dublin
At the right moment, with the right people, Dublin feels like a mood as much as a metropolis. It’ s a small city center of around 600,000 people, it’ s low-rise and has no metro. But what it lacks in shimmering skyscrapers, it makes up for in spades in its historical layers, kaleidoscopic culture and knack for craic.
That last word is a skeleton key to the city. Craic, pronounced crack, is Irish for fun or conviviality, but means so much more. It’ s about laughter, chats and the electricity in the air when people click.“ What’ s the craic?” is a common greeting in the streets of Dublin. A night out, or a person, might be‘ great craic’. It’ s not something that can be staged or planned. It’ s‘ had’ rather than done— over pints, on a hike, after a sea swim or a spontaneous bit of banter with a tour guide. And it’ s pure Dublin.
The Irish capital is similarly slippery to define. It’ s a time-tangled mix of quays, meandering streets and alleys, redbrick
Georgian squares, Victorian terraces, glassy European HQs for tech giants like Google and Meta, and a surprisingly long, curving coastline. Its lack of a grid can feel confusing, but the River Liffey provides some orientation, slicing the city into north and south. Neighborhoods like The Liberties( home to the Guinness Storehouse) or Stoneybatter radiate outward from there. It’ s all very walkable, too.
Set pieces like Trinity College and St. Patrick’ s Cathedral are must-sees, but Dubliners are also fiercely proud of their living culture— from flourishing food and drink scenes to authors like Paul Murray and the music not just of U2 and Sinéad O’ Connor, but young artists like Sorcha Richardson, Sprints and Lankum. St. Patrick’ s Festival leans right into this— a cultural juggernaut sprawling over several days around March 17. But smaller gigs and get-togethers can be just as much, well, craic.
From left: Trinity College Library; St. Patrick’ s Cathedral; the Oscar Wilde monument in Merrion Square Previous pages from left: The Oliver St. John Gogarty pub in the Temple Bar area; a painting depicting Irish coffee images: alamy; shutterstock; awl images
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