Reviews
Judge and Jury's
Matt Westcott finds there's a lot more to
Dublin than Guinness
DER'S more to Oirland
dan dis," said Alan
Partridge. As cringeworthy
as the failed TV host's
comment was, he was, in fact,
correct.
Well, partly.
If he had said der's more to
Oirland dan Guinness' he would
have been completely correct as
I discovered on a recent trip to
Dublin.
So big is the lure of the black
stuff that is very easy to just secrete
yourself into one of the
plethora of pubs in the city and
never leave.
I know because I have done it
before.
However, if you did you would
miss a great deal of what this
historic city is all about.
So while some lubrication of
the alcoholic kind was in order
at various points during our
stay, my wife and I made sure
that we imbibed as much local
culture as we could as well.
Staying at the Jury's Inn Custom
House, which sits on the
banks of the River Liffey, enabled
us to walk wherever we
wanted within the city during
our three-day stay.
For someone who protests at
paying out for taxis, this suited
me down to the ground.
The hotel itself looks relatively
new and the decor in the
rooms reflects that. The staff
were friendly and, although
nearly all were of foreign extraction,
their command of English
was so good that it didn't
pose a problem when the usual
tourist questions were thrown
at them.
There are a couple of restaurants
to choose from, but while
went down for breakfast each
morning, we preferred to eat out
at night, such is the array of
eateries available just a stone's
throw away. And I defy anyone,
even fussy eaters such as myself,
not to find something to
tempt their palette.
During our time in Dublin we
ate traditionally - bangers and
mash and steak and chips, continentally
- at a half-Mexican,
half-Italian restaurant, and frugally
- at a cheap, but very
cheerful pasta outlet.
Had we felt in the mood we
could have gone Thai, Indian,
Vietnamese or any other persuasion
you could think of.
Many are located in the Temple
Bar area of the city and, presumably
because of this, their
prices appear to carry a
premium.
While there, we managed to
take in The National Gallery of
Ireland, Trinity College, the
city's extensive shopping centres,
walked the extent of the
river, saw the seat of the Irish
government and, at one point
even the lawcourts, where we
sat in on an infamous murder
trial that was making the headlines
at the time.
All of that involved walking
pretty much every street the
city had to offer, but there were
many other attractions and
places of interest we simply did
not have time to call in on.
As I said, Dublin has so much
more to offer than just the black
stuff. Just make sure you conserve
enough time and energy to
enjoy a drop or two as well.
TRAVELFACTS
■ Rates at the Jury's Inn,
Custom House in Dublin start
from 95 euros per room per
night and rooms can
accommodate up to three
adults or two adults and two
children.
These are room-only rates
Breakfast costs 13 euros for
full Irish breakfast and ten
euros for continental
breakfast.
To book call Central
Reservations on 0870-4100-800
or visit www.jurysinns.com
For visitor information on
Dublin go to
www.visitdublin.com/
9:23am Saturday 26th April 2008
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