Slow DublinBy Anto Howard. Hardie Grant, €14.95
There are few pleasures sweeter than the sneaky citybreak. But if the ecoguilt and wallet strain prove too much to bear, there’s plenty to find in Dublin. This book is not about the hip restaurants and bars or the swirl of the city at midnight: it celebrates what local charm, tradition and sensory stimulation the city manages to retain. But surely that Dublin is dead and gone? Not a bit of it, according to these pages, and it’s hard to fault their arguments.
Most of the advice involves standing or sitting still and simply appreciating what’s in the immediate environment, with a barrel-load of quotes from such delightfully disreputable characters as Brendan Behan to show you the wisdom of your ways – there is always time for another pint or a “quick” chat.
This guide looks at Dublin with fresh eyes and a historical sensibility. It has little to say in favour of the Guinness Storehouse, for example, other than that the view from the Gravity bar is magnificent, but it has plenty of time for the old flaking plant – the white, windowless and defunct sliver of modernism that dominates the quays en route to Heuston Station.
Nearby is an old diving bell, not a piece of public art but a remnant of a 90-ton monster that was plunged into the waters of the Liffey loaded with men who built the North Wall extension in 1869. (It’s not all Guinness herein, although the ode to the smell and flavour of a pint on page 88 will have you gasping for a creamy dreamy no matter the time of day.)
There are listings and recommendation aplenty, although you’ll have to work a little bit harder to find them.
As the writing is vibrant, humorous and beguiling, the extra time is rewarded in bucketfuls. This is a book worth spending some time to get to know, just like the city that inspired it.
- lmackin@irishtimes.com