DUBLIN CITY

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I wanted my very first photo diary to document a place which is very close to my heart. I was fortunate enough to call a city like Dublin my home for the last two years.  Ever since I left and moved back to my homeland, Malta, there hasn’t been a day where I didn’t miss everything I love about Dublin. I do plan on moving back in a year or so once I get some stability in my life, so it’s not really the end after all.

I guess this has more to do with accepting the reality for a short while. What can I say, Ireland is a magical place that has truly touched my heart in more ways than one. I obviously took loads of photos of all the places I’ve been to while I was living there, but I’m going to divide them in different posts instead of throwing them all in one post. This post is specifically dedicated to Dublin City and the people of Dublin.

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The city that was once home to some of our greatest literary artists such as Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett and James Joyce, is one of many wonders. Art, literature and reminders of significant events in Irish history are everywhere; you don’t have to restrict yourself to finding any of that solely at an exhibition or a museum. You can easily roam around the streets and still be able to recall historical events and truly understand how powerful Dublin’s literary spirit is through the sculptures and murals found on some random box or building.

In Dublin city, you are able to enjoy the little pleasures in life. A simple stroll through Stephen’s Green, the live music coming from a pub somewhere along the cobbled streets of the Temple Bar area, watching the sunset by the River Liffey or simply stopping for a coffee at one of the many places there is to choose from. Everything is so relatively close to one another. You can take different routes and you will still end up in the same place you need to go to. Simply put, Dublin is a hub of activity. No matter where you are, there’s always something to do. You might even bump into familiar faces without actually having made any plans to meet up.

It won’t take long for you to realise that Dubliners are storytellers; friends, shop assistants, waiters, even taxi drivers, they see you. They connect with you. They want to relate to you. You can meet someone for the very first time in your life and feel like you’ve known them for years. I believe that the Dublin lingo is one of the factors that creates incredible bonds between the people over there. Words like  ‘story, gaf, whopper, sesh, gas, deadly, yoke, pox, me aul flower, scarlet for ya, moth … it almost feels like these people have their own secret language, yet they are still able to connect with anyone in the world. Dublin is a place where you are able to go out at 21.00pm and not be home before 5.00am. Even at that time, people still want to connect with you. You can find friends still having a chat in someone’s yard whilst having a smoke until the kettle boils. From all the countries I visited, I’m convinced you can only experience something like this in Dublin.

Dublin celebrates life. It is a place that resonates with the past through the enriching history and literary spirit. A city that allows you to be a free spirit and seize the day. You meet different characters from all walks of life, yet diversity blends in so nicely with the energy of the city. You are made to feel part of this place.

In the words of James Joyce; “When I die Dublin will be written in my heart”