Short break. Why is Dublin so bad

[IfIShouldFallFromGraceWithGod]

I'm looking for a city break and Dublin was on my list. It scored highly on the worst holiday thread, can anyone tell me why

Although sadly a lot of cities have homeless people sleeping on the streets, not all do. I hate the comment that implies that it is inevitable that in any city you will see people sleeping in the streets.

@duchess I have been to Auckland, it is a relatively boring City , New Zealand though is beautiful. Anyone that goes to NZ for Auckland is crazy.

Galway has just been named the 4th best city in the world by Lonely Planet. It's in the West of Ireland and it's absolutely AMAZING!

Also to the question of what I would like to see in Dublin -

• A thorough in depth museum about the famine/genocide of the Irish people. I know there is the famine exhibitions about it, but I would want something more in-depth. The Irish equivalent of the Topographie Museum in Berlin that is very thorough.
• A decent museum explaining the Irish "troubles" that again goes into depth about it.

People want something unique about a place. Dublin seems to be selling Guinness and pubs as its unique point, but not delivering very well. But there are other unique points it could sell.
And don't expect people to do lots of research. Have leaflets in hotels and b and bs about what you want to promote and encourage reviews on trip advisor.

Dublin is good but I agree not much to do there! We did a road trip from Cork, Kinsale, Killarney, Galway and Dublin over a long weekend for St Patrick's day and without all the other places to go I would have been bored out of my mind just in Dublin.

I hate the fact there's so much homelessness in the world, visible rough sleeping or otherwise. In cities and towns.
And regardless of whether you've seen it or not, Jenny.

A decent museum explaining the Irish "troubles" that again goes into depth about it.

Why would Dublin have a museum about the troubles when it happened in Northern Ireland? Jesus wept...

As for the famine, did you go to the EPIC museum and the Jeanie Johnston?

We just got back from Ireland last week, spending three days in Dublin before heading out to the rest of the country. When visiting the Skellig Chocolate Factory, a gal told us that the politicians had tried to make Dublin into a "European city" and now it's no longer Irish and therefore ruined. YMMV

Also Jenny you still haven't answered a PP's question about what elevates cities like Manchester and Glasgow so far above Dublin? What is so unique and historic about Manchester? What museums are there that meet your requirements? Unless you support one of their football clubs I can't think what's so special (no offense to people from there, I like the place but I'm wondering why Dublin is being viewed so terribly in comparison).

Under no circumstances am I having a go at the OP as she posted a genuine question and has had a number of genuine replies but I really think this thread has taken a turn down "Bash the Irish" lane and MN had better keep an eye on this or it could turn really nasty, very quickly

Well said. I actually hid the thread at one point because I felt it would go down the usual lane.
MNHQ unfortunately doesn't always act quickly enough on such threads.

Is our capital city perfect? No. Is any capital city perfect? No.
OP, do your research, don't rely on lazy generalisations which could just as easily apply to plenty of UK / any other cities, and if you do visit, Dublin has lots to offer.

@sakura The troubles in terms of what led to Ireland being split in two. That is part of Ireland's history as well. How did that affect Ireland? What is Ireland's views about N Ireland? I don't know anything about the impact of that split. That would really interest me.
I am well aware that the IRA etc is N Ireland so need to mock me. But we never hear anything about any impact on Ireland of this split. Surely it must have affected families with members in N Ireland and Ireland?

No I did not go to the EPIC museum as it is about Irish emigration. I understand the genocide is part of that, but only part. I assume EPIC is much wider than that. Like many people who are not Irish I have ancestors that left Ireland during the famine/genocide and would like to know more in depth about it. I have read about it so I am not interested in a very basic exhibition though.

Front page of EPIC website says -

"You won’t find leprechauns or pots of gold here, but you’ll discover that what it means to be Irish expands far beyond the borders of Ireland through the stories of Irish emigrants who became scientists, politicians, poets, artists and even outlaws all over the world. Discover Ireland from the outside in and find out why saying “I’m Irish” is one of the biggest conversation starters, no matter where you are. "

Honestly that sounds boring, And as for anyone suggesting the leprechaun museum - why would I want to go to a museum selling kitsch tourist ideas?
There are very unique things about Ireland, tell us about them.

Also loved all the neolothic sites in Ireland, there are tons of impressive ones. Maybe an exhibition/museum about them?

@sakura Glasgow is an amazing City. I was blown away with it and it is one of the few places I have visited and come away thinking I would like to move there.

Jenny, the major events in Irish history which led to partition were the Easter Rising and the War of Independence, which you can learn all about in Dublin. Especially in recent years due to the centenary of 1916. You really should have gone to Kilmainham Gaol, it's actually very easy to get to.

