This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Dublin

God made Italians for their beauty, French for their cuisine, Welsh for their voices, Germans for cars. This is all very well, God said, but no-one is having fun. I'll have to make an Irishman.

I’m from Southern Ireland but lived, worked, attended school in Dublin for years.  I miss Dublin. Dublin is a city of stories. 

The  storytellers, playwrights, history makers have walked Dublin’s streets for centuries. The Capital of Ireland is full of tales, wit, humor, fashion, old structures and modern urban life, thought-provoking theatre and music. 

I miss the radio most of all. Radios are on everywhere. Interviews of successful writers, hopeful writers, theatre actors,  and local discussions with lots of listeners and participants.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

So, instead of taking a cab with music playing, the radio is usually on with yet another interview of another author or musician. Also you will hear an array of incredible Irish and international news, theatre, readings and panel discussions.   The best part of radio, in my childhood, were the plays you’d tune in on the radio, daily.

Dublin loves drama of all sorts. The people of Dublin will have you spellbound even when you ride the double-decker buses. 

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Old folks will strike up conversations about the weather or how they just came from an open casket funeral. For sure you’ll hear about how lovely the corpse looked. Paddy never looked as well as he did, all laid out.

They will speak to you as if you were their great grandchild. She might put a hand on your arm and say with all sincerity, “Ach, it’s a good thing they married late in life, Paddy and the missus…it didn’t last long. With Paddy gone now, he’ll be resting in peace…finally!”

Samuel Johnson once said "the Irish are a fair people, they never speak well of one another."

In addition, an Irish person will always soften bad news, so that a major coronary is no more than 'a bad turn' and a class 4 hurricane that leaves thousands homeless was 'good drying weather'.

Pubs

And, then there are the pubs. Dublin had so many wonderful pubs and hotels.  They are beautiful. Many interiors have rich mahogany wood, stained-glassed windows, plush interiors—you’ll find Georgian styled pubs, Victorian style establishments as well as modern landmarks.  

Between the pubs, shops, brasseries and 20 galleries; the hard working city of fast walkers is nestled between narrow cobblestone streets and brick buildings. I’ve often wondered how these hard working pubs stand—people and drink overflow them. How do they stand up to such happy abuse?

Traditional music, song and dance

Musicians can launch into song at any time when you visit the pub.

Buscars can’t wait and burst into song on the road. I love the locals willingness to spontaneously break into the chorus at any time (and some remain blissfully ignorant of the fact that their singing voices sound like a screeching banshee).   However, we all know that your vocal skills are far less important than your readiness to sing along with great enthusiasm.

An Irish ballad session occurs often and could be interrupted midway by a spectacular dance routine incorporating the best of contemporary and traditional Irish dancing by locals. Often the only payment would be a line of pints of the black and tan stuff (Guinness) for the guys and gals that brought along their fiddles, accordions, tin whistle and bodhrans (bo-ron…a unique drum.  A sheet of goatskin is stretched around the frame to create the drum’s head. 

The Bagpipe pipe, called uilleann (eye-lin)  is a special bagpipe that is placed under the player’s arm and no part of the instrument in placed in the mouth. Both the Bagpipe and the Bodhran are the two instruments that derived directly from the Irish culture, history began about 6,000 years ago.

Later in the evening, the dancing and the musicians can really build up. It is time for them to cut loose. A night of authentic Irish entertainment is guaranteed in most places! A strong heart is required however, as both musicians and dancers involve the entire audience in these type of performances.

The Brazen Head Pub: A very old establishment, one of the oldest in Dublin.

The Brazen Head on Bridge Street, Dublin, if not the oldest establishment of it's kind in Europe, is certainly the oldest in the country. It was built on the site of a tavern dating back to the 12th century.  The Irish Harp dates back to the 12th Century and it's our national emblem.

The greatest memories of the Brazen Head Pub are those of 1798. It was a time in history when Ireland were arranging rebellions. At the Brazen Head Pub, the chiefs of the United Irishmen used to meet and relax.  

One of the leaders, Oliver Bond, brought his new-found friend, Thomas Reynolds, to meet the men who were planning for freedom.  Little did Bond  know that Reynolds was an informer who gave the government the information that led to the arrest of almost the whole Leinster Directory, in Oliver Bond's own house at 13 Bridge Street.  And so it was that the Rising lost almost all its chiefs in one blow. The treachery of Reynolds!  Oliver Bond died in prison at age 36.

The Brazen Head was frequented by many history makers. The place is alive with friendly staff, music almost nightly to this day and is redolent/reminiscent of centuries of history, secret meetings, rebels and smugglers.

In the Spirit of Music

So remember when the spirit moves you to sing along, sing in all your glory, every word, ever bloomin’ line this week when some Irish songs are forced upon you… being it St. Patrick’s Week. 

It is more important that you always join in with your few bars, (lines of the song), no matter how many bars you’ve been to!

The curse of the Irish is not that they don't know the words to a song—it's that they know them all.                            

—Susan Dooley, Washington Post

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?