DUBLIN
THE GEOGRAPHY OF HAPPINESS PROJECT
Watch out for the OFFICIAL resource soon on the net and coming to a TV set near you...
Funded by GA and RGS (with IBG) and filmed and edited using BBC facilities and equipment
The Geography of Happiness Site is COMING SOON...
In the meantime:
Some of the clips now uploaded to the new GEOGRAPHY OF HAPPINESS VIDEO BLOG
Well done to all involved in the editing of the videos.
Also check out the PBWIKI: thanks to David Rayner for setting this up
In February 2006, a group of teachers attended a workshop at 21CC at BBC Broadcasting House. The session was facilitated by Dan Raven Ellison, and involved teachers from a range of schools. At the end of the session, over a few pints, a suggestion was made by Dan to obtain funding for a group of teachers to test the happiness of Europe. The inspiration was the growth in 'citizen journalism' which is related to the growth in blogging which has occured in the last few years. Funding would pay for budget airlines and accommodation.
I paired up with Simon Renshaw and we decided to go to Dublin: not too far as we both get crammed into airline seats and wouldn't like to get DVT, and it was the European City of Culture in 1991. After months of careful planning... we were all set.
Friday
We flew to Dublin from Nottingham East Midlands Airport by Ryan Air. The previous week had been the one where terrorist alerts were raised to CRITICAL. This meant restrictions on baggage and longer check in times due to extra security precautions. Of course all of these were entirely justified, but it affected our plans a little. Interestingly, we were charged for excess baggage on the way back, but not on the way there. There was also an 85 year old on the plane who was taking her first ever flight on her birthday.
To book a flight by Ryan Air, go to their website. Click the picture below.
To make your flight carbon neutral, go to Click the picture below to find out how much it will cost for your holiday flight this year. Mine was calculated at 78p
Good flight of around 50 minutes. Good views of Rutland Water and East Midlands conurbation, then above the clouds until sightings of Ireland. Approach to Dublin was quick and down into the grey again. On the plane were the first of about 5 hen parties which we saw over the course of the weekend. Each one tended to have themed clothing and in the case of one, identical pink luggage going round the reclaim belt. Others were wearing cowboy hats and fishnet stockings
Bus to the city centre and Hueston Station cost €5 - work going on to improve the M1. Down Lower Gardiner Street, and past our B&B for the weekend. Checked in to our accommodation.
The room to the right of the entrance was ours, and yes that spotlight was really bright through the thin curtains until we asked for it to be turned off. We were next to O' Shea's pub, which had live Irish sessions going on each night, and which we could hear from our room on both nights - quite pleasant compared to traffic noise.
Out for recce. Wandered down to the Liffey at dusk. First sight of the Spire, a Millennium project and one which has divided opinion in the city. Apparently cost £4 million.
The spire is 120 metres high, and made of steel. It tapers to a point, and has quite a few nicknames given to it by the residents. I also quite like it.
Spire of Dublin (after starting off as the Monument of Light, as referred to in the Lonely Planet Guide). Generally called 'the Spike', but also 'Bertie's Pole' (after Bertie Ahern), the 'Spire in the Mire' and the 'Stilletto in the Ghetto' by Dublin's inhabitants, who obviously hold it and all the other city's statues in the highest regard. It's 120m high with a light on top to warn aircraft and made of shot stainless steel.
(from H2G2 site)
Filmed a few establishing shots before we 'lost the light'. Back to the guest house. Cheerful person on the night desk. "You should go to Galway!" Back out and down to Temple Bar. Lots of stretch limousines with hen parties inside - does marriage make you happy ?
Into La Gondola for a traditional Italian meal... Nice pizza and pasta and a glass of red watching a few dodgy characters through the window. Back out and into pouring rain. Over Ha'Penny bridge, and back up O Connell Street, and needed somewhere to take shelter: discovered the Sackville Lounge which we adopted as our 'local' for the weekend. The Guinness was excellent, plus they had the US PGA on a plasma screen: alcohol, TV and hobbies - do they make you happy ? Lots of happy looking people around... Here's a review of the place from the expat.com website:
Sackville Lounge
A personal favourite of mine, and the only northside pub to make the top 10. It is an oasis amidst the desert of inner-city north Dublin. The only place where you are guaranteed a seat and quick service on a Friday or Saturday night. Pure north Dublin. It looks like it has been transported from the 1950s. The Guinness is exquisite. The bar is tiny, and most nights of the week the clientele consists of men on their own, chatting or watching the television. At weekends the place becomes a little more lively, with an eclectic bunch of drinkers, including actors and groups of middle-aged women out for a session. It seem to be a place for husbands to hang out on Thursday while their wives take advantage of late-night shopping. Fintan, the barman, easily wins the award as Best Dublin Barman. His standards of service are second to none, and he is a laugh. The toasted sandwiches mean you will not have to leave the place all evening. If you fancy a pint on your own or a quiet chat, head for this place. A word of warning for the easily offended - the toilets are disgusting. But who cares?
Never went to the toilet there so I can't comment...
Saturday
Well, what a night's sleep I didn't have... At 4am in the morning, after lots of traffic noise, music, guests coming in, phones ringing etc. a lone trumpeter started playing (quite proficently, but that's not the point) "Singing in the Rain". Went to the window to see that it was indeed raining, and he then wandered along the road for the next half an hour or so playing various other tunes. Breakfast, then loaded up with equipment and out.