The conflict in NI didn't really affect us much down here, with the exception of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in 1974. We were aware of it and obviously wanted peace, but it didn't impact on our day to day lives.

The EPIC museum has a section on the famine, and there's the Jeanie Johnston. But tbh I dont know why I'm bothering at this point, because you say Dublin should have 'x', and when someone points out that it does (or in the case of the troubles, there's no reason why it should), you complain that it's not good enough and make more ignorant comments.

You clearly have a major chip on your shoulder about Dublin, and I can't be arsed trying to figure out why.

Jenny! Step away from Google!
You're making no sense.

Just maybe, you're not best placed to comment on the EPIC museum etc as you've not been there, and know very little about Irish history.

Perhaps you could actually read a full book rather than a museum's 'front page'? You need some solid contextual knowledge.

Statements like "We never hear about..." are strange! People do hear about stuff if they read, and don't declare it 'honestly boring' after 30 seconds on the internet.😃

I’m totally fine with all these people not wanting to come! I work near TCD and I’m sick to death of tourists, frankly

The troubles in terms of what led to Ireland being split in two. That is part of Ireland's history as well. How did that affect Ireland? What is Ireland's views about N Ireland? I don't know anything about the impact of that split. That would really interest me.
@jennymanara welll maybe look up British history.There might be a little clue in there.

Jenny you're talking shite. A museum about ancient sites when the world heritage Boyne valley itself is 40 mins from Dublin EPIC recently voted one if the world's best museums. The Leprechaun Museum is actually great for social history and is not actually about imaginary little people. Newly opened Literature museum. You're being too lazy to actually go to any of these places but have an almighty opinion in them all.

PierreBezukov I can't believe that anyone who lived in Dublin could claim it doesn't have a particularly nice coastline. Did you fall asleep on the Dart every time you went to Bray? Did you ever take the Vico Road?

This bread is utterly bizarre.

Ehem, thread...

Jennymanara

If you want in depth history then read a few books. There are plenty on the Famine, on emigration (the two are inextricably linked even to the 1960s) on Irish nationalism, rebellions, the War of Independence and Partition and history since then. The Irish Times is online. You can pay to subscribe and get a good feel for contemporary Irish politics and culture and preoccupations. Or you could just browse free articles until you hit your monthly limit. It's an excellent newspaper.

If you want a pretty good look at the Famine and emigration presented to people who may or may not know much about Irish history in a way that is not going to incite rioting, go to the EPIC museum.

If you want Neolithic history, the National Archaeology Museum is the place for you. Lots of artefacts, lots of useful blurb and guides...

An earlier poster advised that you step away from Google. Maybe take that advice. Or maybe try to keep reading even when your 'boring' klaxon sounds.

'Dublin is crap because it doesn't have x, y and z'

'Actually, it does...'

'Yeah, well, I know they do, but I didn't go to visit them because they didn't look very interesting, but I know they're crap even though I haven't been'

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say this is a Irish bashing thread. That's chip on shoulder territory. (Well definitely is chip of shoulder, with overtly defensive comments involving the word English or England.)

People don't like it to visit- so what? I can understand why someone might like it.

There are more interesting and beautiful cities - get over it!! Dublin is still worth the visit for many. Lots of people love it. If you stick to the city centre for a few days it's hardly crazy to imagine how it get a bit tedious and the expense annoying.

I've been to cities I've not particularly love, and wouldn't suggest it to anyone. Other people seem to love them.

Glasgow, been mentioned on this thread, nothing interested me when I had free time there and was more than happy to return to Dublin.

Belfast, once I'd gone to the titanic and a tour I was done. Had some nice food there, but nothing to make me thrilled enough to go back.

Your experiences shape how you feel about a place. I hated Amsterdam - endlessly harassed by men as a lone female. Anne Frank's house, Van Gough museum all amazing to visit but being groped and followed around really took any goodness from.

Brussels = dull as dish water. Possibly duller. Might even actively tell people not to go there if someone started a thread asking about it.

Cork has been mentioned a few times. Cork city held nothing for me. Everything I ate was poor quality. Utterly different to the rest of Cork; loved west cork wouldn't bother my barny going back to Cork city though - probably tell anyone who asked not to bother with it.

@PopcornAndWine my husband and I are coming to Dublin in December. Would you be so kind as to recommend some good pubs for live music and nice food?

I'm a bit worried now I've read this thread!!

I went to Dublin years ago for a 2 night stay with my bf at the time. We had a great time! We stayed in a nice city centre hotel, did the tour bus, had a nice dinner, went to guinness factory, went to pubs and watched live music. We definitely said we should have booked 3 nights not 2 and we had a lot of fun.
I do remember it being expensive but just thought that normal going to a European city. Although I did have Irish stew in a pub and thought it was crap! Sorry!