Dublin Now

Dublin Now

A lot of visitors come to Dublin to experience that which never changes. Tradition is taken as seriously in the capital city as it is in the rest of this ancient isle. The castlelike churches, the 100-year-old drinking holes, the intact Georgian Squares are all there to be seen and wondered at, their history written in every worn brick and lose roof tile.

But a wind of change has blown over the place in the last decade or so and it goes by that newspaper sound bite, the Celtic Tiger. So sudden and powerful has that change been that Dublin, "the dirty old town," Joyce's center of "paralysis," has rapidly become one of the most trendy, cutting-edge cities in Europe.

Outdoor cafés were once as rare in rainy Dublin as jobs. But now you can't swing the proverbial hip cat without knocking over a row of wicker chairs and a table topped with Pellegrino and crostini.

In fact, large quality awnings and powerful outdoor gas heaters have made many of these spots habitable year-round. They have been a big hit since a new law banned all smoking in pubs and restaurants, but not outside.

The new LUAS trams have been a big hit with locals and visitors alike, and design aficionados are dying to see the polished silver, bulletlike trains gliding past them through the streets.

For a long time during the 1990s Dublin nightlife was owned by dance music. Every club and pub thumped to the beat of drum-'n-bass or shook to the bang of heavy techno.

Things have slowed down a bit over the last few years, and now jazz and world music are becoming the sounds to get down to. Live music is also making a big comeback, with rock bands headlining nightly in small and large venues throughout the city.

St. Patrick's day was once a dirty word in Dublin, evoking visions of hordes of drunken fools and a cheap, uninspired parade passing by in the rain. But for the last few years the whole week around March 17th has been turned into a fireworks-strewn, event-packed extravaganza with music, dancing, and, of course, a big parade at the center of it all.

You know the millennium has arrived in Dublin when you see the newly installed James Joyce Bridge, designed by world-renowned artist, engineer, and architect Dr. Santiago Calatravo. This gleaming modern structure stands in front of the house where Joyce set his most famous short story, "The Dead."