Ireland Today

[spindrift]

..... joining the EU has been an excellent thing for southern Ireland if one does not mind being subjected to swathes of concrete covering the Ould Sod.

Last week I returned to Dublin after an absence of only 5 years but in that time I no longer knew my way around. This is unbelievable considering that I lived there for about 15 years.

Not only are there motorways crossing north to south and east to west but there is a ring road around Dublin city and bay. Then there is the small matter of road 'furniture' which is dazzling in its array. I have no idea how foreigners get to grips with the signposts considering they are written in gaelic as well as english.

In many ways I was disappointed by the new Ireland but on the other hand I have to admit that the island is no longer a place where poverty reigns. I found it frightening that the most ordinary of houses probably cost more than those of the same size in england. With (ill gotten?) gains from the EU there has been a mad spate of apartment building as well as industrial estates but now, in the time of the bear market, these remain empty whilst the builders, having pocketed millions have moved to better climes.

Nowadays the stately Georgian streets of Dublin 2 (the posh end) have the Luas train running through them to the rail terminus situated at beautiful St. Stephen's Green.

Once upon a time it was difficult to find any English products for sale in the city shops....but everything has changed and I found a plethora of english department and high fashion stores with products costing vastly more in Euros than in sterling.
My mind boggles to wonder at just how much Irish people must be earning.

Still, Dublin has its own charm although one must look harder for it now than before when it was evident.
I shall put up some pictures of what I found there.

to be continued

[bixaorellana]

I moved the thread, but if an OP has no Replies, it's just as easy for the person who makes the thread to delete the original and re-post it in a different place.

So ..... pics? more commentary? Why is real estate so expensive, and are salaries commensurate with prices?

[Deleted]

The last time I went to Dublin, the streets were full of young women with babies begging on the pavement. That really shocked me.

[spindrift]

Perhaps there still are young women begging in the streets but it's likely, these days, they would be from Albania. I took a coach from Dublin airport (north side) which went through the city centre, over the river Liffey and through the south side to the terminus at Sandyford at the foot of the Dublin mountains. If I put up some my pics you'll see there is a big difference in living conditions on the north side compared to the south side. The north/south divide in Dublin city has always been that way.

[onlymark]

Jun 4, 2010 6:31:12 GMT kerouac2 said:

The last time I went to Dublin, the streets were full of young women with babies begging on the pavement.

Must be quite a skill to get a baby to beg.

[Deleted]

Perhaps there still are young women begging in the streets but it's likely, these days, they would be from Albania.

That's true.

Ireland is on my 'most want to see' list of countries. And Spindrift has kindly offered to show me around when I go over.

I'd love to see some pictures of Ireland, Spinny, do you think you can post some, when you get the time?

[spindrift]

Deyana - I'll be delighted to show you around my favourite places in Ireland...

Yes, I'll put some pics up...

[bixaorellana]

May 28, 2010 22:28:28 GMT spindrift said:

I found a plethora of english department and high fashion stores with products costing vastly more in Euros than in sterling.
My mind boggles to wonder at just how much Irish people must be earning.

This article from the NYTimes about Ireland's economy immediately made me think of Spindrift's words: www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/business/global/29austerity.html

[bjd]

I read that article this morning.

We went to Ireland for the first time in 2005. What I found amazing were the number of construction cranes and new buildings going up along the river. I imagine many of the buildings now stand empty.

This was in September 2005:

[spindrift]

Thanks for the business link on Ireland, Bixa. I read it with interest. I doubt there will be an easy way for Ireland to re-climb to the dizzy heights of prosperity that it was enjoying before the recent recession. To my mind it serves the country right; it got rich on joining the EU and milking it for all it was worth. At least the poor downtrodden Ireland I knew in the '60s is no more but the country has got too big for its boots.

I will get around to posting more pics one of these days.

[mickthecactus]

I worked for an Irish company for 10 years and visted many times, my wife is Irish and I have Irish clients. It's certainly totally changed and a place like Limerick now looks like any other European city.

Rural Ireland is still very attarcative though despite the houe building and driving on relatively quiet roads is a pleasure.

About 3 years ago we went to Ireland for a few days with no plan. Took a flight to Shannon, hired a car and drove until we had had enough. By then we were on Galway Bay wher we stayed overnight in a pub. The landlord suggested we drive to Connemara which was "wild", which it certainly was. We then took the coast road right down to where my mother in law came from in Clare. Thisn was one of the loveliest drives I have done where you are up in the cliuds one minute then down at sea level the next.

We ended at Spanish Point where the Armada blew in (you can see Spanish influences in the people and my daughter looks quite Spanish at times) and ate at a hotel looking out over a completely deserted beach with the Atlantic crashing in. Quite beautiful.

