started to really fill up after 7pm). Also at stadium, I was very excited to be there, but didn't get that feeling from the people milling around the stands.

Bus service to and from airport excellent - frequent service, value for money

Hotel - Jury's Parnell Street - OK - just a place to sleep and leave bag really.

People - great, some of the best people you will ever meet are in Ireland.

Did you want to know about the band?
 
i think dublin as a city is nothing special for me. I mean, i've been in Dublin twice before, and this time it really surprised me with lots of trash on the streets, so many different bad odours (from restaurants, fast foods etc.) that it sometimes made me feel sick! And the Liffey---my god---what a piss they let into it?!Whenever there was a low tide(don't know how to say it in english, shallow sea water), it smelt like "feckin shate" !
Peopl are nice, though i rarely saw a native irish people working in shops, pubs, restaurants, hostels---i mean, there were tons of people (students) working there, which is good, it's just you can't get the impression you were in ireland, you know?!Plus a lot of other nationalities are rising in numbers very quickly (eg. from the Middle and Far East).
All things considered, not a very "irish atmosphere"--if you want that, you should travel throughout ireland, the best concert (got into the pit on the 24th).
Security and all was very well organised at and after the concert.
I really don't understand the Croke Park residents who were protesting on the streets, saying "they(u2) are keeping them locked up for three days" and that crap. At least in that the situation is the same as in my country---ENVY---!
 
I came over for the Saturday show, flying in on Saturday lunchtime, coming back 24hours later, I had an enjoyable time, before after and during the concert.

Not wishing to be dis-respectful about the city, I don't find Dublin to be particularly special a city, with its high streets full of chainstores and fast food takeaways, it reminds me too much of many a UK city centre.

Ventured into the Temple Bar after the gig, very busy of course, and if there is a secret to getting a taxi at 3am, i would love to know it :)

The organisation at the gig was good, but there needed to be urinals on the ground floor level to speed up the toilet queues. Keeping alcohol off of the pitch was good, it did enable us to be surrounded by sober people, I am all in favour of drinking of course, but Twickenham was spoilt a tiny bit by unruly p1ssheads around us.

The night bus and LUAS (tram) systems are excellent, we stayed at the IBIS at red cow, which is ok, like every other IBIS in europe.

Importantly, I felt welcome in the city, at all times
 
agree with tilen about the pollution and also bad air quality, noticing all the rivers are heavily polluted (!) i've also been to dublin twice and generally i liked the city because it has a livly beat and some good places to party.. although ljubljana (maybe it really does sound incredible)-slovenia's capital has become the place for party during SUMMER. Ask other slovenians :=).

kl
 
Westblue said:
agree with tilen about the pollution and also bad air quality, noticing all the rivers are heavily polluted (!) i've also been to dublin twice and generally i liked the city because it has a livly beat and some good places to party.. although ljubljana (maybe it really does sound incredible)-slovenia's capital has become the place for party during SUMMER. Ask other slovenians :=).

kl

:up: not only Ljubljana, there is so many more beautiful cities in europe..
 
My wife and I flew in from Canada and were there for the week of the 20th to the 27th. We thoroughly enojyed ourselves. I have been to Dublin 4 times in total and the city is always phenomenal. A great place to have a great time. This time the city was FAR more manic than usual for obvious reasons. We saw the show on the 24 and 25 and while I thought the Friday was amazing, I can't even find words to describe the 25th! It was the most amazing thing I have ever been a part of. The energy in the stadium (which is beautiful BTW) was unreal. The band were on fire and they sounded bloody fantastic!! It was just sensational and both my wife and I are still in shock that we actually experienced that.

As for Dublin, the city was just gorgeous. I got to see some of the suburbs this time and particularly enjoyed Howth. All in all, an 11 out of 10.

To all you Dubliners, You live in a first class city. I want to move there ;)

Cheers.
 
tilen said:
And the Liffey---my god---what a piss they let into it?!Whenever there was a low tide(don't know how to say it in english, shallow sea water), it smelt like "feckin shate" !

