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This library has more than just books as residents… Marsh’s library is located behind Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. It’s Ireland’s oldest public library. Inside, the library is, for the most part, untouched, remaining beautiful. Marsh’s Library is one of the very few 18th century buildings left in Dublin that is still being used for its original purpose. It’s made up of two long galleries, joined by a small reading room. Books are shelved in bays on either side of the gallery. The interior of the library has elegant dark oak bookcases filled with old books. Bookcases are complete with rolling ladders and walking through the gallery almost feels like a journey throu

It’s an addiction. It’s life threatening. It’s awesome. Huddling together in the bitter cold, on Friday the 13th, under a weak and feeble January sun, they all argue that there’s nothing better. Sure, there’s dramatic stories of nearly dying, but the group is adamant that the buzz is worth it. Great, they say, for the mental health. “It’s the perfect anti-depressant,” photographer Barry Delaney says. Listening to these Dublin swimmers, you hear the language of addiction, love and even religion. The perpetual appeal of Dublin’s Forty Foot Welcome to Sandycove’s famous Forty Foot and its crew of year-round swimmers.

Sweny’s: A literary landmark frozen in time Tucked away on Lincoln Place, in the heart of Dublin’s south inner city, is Sweny’s pharmacy. 100 years ago, it was made famous by James Joyce’s Ulysses. Though Sweny’s is no longer a working pharmacy, it is a key part of Dublin’s literary culture. Today, it is run by volunteers who maintain its original 1850s Victorian style. A mahogany counter and old glass cabinets outline the room. Shelves of medicine cover the walls and old photographs sit in the cabinets. There’s even some hundred-year-old prescriptions still waiting to be collected. The original chemist sign is still intact too

Remember where the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood took place? Or Hansel & Gretel? Well, these days, it’s not stories of the deep, dark woods parents try to spook their children with, but the bright lights of the city. Maybe they’re afraid of them growing up too quick, of venturing out into the big wide world. It’s all futile, however, because for a kid reared out in the suburbs, the ambition always is to be able to go into town one day, sans parents. It was interesting speaking to one such teen, Eric, now at the ripe old age of 16, to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. He recalled with us he and his friends’ first excursion, and ex

Remember when whether you lived on the Northside or the Southside of Dublin was a really big deal? Like, practically life-or-death? No? Well then either you’re not originally from around these parts, or you moved around in circles that never saw you encountering anyone from the other side of the Liffey. God forbid. So how deep did this, this rivalry we could call it, go? Well, think of it like this – there are those who would refuse to go to Dunne’s Stores in the Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre if they hadn’t got the slippers they were after in Dunne’s Stores over in the Ilac. We’re talking garlic-to-a-vampire type of aversion here. The side of the Liffey on

Much more than a castle Set on 260 acres of parkland in the seaside town of Malahide, 16 km north of Dublin, Malahide Castle was home to the Talbot family from 1185 to 1975. The atmospheric castle – yes, there are ghosts – is furnished with period furniture and a large collection of Irish portraiture on loan from the National Gallery. There are also gardens, playgrounds, a one-of-a-kind butterfly house and a fairy trail. Ireland’s only model railway museum is just a few minu

Guinness has long been part of Dublin’s history and it’s not just the drinking of the black stuff that we’re talking about either. There’s all the industry and activity that surrounds its brewing and its distribution too – and all the memories that are associated with them. Up to 1961, for instance, the barges transporting wooden casks of Guinness along the Liffey would have been a familiar sight. In those days, of course, the Liffey did more than just divide the city in two. It was a major thoroughfare as well. There were six Guinness barges, each named after a Dublin suburban locality: Castleknock, Killiney, Sandyford, Howth, Clonsilla and Seapoint. The bargeme

Through losing stage and screen legends, 1916 Rising commemorations, The Boss in Croke Park, the birth of a baby elephant and retaining Sam Maguire. It's been quite a year for the county. True, every year has its ups and downs. But surely 2016 was more uppy and downy than most. So let’s kick off with an up - about 20 storeys up, as it happens.

“Christmas comes but once a year”, they say, to which I always reply, “But Christmas Eve comes first!” Not just because of the fact it comes a day earlier, but because it happens to be my favourite day of the year. As some friends and colleagues sleep off the night before and relish their lie-ins (which won’t feel as sweet given that Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday this year), I’m up and out the door, observing my own personal tradition of taking a long walk out into the middle of Dublin Bay or, in other words, along The South Wall. The view from the lighthouse at the end of the pier is stunning at any time of the year, but it’s something special on this pa

Part of the city’s social fabric The Abbey Theatre has long been part of our city’s story. Nestled in the bustle right at the heart of Dublin 1. You’ll find it amidst the comings and goings from Busáras and Connolly station, the Luas clangs past its door and the River Liffey’s squawking seagulls are within earshot too. President Michael D. Higgins regularly attends opening nights, a straight run for him down the quays from his residence at Áras an Uachtaráin in the Phoenix Park. The last time I wandered down that direction, there was a

George’s Street Arcade is Ireland’s first purpose-built shopping centre, and one of Europe’s oldest, having been built in 1881. We popped in to talk to a few of the stallholders. Milo Póil, Man of Aran Fudge I’m here in the Arcade just over two years, my third Christmas! I am the son of The Man of Aran Fudge! It’s my dad who makes all this stuff, he’s being doing it for 20 years now. It’s actually a family recipe. It’s my Grandmother’s recipe, well, the tiger butter flavour anyway. That recipe was made 90+ years ago with only a few changes! This is one of the only permanent stalls of ours. We’ve another on Ínis Óirr, which is