I'm going to be in Dublin for two or three days at the beginning of September. I hope I get the chance to buy you a pint!
I'm going to be in Dublin for two or three days at the beginning of September. I hope I get the chance to buy you a pint!
They weren't singing....they were just honking.
Glee 2009
Since neither I nor any of my countryfolk ever imbibe alcohol that might be a problem.
So we've slipped into the Mirror Universe, I see....
Yes, where America is the land of the free and the home of the american dream.
Yeah, I've heard you can drive for miles and miles and never find a place to have a beer. Sad, sad place.Originally posted by The Original An Gadaí
Since neither I nor any of my countryfolk ever imbibe alcohol that might be a problem.
So I've sated all curiosity about my benighted lil isle?
What are the thoughts on the letter bombs sent to Celtic Manager Neil Lennon and what appears to be the re-emergence of sectarian violence in N. Ireland?
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
It's all terribly sad. However, I sincerely doubt we'll ever go back to the bad old days, NI is just such a different place now compared to 40 years ago, in so many ways.
A comment on a blog I read about racism was from an Irish man saying that the Irish are a "non-white", distinct race. I know there's been a lot of racism in the past, but is there still an element of race tied into Irish identity?
So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.
Huh, never noticed this question before. Yes, I definitely think there is, although it's rather complex. Irish people (well a lot of us anyway) define themselves as an other to the Anglo-Saxon (primarly British, but even American, especially in imperialist mode). This is of course ahistorical but it is a facet of our culture. We were both coloniser and colonised but our folk memory is of victimhood. We got shit upon by an imperial power in the past so we don't consider ourselves the "white man", however that's a cake and eat it thing. We're plenty white when it suits us and many Irish are virulently racist, plenty, maybe most people aren't though. However there's a lot of understanding of the pain of decolonisation and of occupation elsewhere in the world. Partly because of this Irish people give inordinate amounts to charitable causes overseas, and support for Palestine here is enormous. That spiel in Roddy Doyle's Commitments
A lot of people here actually believe(d) it. Although that certainty and solidarity has perhaps been eroded a bit by the mass migration of people here from elsewhere in the world.Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.
Bump.
I loved the movie The Commitments! Great soundtrack, too.
An Irish-American friend of mine who visited Ulster in the late Eighties was astonished by the number of pictures of Nelson Mandela everywhere. As a symbol of proud resistance to oppressive authority, he was omnipresent.
I think there's a genuine (albeit in my opinion slightly exploitative) affinity between the Republican/Catholic movement in the north and freedom struggles elsewhere. To this day you see bright, and sometimes beautiful, murals depicting struggles across the globe. That's one huge advantage the Republican movement had over the Loyalist/Unionists ideologically and from a propaganda POV. The Loyalists aligned with Israel, but also, on occasion, with white supremacists in South Africa. Their ideology doesn't or didn't have fashionable analogues outside this island, regardless of any legitimacy their POV may have had or still has.I loved the movie The Commitments! Great soundtrack, too.
An Irish-American friend of mine who visited Ulster in the late Eighties was astonished by the number of pictures of Nelson Mandela everywhere. As a symbol of proud resistance to oppressive authority, he was omnipresent.
Is it true that no drinks are sold in Dublin on Good Friday? Does that include the hotel bar?
Yeah in the Republic Of Ireland no drinks are allowed be sold on Good Friday with a few exceptions.
The odd, sad thing is that because of the drinking ban people buy excessive amounts of booze the previous day. The most drunk you'll ever see many people is on Good Friday. It's a stupid law in lots of ways.However, the legislation does contain some exemptions. Perhaps the best known of which is the provision allowing the sale of alcohol to those travelling by sea, air or ferry.
In addition, people can be sold pints while attending a licensed theatre, the National Concert Hall or a national cultural institution, as defined in the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997.
Those attending a race meeting or a greyhound trial can be supplied with alcohol, as can those staying in licensed premises, such as a hotel, as long as it is with a meal.
It can also be sold in a military canteen and a club can be provided with authorisation to sell alcohol for six hours on Good Friday.
Well, at least. The trip is a birthday present for my Dad, starting on Friday. Stores are open if I understand the article right?Those attending a race meeting or a greyhound trial can be supplied with alcohol, as can those staying in licensed premises, such as a hotel, as long as it is with a meal.
Most stores should be open but you won't be able to buy booze. If you guys want to drink on Good Friday get something in the duty free or whatnot, although hotels are allowed provide alcoholic beverages I've no idea if they do so universally, might be worth giving his hotel a call if it's an issue.
Yeah I got it they won't sell booze in stores, just asking about clothes and such. We'll probably spend the night at the hotel. (I dropped them a note about their drinks selection.) One more question: Do you know where to find Shandon hats in Dublin?
I'm fairly sure most stores observe standard opening hours on Friday. There's definitely a store in the airport that sells those hats, but in the city centre I'd try Carroll's (various locations, you won't miss them), or The Kilkenny Shop on Nassau St. right near the Molly Malone statue. I believe Nassau St has several stores that might carry them. I'll try to think of some other places. By the way, if you guys fancy meeting for a pint on Saturday afternoon at some stage I can PM you my number, I'll be in the city anyway as I'm playing a gig that night.
I need to reread this thread. I am starting to make plans for an end of June & early July trip to Ireland at long last.
Cool! Hope you guys can get together.
Jim you can just PM me any queries or even just call me but I hope you have a nice trip whatever you decide.
Jim, also check out www.thegatheringireland.com for when you're planning what to do/see. It's part of a tourism drive in 2013 so there'll be unique events on all year round some of which you might find interesting.
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