As the city grows larger, the diversity of Dublin is growing too. As it stands, around a fifth of the city’s population hails from abroad. Large numbers of people from Poland, Romania, the UK, Brazil, Italy, Spain, France and Lithuania call the city home. Increasingly, migrants from across North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East are settling in the city too. A new initiative for a changing city To reflect the city’s increasing diversity, in 2021, Creative Ireland and Dublin City Council – supported by the Gallery of Photography Ireland and D

“Dublin for me has always been a place to live. It’s always felt like a place where communities are, and a lot of it is not always obvious to the outsider. It’s a suburban city.” Ronán Hession is a Dub through and through. The author, musician, civil servant, husband and father was raised between Beaumont and the north inner city and now resides in Portmarnock. We sat down to chat about his creativity, grá for Dublin and what he’s looking forward to doing in the city post-lockdown. Ronán’s debut novel, Leonard and Hungry Paul, came out in 2019. In 2021, it was chosen for the

Alen MacWeeney, an internationally renowned photographer, born in Dublin in 1939, has launched a new book of photographs entitled ‘My Dublin 1963 // My Dubliners 2020‘. MacWeeney took the 89 black & white pictures that make up the book in Dublin in 1963/5. They are spontaneous images of Dublin and Dubliners in all areas of the city, a street odyssey reflecting a cross-section of the people, their habits and behaviour, ten years before Ireland joined the European Union and the wider world. The text on facing pages consists of social com

Katie Kavanagh, a Dublin 8 based photographer, had an idea. As we’re generally stuck indoors due to COVID-19 restrictions, she’d take portrait shots of her neighbours at their doors. The idea grew legs and she’s linked up with Purple House Cancer Support Centre for the project, Doors Closed, Hearts Open. Their aim is to create a gallery of 200,000 ‘Doortraits’ to support the 200,000 people living with Cancer i

Hiking for women who want to connect with nature We caught up with Melissa McDermott – Galz Gone Wild founder – and Ruth Farrell to find out about the group of women who escape the city to find some scenic hush in the Wicklow mountains. Creating a supportive community of women Mel founded Galz Gone Wild in 2017 after moving home from London. She found herself lacking direction, and she was unsure of her next step. She started to hike to clear her head, but the hiking communities she found were mostly male and older. They were hiking for different reasons. “There is a community there, but it’s very much about getting from point A to point B, as quick

Pat Liddy is many things. An artist, historian, writer, illustrator, broadcaster, mapmaker, and environmental lobbyist who has helped make Dublin a global tourist attraction. The author and illustrator of over seven books on the city, as well as others on Irish cultural sites, he is the operator of Pat Liddy’s Walking Tours of Dublin. I was born and reared in what we might call the inner city, which in this case was Phibsborough. So, in the first place, that qualifies me as a true Dubliner, because the definition is “Born between the canals,” isn’t it? If I wanted to come into t

A gang of lads. Shy, reserved, quiet. Just chewing the cud. Sure, every now and again, there is a bit of jostling. Just like you would expect from a group of healthy young males. However, there’s one thing you would not expect. And that’s the complete lack of interest in the women across the way. It’s almost like an old country ballroom. Men on one side. Women on the other. But come September, that will all change. Scents will be donned. Fights will be had. Women will be chased. Another generation will be born. So Park Ranger, Terry Moore, tells Dublin.ie as we cruise through a blustery Phoenix Park in his jeep.

There’s a lot of history at Lansdowne Road. Including the fact that 73,000 pints were sold on a single day match day recently. Dublin.ie stopped over for a visit to learn more. Ireland versus England at Lansdowne Road. One of the great sporting occasions at one of the great sporting arenas. But when these sides first met here, in 1876, it wasn’t rugby they were competing at. It was athletics. We won four events to their nine victories, one of which was the tug of war. The Lansdowne grounds, established by Henry Wallace Dunlop, opened in 1873 and soon provided a home for a brand new rugby club, Lansdowne, of which Dunlop was the founder. But the place als

Down by the Secret Garden On the south side, the secret garden was always the Iveagh Gardens. However,  music, comedy and food festivals have taken place there in recent years, meaning that the garden isn’t so secret anymore. These days, to find the city’s true secret garden, you have to head north. Up O’Connell Street, then North Frederick, across Dorset Street and on up Blessington Street until you come to black wrought iron gates. In you go. And you’re there. What to expect at Blessington Street Basin The Blessington Street Basin