Sights and Attractions in Dublin

The Arts, Literature and Theater

Dublin is known for its colorful culture and its devotion to the arts, literature and theater. It has been the home of some literary giants, world-renowned actors and extraordinary artworks and artists.

The Arts

Dublin is an important center of the Irish Art and Irish artistic scene. Important works of art such as the Book of Kells which is a world-famous manuscript and an exquisite sample of insular art that was made by Celtic Monks in 800 A.D. and it on display in the city’s Trinity College.

A famous collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, drawings, prints, decorative art and rare books was assembled by an American mining millionaire and honorary Irish citizen Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, can be found in the Chester Beatty Library. The collections can be dated from 2700 B.C. onward and are collected from the Middle East, Asia, North Africa and Europe.

Large art galleries showcasing traditional and contemporary art can be found all around Dublin such as the National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the City Arts Center, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, the Project Arts Center, the Douglas Hyde Gallery and the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Local artists display their works publicly around St. Stephen’s Green which is the main park in Dublin’s city center.

Literature, theatre and the arts

The city has a world-famous literary history, having produced many prominent literary figures, including Nobel laureates William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett. Other influential writers and playwrights from Dublin include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift and the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker. It is arguably most famous, however, as the location of the greatest works of James Joyce. Dubliners is a collection of short stories by Joyce about incidents and characters typical of residents of the city in the early part of the 20th century. His most celebrated work, Ulysses, is also set in Dublin and full of topographical detail. Additional widely celebrated writers from the city include J.M. Synge, Seán O'Casey, Brendan Behan, Maeve Binchy, and Roddy Doyle. Ireland's biggest libraries and literary museums are found in Dublin, including the National Print Museum of Ireland and National Library of Ireland.

There are several theatres within the city centre, and various world-famous actors have emerged from the Dublin theatrical scene, including Noel Purcell, Brendan Gleeson, Stephen Rea, Colin Farrell and Gabriel Byrne. The best known theatres include the Gaiety, the Abbey, the Olympia and the Gate. The Gaiety specialises in musical and operatic productions, and is popular for opening its doors after the evening theatre production to host a variety of live music, dancing, and films. The Abbey was founded in 1904 by a group that included Yeats with the aim of promoting indigenous literary talent. It went on to provide a breakthrough for some of the city's most famous writers, such as Synge, Yeats himself and George Bernard Shaw. The Gate was founded in 1928 to promote European and American Avante Guarde works. The largest theatre is the Mahony Hall in The Helix at Dublin City University in Glasnevin.

Nightlife and entertainment

There is a vibrant nightlife in Dublin and it is reputedly one of the most youthful cities in Europe with estimates of 50% of inhabitants being younger than 25.[8][9] Furthermore in 2007, it was voted the friendliest city in Europe.[10] Like the rest of Ireland, there are pubs right across the city centre. The area around St. Stephen's Green - especially Harcourt Street, Camden Street, Wexford Street and Leeson Street - is a centre for some of the most popular nightclubs and pubs in Dublin.

The most internationally notorious area for nightlife is the Temple Bar area just south of the River Liffey. To some extent, the area has become a hot spot for tourists, including stag and hen parties from Britain. It was developed as Dublin's cultural quarter (an idea proposed by local politician Charlie Haughey), and does retain this spirit as a centre for small arts productions, in the form of street performers and intimate small music venues. Gay pubs and clubs such as The Dragon, The George are centred on South Great George's Street and The Front Lounge, Centre Stage and Pantibar are located in the Parliament street area.

Live music is popularly played on streets and at venues throughout Dublin in general and the city has produced several rock bands of international success, including U2, Hothouse Flowers, Horslips, Thin Lizzy, and Boyzone. The two best known cinemas in the city centre are the Savoy Cinema and the Cineworld Cinema, both north of the Liffey. Alternative and special-interest cinema can be found in the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar, and in the Screen Cinema on d'Olier Street. Across suburban Dublin are located large modern multiscreen cinemas. Situated on the Liffey at the Eastlink tollbridge, the The Point Theatre is currently under renovation, but has housed performers including Madonna, Aerosmith and is noted for being the final performance of iconic popstar Britney Spears before her decline in publicity.

Dublin is a popular shopping spot for both Irish people and tourists. Dublin city centre has several shopping districts, including Grafton Street and Henry Street and the adjacent Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Jervis Shopping Centre and newly refurbished Ilac Shopping Centre (all popular meet-up spots for decades). On Grafton street, the most famous shops include Brown Thomas and its sister shop BT2, being akin to Bloomingdales in New York City, for example. Brown Thomas also contains "mini-stores" such as Hermès and Chanel on its Wicklow Street frontage. This is Dublin's nearest equivalent to a Designer shopping street such as Bond Street in London or 5th Avenue in New York City.

Dublin city is the location of large department stores, such as Clerys on O'Connell Street, Arnotts on Henry Street, Brown Thomas on Grafton Street and Debenhams (formerly Roches Stores) on Henry Street.

A major €750 m development for Dublin city centre has been given the green light. The development of the so-called Northern Quarter will see the construction of 47 new shops, 175 apartments and a four-star hotel. Dublin City Council gave Arnotts planning permission for the plans to change the area bounded by Henry Street, O'Connell Street, Abbey Street and Liffey Street. The redevelopment will also include 14 new cafes along with a 149-bed hotel. It is expected that work on the new area will start in the second half of 2008. Prince's Street, which runs off O'Connell Street, will become a full urban street and pedestrian thoroughfare.

Since the mid 1990s, suburban Dublin has seen the completion of several modern retail centres. These include Dundrum Town Centre (Luas Green Line), Blanchardstown Centre, The Square in Tallaght (Luas Red Line), Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Clondalkin, Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock, and Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords.