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              DUBLIN TRAVEL GUIDE


Dublin  is the thriving capital city of the Republic of Ireland. It is noteworthy in terms of
its vibrancy, its nightlife and its tourist attractions, and is the most popular entry point
for international visitors to Ireland. As a city it is disproportionately large for the size of
the country ; well over a quarter of the Republic's population lives in the metropolitan
area. The center is, however, relatively small and can be navigated by foot, with most
of the population living in sprawling suburbs.

Dublin is split into two halves by the River Liffey. On the North side of the Liffey is
O'Connell Street - the main thoroughfare which is intersected by numerous
shopping streets, including Henry Street and Talbot Street. On the south side is St.
Stephen's Green, Grafton Street (shopping), Trinity College, Christ Church and St.
Patrick's Cathedrals, and many other attractions.

Dublin postcodes range from Dublin 1 to Dublin 24; odd numbers are given north of
the river Liffey, while even numbers are given to areas south of the river, As a general
rule the lower the postcode the closer you are to the city center. This may become
slightly distorted as you head into the suburbs but generally follow the north south
divide.

A good online map and journey planner is available from the Dublin Transportation
Office. If you zoom in on the map you can get aerial photography of the city.

The Tourist Board web site is also worth visiting. They have a good mapping section
(powered by Google Maps) which shows the locations of the main city attractions,
hotels, etc.

If you're already in the city, the main tourist office, located in St Andrews Church just
off Grafton St in the city center, is a good place to start for information. You can book
accommodation and tours there as well as find general information on where to go
and what to do.

Dublin is split into two halves by the River Liffey. On the North side of the Liffey is
O'Connell Street - the main thoroughfare which is intersected by numerous
shopping streets, including Henry Street and Talbot Street. On the south side is St.
Stephen's Green, Grafton Street (shopping), Trinity College, Christ Church and St.
Patrick's Cathedrals, and many other attractions.

Dublin postcodes range from Dublin 1 to Dublin 24; odd numbers are given north of
the river Liffey, while even numbers are given to areas south of the river, As a general
rule the lower the postcode the closer you are to the city center. This may become
slightly distorted as you head into the suburbs but generally follow the north south
divide.

A good online map and journey planner is available from the Dublin Transportation
Office. If you zoom in on the map you can get aerial photography of the city.

The Tourist Board web site is also worth visiting. They have a good mapping section
(powered by Google Maps) which shows the locations of the main city attractions,
hotels, etc.

If you're already in the city, the main tourist office, located in St Andrews Church just
off Grafton St in the city center, is a good place to start for information. You can book
accommodation and tours there as well as find general information on where to go
and what to do.



               GENERAL INFORMATION


Province                     Leinster
County                        County Dublin
Dialling code            +353 1
Postal district(s)       D1-24, D6W
Area                            114.99 km²  



                      PLACE TO VISIT


Áras an Uachtaráin - formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the official residence of
the President of Ireland. It is located in the Phoenix Park on the Northside of Dublin.
The original house was designed by park ranger and amateur architect, Nathaniel
Clements in the mid eighteenth century. It was bought by the administration of the
British Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to become his summer residence in the 1780s.

Ashtown Castle - is a fortified house in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. It was
found hidden within the walls of a much larger and more recent building that was
being used by the Papal Nuncio until 1978. At that time, the more recent and larger
building was deemed structurally irreparable due to dry rot. But as that was being
demolished, Ashtown castle was discovered. It has now been restored and forms
part of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre.

The Casino at Marino - located in Marino, Dublin, Ireland was designed by
Scottish architect Sir William Chambers for James Caulfeild, the 1st Earl of
Charlemont, starting in the late 1750s and finishing around 1775. It is a small and
perfect example of Neo-Classical architecture, situated in the gardens of Marino
House. Although proud of the design, it is notable that due to his constant
employment in England, Chambers was never able to visit the completed building.

Castleknock Castle - is a ruined Norman castle in the grounds of
Castleknock College in Castleknock, Dublin, Ireland. The Fort of Cnucha has a long
history and is steeped with legend. The current castle ruins have a history dating
back to the Tyrrells of the 12th century, who were the first Barons of Castleknock. The
first Baron, Hugh Tyrrell chose this site. What remains of the ruins now is part of a
polygonal shaped keep. This is surrounded by many trees, so from a distance the
ruins are seldom visible except in winter.

Christ Church Cathedral - in Dublin is the elder of the city's two mediæval
cathedrals, the other being St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is oficially claimed as the seat
(cathera) of both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin.
In practice it has been the cathedra of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin,
since the creation of the Church of Ireland in the Middle Ages. Though nominally
claimed as his cathedral, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin uses a church
elsewhere, St Mary's in Malborough Street in Dublin, as his pro-cathedral

Drimnagh Castle - is a Norman castle located in Drimnagh, a suburb of
Dublin, Ireland. It is the only remaining castle in Ireland with a flooded moat around
it. Drimnagh Castle Christian Brothers Schools located next to the site of the castle.

Dublin Castle - off Dame Street, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, is a major Irish
governmental complex, formerly the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922.
Most of the complex dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the
site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland.

Dublin Ghost Bus Tour - is a unique night-time bus tour through Dublin,
Ireland taking in several supposedly haunted places and taking in a lot of the spooky
history of the city. The total duration of the tour is approximately 2 hours and 15
minutes.

Dublin Zoo - in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland is the largest zoo in Ireland and
one of Dublin's most popular attractions. Founded in 1830 it is the fourth oldest
scientific zoo in the world, after Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, London Zoo, and
the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The zoo receives over 500,000 visitors per year. The
zoo describes its role as conservation, study, and education. Its stated mission is to
“work in partnership with zoos world-wide to make a significant contribution to the
conservation of the endangered species on Earth".

The Dunsink Observatory - is an astronomical observatory established in
approximately 1785 near the city of Dublin, Ireland. Its most famous director was
William Rowan Hamilton, who, amongst other things, discovered quaternions, the
first non-commutative algebra, while strolling from the observatory into the centre of
the city with some friends and his wife. He is also renowned for his Hamiltonian
formulation of dynamics. In the late 20th century, the city encroached ever more on
the observatory, which compromised the seeing. The telescope then, no longer state
of the art, was used mainly for public 'open nights'.

Farmleigh - was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness brewing
family. It is situated on extensive private gardens of 31 hectares (78 acres) to the
north-west of the Phoenix Park. It was purchased from the Guinness family in 1999
for €29.2m and, following extensive renovation by the Office of Public Works, is now
the official Irish State Guest House. It was opened to the public in July 2001.

The Garden of Remembrance - is an Irish memorial garden, created in
Dublin dedicated to the memory of all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish
Freedom

Glasnevin Cemetery - also known as Prospect Cemetery, is the main
Catholic cemetery in Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. Established in the
middle of the 19th century to replace the old burial grounds within the city, Glasnevin
Cemetery contains many historically interesting monuments as well as the graves of
many of Ireland's most prominent national figures - Charles Stewart Parnell and
Daniel O'Connell as well as Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith, Maude
Gonne, Kevin Barry, Sir Roger Casement and Constance Markiewicz a generation
later.

Grand Canal - is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in
the east of the country, with the River Shannon in the west, the two canals nearly
encircling Dublin's inner city. Its sister canal on the Northside of Dublin is the Royal
Canal. In 1960 the last cargo boat passed through the Grand Canal.

The Guinness Storehouse - is located in the heart of the St. James's Gate
Brewery in Dublin, and is Ireland’s No. 1 international visitor attraction. Since
opening in November 2000, Guinness Storehouse has attracted over 4 million
visitors from every corner of the globe. The Storehouse is laid out over seven floors
surrounding a glass atrium taking the shape of a pint of Guinness.

Irish National Botanic Gardens - are located in Glasnevin, 5 km north-
west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. The gardens were founded in 1795 by the Royal
Dublin Society and have grown to hold 20,000 living plants and many millions of
dried plant specimens, contained in gardens that include architecturally notable
greenhouses.

Merrion Square - is situated on the south side of Dublin city centre and is
considered one of the city's finest Georgian squares. The square was laid out after
1762 and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. Several notable
buildings face on to the square, including Leinster House (seat of the Irish
parliament), the Natural History building of the National Museum of Ireland, the
National Maternity Hospital and the National Gallery of Ireland. The Irish Red Cross
and the Football Association of Ireland have their headquarters on the square.

Phoenix Park - is a large park located 3 km to the north west of Dublin city
centre in Ireland. It measures 712 hectares (1752 acres), with a walled
circumference of 16 km that contains large areas of grassland and tree-lined
avenues. The park is home to a herd of wild Fallow deer. The name is a corruption of
the Irish fionn uisce meaning "clear water

St. Doulagh's Church - is situated approximately 6 miles from Dublin city,
just north of the hamlet of Balgriffin, and is the oldest stone-roofed church still in use
in Ireland.

The oldest part of the church as it stands is medieval, dating from the 12th century,
and believed to have been home to a small monastic settlement. However,
according to studies on the site, Christian activity here dates back to the time of St.
Patrick. The building transferred to the new State church, the Church of Ireland,
following Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy and changes under subsequent monarchs,
and remains in that denomination. It is now one of the two churches of the United
Parishes of Malahide, Portmarnock and St. Doulagh's.

St. Stephen's Green - is an inner-city public park in Dublin, Ireland. The park
is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of Grafton Street. The
park is rectangular, surrounded by streets that once formed major traffic arteries
through Dublin city centre, although traffic management changes implemented in
2004 have greatly reduced the volume of traffic.

Swords Castle - was built as the manorial residence of the Archbishops of
Dublin around 1200 or a little later in Swords, just north of Dublin. It was never strong
in the military sense, but covers a large pentagonal walled area of nearly 1.5 acres
(6,000 m²) with a tower on the north, probably the Constable's residence, and an
impressive gateway complex on the south. The warder may have occupied the
quarters to the left of the gate, while to the right was the janitor's room with the
priest's room overhead. The adjoining chapel, built in the late thirteenth century, was
probably used as the Archbishop's private oratory.

Temple Bar - is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin,
Ireland. Unlike the areas surrounding it, Temple Bar has preserved its medieval
street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets. It is Dublin's cultural quarter and
has a lively nightlife that is popular with tourists. Temple Bar is in the postcode
Dublin 2 (D2), and has an estimated population of 3,000.


                     HOW TO REACH


By plane - Dublin is served by a single terminal airport approximately 10km north
of the city; an extension to this terminal opened in October 2007. The existing
terminal can be very crowded and passengers can expect crowds and queues,
especially for security control when departing. A new terminal has been long-
debated and is scheduled to open in 2010.

A full list of airlines flying to Dublin, along with timetables, can be found on the Dublin
Airport website.

By train - The Luas (a tram/light-rail system) runs frequently and reliably. There
are two lines - red, running from Connolly train station to the suburb of Tallagh, and
green, running from St Stephens Green to Sandyford. The lines do not connect - the
distance between Abbey Street on the red line and St Stephens Green, that start of
the green line, is about 15 minutes walking.

The DART is Dublin's suburban commuter train service.

Dublin has two main train stations: Heuston, in the west of the city center, serves
much of the west and south of the country including an hourly service to Cork while
Connolly in the north-east center of the city serves the south east and east coast,
Belfast, Sligo in the north-west and suburban commuter services including the
Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system. The 2 main stations are connected by
bus and Luas routes. Visit the website for all train services local and intercity.

Irish Rail has one of the youngest train fleets in Europe and the Cork train in
particular is extremely comfortable. Some of the older trains (would you believe, from
the 1950s) are still used but will be phased out completely in 2008 with the arrival of
a massive fleet of brand new trains built in Japan and South Korea.

By bus - A single bus station, Busáras, serves the entire country and is next to
Connolly train station, a 10-minute walk from O'Connell Street. There is an extensive
bus service run by Bus Eireann which covers destinations country wide, as well as
Britain and Eurolines services to Continental Europe. There are luggage lockers in
the basement.

There are however a number of private bus companies operating out of the city
center. Kavanaghs has a good service to Limerick and Waterford. Citylink coaches
has a good price to Galway and the West.

By boat - Dublin Port has several passenger ferry services to Wales and
England, but more popular is the suburban port of Dún Laoghaire 10km south of
Dublin city. The port of Dún Laoghaire is serviced by the DART.