Into town via O Connell Street. Drizzle on and off for the morning. Filmed Smiles Dental Spa and The Happy Shop, plus Funland amusements. In the Happy Shop, Simon had an interesting encounter with a chap who said "there's RTE1, there's RTE2 and the rest of them, including the BBC can go @!%$£ themselves..."
To meet up with an old friend of mine (i.e. a friend of mine I've known a long time, rather than a friend who is old) Dr. Conor Kostick, who lectures at Trinity College in Medieval History, although when I first knew him he was doing slightly less lofty things. He has been running a tour of Dublin related to the 1916 Easter Rising along with a couple of friends for the last 10 years. Met up at the Independent Bar along with around 14 other people, including people from Ohio and Trondheim. A very interesting walking tour followed, which covered the build up to the 1916 Easter Rising: a key event in the formation of modern Ireland, and one which as well as being a historical event is full of geographical interest and significance - fate also seems to have played a part. Was very helpful in filling in some of the reasons for particular buildings being where they are. Finished up at the GPO: the General Post Office, where there is a facsimile of the original proclamation. A good trip despite the rain.
For more on this, you could also view Ken Loach's film "The Wind that Shakes the Barley"
Visit the website at http://www.1916rising.com/ for more details on the tour. Recommended if you are in the city
Along to Trinity College after lunch, Book of Kells on display here, and some filming of interviews in a brief period of sunshine.
Rain started to pour down, so it was out along past ChristChurch towards the cathedral and castle. The rain started to come down harder and made filming impossible, so retreated into the CLOCK tavern for some liquid refreshment. The rain kept pouring so it was into the 2 Euro shop (the equivalent of our Poundland) for an umbrella - against our better masculine judgement. And as soon as we'd bought it the rain stopped... Perhaps we should have bought them a few hours earlier. Viking Splash tours going past and roaring in their DUKW.
Out finally to the Guinness Storehouse: the brewery occupies a total of 65 acres, and is the main tourist attractions. Lots of little horse-drawn carriages ferrying people to and from the city centre.
http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/ is a good site to visit.
Up to the Gravity Bar. Managed to get up there without having to pay the entrance in order to film. Thanks to Customer Services !
Check out the virtual tour on the Guinness storehouse website. The Gravity Bar floor has an excellent iPix 360 panorama where you can get a flavour. What you won't hear is the noise of several hundred people excitedly downing their Guinness. There's a great view back towards the city centre and then out towards the (rather grey unfortunately)
Came back along the Liffey. There has been a lot of talk about anti-social behaviour along the new boardwalks, but I have to say that despite some rather dodgy characters I always felt perfectly safe. Back to drop off the filming gear and have a shower then out again to hit the town. Food first, then wandered back to the Sackville Lounge, which was a bit fuller, but the Guinness was just as good...."
Sunday
Up early again, and had a slightly better sleep due to new earplugs. Another long day ahead: over to do some shots of Polish shops: POLSKI SKLEP. There has been a large influx of Polish migrants into Dublin since Poland joined the EU, and they have brought a lot of vibrancy as well as their own culture to the city. Very often while walking around the city, it was the Polish language and accents which were more common than the Irish.
A quick search on FLICKR for Dublin and Polish brought up a whole load of images, including this one, by FLICKR user Mr. Weir. I use FLICKR frequently for classroom use.
As the weather began to show signs of improving we headed towards Grafton Street. We met an American TV producer while filming outside Trinity College, who was looking for chewing tobacco. I have to say that one of the major improvements I noticed while in Ireland was the positive effect of the smoking ban in the pubs. They were all very pleasant to sit in. Lots of literary links too. Are there any famous Irish geographers ?
Wandering up Grafton St. we met a young lady who was standing outside a shop and dancing and shouting "Smile, be happy and smile, be happy and smile, be happy and smile, smile, smile, smile, smile...." (and repeat) while pointing to people. While this might have been self therapy or a genuine effort to make passers-by smile, we were a little unsure of her motives...
Up to St. Stephens Green, where we had a coffee from the nicely named Insomnia coffee company, and had a good encounter with some local teenagers. There was a huge exhibition of People's Art along one side of the park, with a huge array of paintings on the railings of the park. Simon was determined not to give up, despite lots of brush-offs, and finally succeeded after 10 attempts. Filmed, then into large local shopping centre. Lots of street entertainers including some traditional Irish belly dancing and Peruvian pan pipes. Very nice flower stalls at intervals, and paused at McDaids
Does shopping make people happy ? Retail therapy...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4181822,00.html - interesting perspective on whether shopping cheers you up.
Croke Park had hosted the All Ireland Gaelic Football Championship matches. There was a huge crowd filtering out of the stadium and blocking the streets at times, but no sign of any aggression. Lots of people in Maigh Eo and Laois shirts.
Out to the airport and watched the DELAYED signs appearing on the departures board. Thankfully our flight was the only one that wasn't and even got back 15 minutes early. Reading on the flight was Conor and Lorcan's 1916 Easter Rising book, plus Golfing Mongolia.
Back to a wet Leicester and a quick whisky nightcap before bed. A long and tiring, but rewarding trip.
ENQUIRY QUESTIONS
1. Research the views on the Millennium Spire: which Millennium projects have been successes and which have been failures.
2. Which countries have been the source of most of the new migrants into Dublin ?
Does this match the pattern seen in other countries of the EU ?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5273356.stm
3. We asked quite a few people this question and no-one seemed to know the answer:
Why are there more cheese and onion crisps sold in pubs than others ??
4. What have Dublin and a bergschrund got in common ?
More to come...