Ireland still has a lot going for it.

[bixaorellana]

Beautiful word pictures of a country I've always wanted to see, Mick. Thanks!

[gertie]

Spinny, where are those pictures you mentioned?

It saddens me a bit to read your words as I always wanted to see the Ireland my friend brought home to me in pictures and stories when we were in college. Her family was Irish but had lived in this country for the most part for all her upbringing due to her father's job, but she had spent summers over there with relatives through the years. She had a lovely slight accent, and her interest in Gaelic, which neither of her parents spoke, was the initial spark that caused her choice to become a languages specialist. She dreamed of recording dying languages and encouraging the younger generations to learn them. In that latter especially, I think she was just a tad ahead of her time, as she was the first mention I ever heard of such, but now you hear a lot about efforts to revive dying languages.

[Deleted]

I will manage to dig up some of my own photos of Dublin one of these days!

[bjd]

I have some that I took in 2005. We were exceptionally lucky with the weather -- it only rained once in 10 days.

These were taken in Dublin:




Temple Bar area in the daytime

[bjd]

Buskers on Grafton Street


At Trinity College

[Deleted]

It all looks so civilized until the last picture. After a series of photos with buried electrical lines, I am always shocked to see one where the wires are everywhere.

[gertie]

Is that because they are all buried where you are, k2? I lived in an area where an ice storm back in the very early 70s caused a great deal of damage to power lines as the ice buildup caused them to break between each pair of poles. They enacted a restriction requiring new lines thereafter to be buried. As the area had a lot of growth thereafter, the result was most of the lines in most of the towns in that area were buried. It was a bit jarring to me when I relocated here to see lines all over town on poles.

[bixaorellana]

Isn't this a lovely apartment? I love the soft texture and colors of the blocks. It's a real apartment and a very real and shocking statement on the condition of Ireland's economy:

Euros here, euros there. Euros in the fireplace. Euros on the floor, on the chairs, in the windows. Worthless euros, taken out of circulation and shredded by Ireland’s Central Bank, forming the interior walls of an apartment that Mr. Buckley does not own in a building left vacant by the country’s economic ruin.
click text for full story

I found that article most interesting, and even more so after visiting this OP from almost two years ago and BJD's pictures from the boom times:

Jun 29, 2010 17:14:28 GMT bjd said:

We went to Ireland for the first time in 2005. What I found amazing were the number of construction cranes and new buildings going up along the river. I imagine many of the buildings now stand empty.

[fgrsk8r1970]

A very interesting article - and of course the one line ".... we are run by Germany" makes me sad personally even though it has nothing really to do with me.

We visited Ireland just 2 months ago for the first time ever but didn't go to Dublin - instead opted to fly into Shannon, rented a small car and drove to our accommodations in Adare, a small town outside of Limerick. We never drove into any other big city the whole week we were there, just drove through the countryside and along the coast.

We enjoyed a mostly non-touristy off season experience .... I even tried archery for the first time in my life and had a blast!

[bixaorellana]

Gawwwwd, you take fabulous pictures, Skater! How did you all come to take such a trip? Looks as though your decision was well rewarded.

[fgrsk8r1970]

Awww... thanks Bixa!
Ever since I met my Cowboy in 2002 we talked about visiting Ireland. I started planning it twice and then chickened out because of the "driving on the wrong side" issue, but also because around 2006 renting a car in Ireland was outrageously expensive.

Long story short - a friend of ours visited Ireland last year and posted a photo on FB that rekindled my desire to give planning and actually going a serious try and get over my fear of driving on the left side. Since 2006 I have driven twice in Italy and survived LOL - I was after all trained in Germany and still have my German drivers License which back in 1988 cost 2,000 DM - so for that money you better get an in depth driving education right?

Turns out that it was not a big deal and I had no issues driving in Ireland, I actually enjoyed it pretty much 20 min into getting out of Shannon Airport (and 6 roundabouts). Shannon Airport was so small and easy that it really took all the worries away once I actually started driving.

People in Ireland were as nice as everybody always said. We talk about going back someday..... oh the time and money - if we all had it at the same time right?? LOL.

[bixaorellana]

Time & money + the initiative to plan & carry out a real, off-the-beaten-track trip such as you show. Thumbs up!

[fgrsk8r1970]

May 21, 2013 18:05:29 GMT bixaorellana said:

Time & money + the initiative to plan & carry out a real, off-the-beaten-track trip such as you show. Thumbs up!

You are so kind Bixa ! Thank you so much

[spindrift1]

Three years on from my first post and I am back on this thread! I am due to visit my relations in Dublin this year. This will give me an opportunity to look around, talk to Irish people and try to find out what's going on in the country.