Summerhill and North Stand are streets that run from the City Centre out toward the towns along the coast, like Malahide. Sunnerhill is a continuation of Parnell St and the North Stand is a continuation of Amiens St(runs past Connolly Station). The run sort of parallel until they meet near Clontarf and they join up with the Malahide Road. The are just typical city streets, businesses, churches,etc. Basically, if you were on the North side of the Liffey and heading toward Malahide, you'd probably be on the North Circular Road, go "past the lights at Summerhill" (the intersection), go to the North Stand Road, turn left, and head "on, onto the sea".
The Royal Hotel is in Bray, south of Dublin and isn't really that notable. It's on the main street into Bray and a few blocks walk to the Promenade and the seasie. When the song says "sea-facing" views, it means that if you are in a room at the back of the hotel, you room will be facing toward the sea. However, if you go up on the roof, you have a very lovely view of the Martello Tower where Bono and Ali used to live when they lived in Bray. So if Bono was the man at the Royal Hotel, he quite literally was looking thru her window, though from a distance.
It's been about ten years since I stayed there, but it seems they are now attracting business people. The pool looks nicer. If you were looking for a nice quiet stay, this is the place. It's near the DART to go into the city, Bray Head has nice cliff walks, and you can stroll along the Promenade. The main attraction would be that this is the town were Bono and Ali lived just before their children were born, and you can imagine what life would have been like, taking in a movie, shopping at SuperQuinn, the snooker halls, the pubs, etc.
Here's a link for a picture of the Hotel.
http://www.ehi.com/travel/ehi/ireland/dubltst.html
[This message has been edited by Bulow (edited 04-13-2002).]