6 Surprising Cool Things About Dublin

An Autistic and Off Beat View of My Favourite City

Ten years ago, I felt I needed a trip to make a milestone, my 40th birthday. I was raised in a family where travel was just not done. It was something reserved for the wealthy. We weren’t wealthy. The furthest I ever went from home as a kid was an hour away to see my maternal grandmother at the nursing home in Woodstock.

So, it’s really no surprise that when I finally got out and made my own money, I wanted to see the world.

Did I mention I miss seeing the world? I love exploring other cultures. I love travel. I love meeting people in other countries. I’m not sure what it is; I mean I’m autistic. I don’t relate well to other people, for the most part. But when I’m in a foreign country, I’m a social butterfly!

I want to learn about the residents. I want to know and experience their way of life. I want to know their struggles and their triumphs. I want to know what makes them tick.

But I’m also a bit of a geek.

So, my 40th birthday, after weeks of research, we chose Dublin. Why? Honestly, the annual Canadian Bar Association held their meeting there the previous year and my mentor raved about it!

Bob, my mentor, was a brilliant lawyer, and one of the last gentlemen in the profession. He was old-fashioned, intelligent, kind, generous, and a man that told it like it was. He loved Dublin and if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me. And It didn’t disappoint! But the city surprised me in many ways. Here are some of them.

1. Palm Trees?

I should have taken a picture. I didn’t. The minute we touched down in Dublin and got into our cab, the first thing I saw were these palm trees. Wait, what? Palm trees in Ireland? That made zero sense to me, but there they were.

2. The River Liffey:

When I told Bob I was going to Dublin, he raved about the River Liffey and the Ha’ Penny bridge that spanned it.

You have to understand, I’m Canadian. We’re a nation of vast expanses of land. When you tell me about a big bridge spanning a grand river, I’m expecting a huge river and a huge bridge separating north from south.

Yeah, no. I could throw a rock across the great River Liffey. It’s not huge. It’s kinda small. Wonderful, yes, but not the huge expanse I was expecting.

3. Kids In Stores:

Now, this one, I refused to take pictures of due to privacy and legal reasons, but, there was a department store called Penny’s. It was a great store, prices were cheap. I got my sons socks, underwear and clothes for less than half of what I could have back in the Great White North.

However, there was a “thing” that troubled me and that I’d never seen before. There were strollers, containing babies, and also children, toddlers, 2, 3 years old, on the steps of the shop, on the inside. They were unattended.

I was HORRIFIED! I really didn’t expect culture shock from Ireland. I mean, they speak English. They’re my ancestral kin, at least in some respect. I assumed. I was wrong.

Yeah, they do that. They can part their stroller. They can park their little one and it’s completely fine. It’s understood. It’s a thing. I wanted to call Chil Protective Servies, but I was assured that this was what people did. It wasn’t in a bad area, I was smack dab in the middle of Millennium Parkway. It’s just what’s done. I had to leave my Canadian bias at the door and, honestly, it was hard as hell on this one!

4. Wine Bandits Are A Thing: Yeah, so, there I was, sitting with my hubby at a sidewalk cafe on Millenium Parkway. He was having a beer. I was enjoying a nice glass of white wine. It was July 26, 2011, my final day of my 30s. Right beside us were a trio, 2 fabulously gay men and a very no-nonsense woman in her mid-to-late 30s who owned a chip shop.

We eyed each other. We exchanged pleasantries. Then, something happened that made us friends for life. One of the guys, Darryl, ordered a bottle of white. The server brought in a bucket of ice, which was the convention when the table was still enjoying beverages.

We sat politely, not really talking, not trying to further the social interaction we’d become accustomed to.

Then there she was, a purple plush, bleached blonde whirlwind! She walked toward us slowly and left in a flash with their bottle. Yeah, she walked by, snatched the entire bottle of wine and ran like hell, wearing a purple track suit|!

Never in all my Canuck born days have I ever witnessed such a thing! Wine bandits in terrible fleece, that is not a thing where I’m from.

Darryl, the Alpha of the group called the Guard (Guarda, the Irish cops), but nothing was ever done, she was off with the booze and that was that.

Okay, let’s just review. Who does that? Have you ever, seriously, ever, in life ever had someone snatch the wine right off your table and boot it? Yeah, probably not.

But, this odd incident was a great icebreaker and I made lifelong friends. which brings me to the final cool thing about Dublin.

5. The People: Dubliners are a warm and friendly lot. When I visited, there was an actual welcome committee. Seriously, you just put your name in online, picked a time and a local would meet you and buy you a drink.

We met an awesome lady who was married to a retired judge. We had more than one drink. The first was on the city dime, the rest were just people enjoying each others’ company.

As for the wine bandit and her victims, we pulled our tables together and spent the entire evening together. And wouldn't you know it, Darryl owned a restaurant in Temple Bar and he invited my husband (now ex) and I to go for complimentary Champagne the next day for my birthday.

We came, we drank, we ate. Then we went to a club. And We didn’t pay for a drink, not one. Well, I didn’t. I was looking cute!

Everywhere we went, Temple Bar, St. Stephens Green, didn’t matter, the people of Dublin were warm, welcoming and friendly. They were eager to hear about Canada, and eager to discuss the Dublin day-to-day.

6. Get a Drink Down At The Cock:

Okay, so the Cock Tavern isn’t really in Dublin, it’s in Howth, a gorgeous fishing village on the outskirts, but a bus ride away. I spent a week in Dublin and a week in Howth.

The Cock Tavern was old as hell. It smelled old. It was dank, musty and old as hell. You could smell the history. You could see this history. Old men, 75 and over, in sport coats, having a pint of Guinness.

I met a fella, his name was Arthur. He was 82, he took a shine to me. His caregiver, James, wasn't quite as impressed, but we got along fine. James was very protective of Authur and rightfully so, he was a sweet old man with an insatiable taste for pretty younger women. He proposed, in front of my then-husband, disclosing his substantial wealth within 20 minutes.

Old, wealthy men aren’t my thing. But Arthur and James remained pals of mine until Arthur died about 8 years later. James is still a good friend and still doing good work with the elderly.

But I digress, let’s just look at it, the Cock Tavern? If you haven't thought about going down to the Cock and having a drink, well, sorry your funny bone was extracted at birth, but, that’s some funny shit!

I can’t wait to return to Dublin, to enjoy the unparalleled hospitality, to enjoy the street art on Millenium Parkway and to drink at the Cock. :)

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