Weekend Break: Pieces of Dublin

I think the small parts of Dublin are endlessly interesting, even if the capital as a whole is not a show-stopping beauty. Most of the city centre hasn’t been over-gentrified or polished round the edges so it retains a genuine, raffish Georgian ambience.

With its ornate doorways,  brass knockers, old gas lamp-holders and boot-scrapers it makes me feel closer to the 18th century than the 21st. There are still pockets of the city that are lost to the past and haven’t changed in centuries.

Doorway near Kildare Street, Dublin:

Here are some bits and pieces of Dublin that have caught my eye over the years.

Pub frontages, city centre:

Ghostly Henrietta Street is my favourite Dublin street and one of the city’s best-kept secrets. It hasn’t changed much at all since Georgian times:

You might recognise Henrietta Street from the various costume dramas that have been filmed there, including an Anne Hathaway thingy. It’s run-down and atmospheric: there are few signs of the 21st century and the lack of gentrification does give a time-travel vibe.

 Dublin, lost in time:

After Henrietta Street, North Great George’s Street is my second favourite intact Georgian area. Better kept than Henrietta, it’s also used for filming now and again, and is stuck in its own elegant time warp:

Georgian Mount Street is also occasionally used for filming of period dramas:

Handsome doors, city centre:

The Liffey:

The Long Hall pub, Dublin:

Grand Canal swan:

Georgian facades in Ely Place, Dublin:

Dublin knockers:

Dublin bar:

Smithfield Horse Market:

Georgian riverscapes:

On the Liffey:

View of the Liffey at sunset:

Pearse Square,  a beautiful intact garden square from 1839:

Doors near Grafton Street, Dublin:

Dublin Castle, early morning:

Keyhole, Dublin city centre:

The Ha’penny Bridge:

Portobello doors, Dublin:

The mandarin ducks of Phoenix Park, Dublin:

Grand Canal, Dublin:

Doors near Leeson Street, Dublin:

A city of knobs and knockers:

= Dublin