No kidding. I hear Dublin comes from "Dubh Linn", which means "black water" or something like that -- can somebody confirm or deny this rumor?
 
trainspotter said:
Iand if there is a secret to getting a taxi at 3am, i would love to know it :)

Walk along the quay's or round busaras and basically stnad on the street and have your hand out! :D Usually get on within 10-15 min during the busy period. I would NEVER line up at the taxi stands.

To my visit. Have lived in Ireland and totally love the country and Dublin even if it's too noisy and busy for me to live in. Flew in for the three shows, arrived wednesday home tuesday. Stayed with a friend around Grand Canal. Had a fab week. Three great shows with the third one beyond description. Nice relaxed atmosphere, used to the buses always being late, traffic jam. Love the chicken wings at Elephant and Castle, got to eat them twice during my stay. Love to go shopping at Penney's, extraordinary cheap basic clothing. U2-books on sale at Easons... Do I have to say that I had a fab, fab, fab time?

Would love to come again soon but it will prob take some time now. :(

Be proud of your lovely, friendly beautiful country! :)
 
speedracer said:


No kidding. I hear Dublin comes from "Dubh Linn", which means "black water" or something like that -- can somebody confirm or deny this rumor?

That's not a rumour, that's true (well nearly true) ;) "Dubh Linn" is Irish (or Gaelic if you like) for "Black POOL". The Normans originally would have given Dublin that name in around the 11th century when they first started founding Irish cities. Other example: Athenry ("Átha Rí" - Ford of the King).
 
Joshua_Tree_Hugger, I had the absolute best time in Ireland! I made a vacation out of this trip too and stayed for about 11 days. Aside from Dublin, I went to Meath, Galway (including the Aran Islands) and Cork.

The people are so friendly, I'm not used to it. I had a lot of encounters with locals, who didn't just end up giving me directions, but also talking about their life in Ireland. I was kind of skeptical and paranoid at first :eyebrow: (when you live in DC, you'll know what I'm talking about), but one woman told me that the Irish do not have a hidden agenda--they're just naturally friendly.

I didn't exactly have a post-vacation depression, but more of reflection. Haha, cheesy, but true. People at work noticed that I looked really happy and beaming talking about my experience in Ireland. And though it's quite expensive there, I can't wait to go back! Some things just can't be quantified.

Of course, seeing U2 in Dublin made the trip all the more special. BTW, the immigration officer wrote "U2 and Holiday" on my passport, as the purpose of travel. U2's forever in my passport! :D Can't get any better than that. :wink:
 
Wow, I'm glad you had a great time. I'm actually from Galway city myself, bu you probably weren't there for too long as I'm sure the Aran Islands trip took most of the day. Anyway, happy you enjoyed yourself :wink:
 
i didnt' go this year but I was in dublin in 02, and wicklow and galway. Galway is amazing, i would move there in a flash if i could.

The best thing about Ireland that I found? the people. The nicest, anywhere, anytime.
 
Joshua_Tree_Hugger said:
Wow, I'm glad you had a great time. I'm actually from Galway city myself, bu you probably weren't there for too long as I'm sure the Aran Islands trip took most of the day. Anyway, happy you enjoyed yourself :wink:

I was actually in Galway City for 2 nights, and 1 night in Inis Mór. :)
 
was only there a couple of days, but loved what I saw...going back in May 2006 for a few weeks :heart:
 
I'd like to give a big thumbs up to Dublin's bus drivers, I missed my stop and ended up in Dun Laoghaire after the show on the 24th but he took me back back to UCD which was very kind. Turned out he was a massive fan of the band and he even had some semi-kind words to say about the English.
It had been ten years since I'd been to Dublin and I think in that time it's improved a great deal, I don't think I'll leave it as long before I go again.
 
How bad is this pollution exactly? I've never heard complaints about it before and I did want to go for a weekend to Dublin next summer on my way somewhere else.

I can't imagine it's as nasty as say, LA?
 
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