Dublin Warts And All            

 This county is the third smallest county in the whole of Ireland yet it's home to one third of the population. Dublin is mostle a flat-land county except along the south of the county where it meets the Wicklow mountains. About half of the county is built upon and the rest is eithe open spase or small farms. The north of the county would have more small farm holding than south Dublin. This is because the south of the county is more valuable than the north in real estate terms.The coastline of Dublin is 112 km long with Dublin Bay in the middle. The River Liffey flows out to Dublin Bay. Dún Laoghaire on the south side and Howth on the north side are the two busiest harbours, Dún Laoghaire is mainly used as a Ferryport while Howth Habour is a ''Working Harbour'' for fishermen.

 

There are many parks in the city and county areas. Marley Park is the busiest park in the South side, while Malahide Castle Park is the most visited in North County Dublin. St. Annes Park in Reheny which is in the North City area is that part of the County's busiest park land. In the City, The Phoenix Park is the main attraction in Dublin City. Dublin Zoo is located here. The park is the largest ''inclosed'' city park in Europe, 1,750 acres. The President Of Ireland lives here along with several ambassadores to Ireland.

 

 

 The City Of Dublin has a population of just over a million people. It's a fairly compact city with most of it's inhabitants living outside the city limits. The city limits are the two canals, the Royal Canal on the North Site and The Grand Canal on the South of the city with a distance of about 3 kilometers meters between each water way.

Custom House Dublin


The city area is made up of a mix of shopping business and residents. Most residents of Dublin live outside the city limits in housing estates. Within the city residents are generally housed in flats or to use the posh term ''Apartments'' . The word apartment wasn't used in Ireland until the year 2002 when the building boom started and developers  started to build blocks of flats and advertised them as apartments to generate sales. Flats in Dublin had a bad name up until this time so there was no way a developers  was going to call them ''Flats For Sale''.


The shopping areas of Dublin of which there are basically only two, one on the north side which is the North Earl Street and Henry Streets with a few side streets in between and the south side of The Liffey which is Grafton Street, again with a few side streets running alongside. In general the shops on the south side are usually more expensive, there are several reasons why shopping on the south side is more expensive. The first is because the south side is a more affluent area where people have more money in their pockets, another reason is because rates are generally higher than the north side. The kind of shop found in Dublin is now different than you'd find in any high street in Britain. All the big names are here such as Marks And Spencer, debenhams, Currys and Argos. The outskirts of Dublin is just the same with stores like Spar, Lidll and B+Q. In fact walking down any main street in Dublin is like walking down and main street in London except for the crime which I mention below. 


Business premises around Dublin usually consist of small offices which were made out of old Georgian Houses. All of these old houses were once occupied by families who moved out of the city years ago to find a better way of life and a safer place to rare children. There are also so massive new office blocks which were built from the 1980s onwards which house large corporations such as banks and the like.


Georgian Houses Mountjoy Sq. Dublin - Example Of Classic architecture.


The buildings in Dublin are a mismatch of old and new. Dublin was once the second city of the British Empire, this was because of the fine architecture of it's Georgian buildings. From the 1970's onwards the local authority of the city which was Dublin Corporation, now The City Council gave permission to building contractors to demolish many of Dublin's finest buildings and replace them with ''Glass Cages'' . The Corporation also demolished most of it's Georgian housing stock and moved the people out to the suburbs. Although many of these fine buildings were in a poor state of repair the Corporation took the option of knocking them down instead of repairing them. There are still some examples of these Georgian houses around Dublin, Mountjoy Square on the North Side is such an example. 


Crime In Dublin. There are many parts of Dublin that are regarded by many Irish people as ''No Go Areas'' , crime and anti social behaviour is rampant around the inner city areas, especially the busy shopping streets. It's a cesspit of drug dealers, muggers and aggressive beggars.

It wasn't enough that we had our own citizens engaging in criminality but we now have twice as many immigrants mugging begging and harassing the public. These immigrants came to Ireland when the accession states joined the European in 2004. Most of the people that came were good living people who wouldn't hurt a fly. Many more came from former Soviet countries and from Russian itself on false passports. A large number of Romanian gypsies also made their way here and who cause nothing but hardship to the general public and business people trying to make a living.

In a recent debate in the  dail and Seanad most politician in the Seanad said they wouldn't walk down O'Connoll street in day light hours. All the Seanad members said they wouldn't walk through Dublin at night time, and these are the people we elect to govern our country ?

 

There are 900 drug users who come into Dublin City every day to either buy or sell drugs. They congregate within a one kilomenter radius of O'Connell Street which is the main thoroughfare of the city centre. These people are a big problem for visitors, shoppers and the general public going about their daily business. Stealing from shops in the main problem for the business owners along with congregating outside their shops which puts people off visiting the shop. You will also come into contact with these drug users beside bank machines where they lay in wait waiting for an easy victim to steal money from along with assulting their victim.

 

So Why Are There So Many Criminals Loose In Dublin ?

The simple answer is that the state won't send them to prison. The Department Of Justice will say there is no room in prison. What they mean by this is that there is no comforatble bed for them to sleem in. There is plenty of room in prisons in Ireland. There are about 700 prisoners in Mountjoy prison. There are just over 400 full time beds in cells, so at times other prisoners will share a cell and you then have three to a cell. During the War Of Independence with Britain there were twice as many prisoners in Mountjoy Prison, no one of them complained about sleeping four or five to a cell or sleeping on a matress in the common areas. There is another prison that is not in use called Kilmainham Prison, it has been turned into a tourist attraction. With a bit of effort this facility could be utilized, no need for fancy carpet or colour t.v.

 

So What Happens When A Criminal Is Arrested And Brough Before The Courts.

When the Garda / Police arrest one of these tugs and they come before a judge the judge will usually make them pay a fine. The criminal then goes back onto the streets and robs a shop or sells more drugs to pay the fine and the circle begins again. Sometimes these criminals will have up to 200 previous convictions. There Is No End To It. and no other country in the world would let a city fall to bits.


Night life In Dublin consists of a couple of hundred pubs and a few nightclubs. Most people drink in the suburbs where they live. This is the real Dublin and the real Ireland where punters drink close to home. It's also where the real genuine pubs are located. Much of the drinking takes place on the south side of the city centre around the Temple Bar and Georges Street areas. This is where the young people tend to mix and meet their friends. The pubs in this area of Dublin are very expensive compared to outside the city. There are basically two reasons for over priced alcohol, the first is the high rent and rates paid to Dublin City Council and the second is plain old greed. Many of the pubs in Dublin are finding it hard to make ends meat since the recession. Thousands of pubs around Ireland have also closed down since the smoking ban with the loss of thousands of jobs. Another reason for pubs not doing as well is because of the cheap drink that can be bought in shops, supermarkets and filling stations. It seems like any business can now sell alcohol and the price of drink is now cheaper than a bottle of Coke.