A mini-New York?

Trevor White thinks Dublin's all right...

Many Dubliners are familiar with the pace and scale of life in Manhattan (“After New York, everywhere feels like a village”), the desire to leave and – eventually – the suspicion that she was the one who got away (“God I miss New York”). Eight years after returning to Dublin, I still subscribe to the New Yorker and New York. Reading them, I am reminded of what I miss, but also, on occasion, of what I have gained. There was a story in New York last week about the search for a kinder, cheaper, more manageable mini-New York:

“A place that’s cosmopolitan but not nearly as crowded. A city with a few good, if not world class, restaurants. And maybe some extra alluring touch: an intriguing arts scene that’s just under the radar, or easy access to tall trees and open air, or the promise of a backyard that’s bigger than a Twister board.”

Does that place sound familiar? Even allowing for the recession, rush-hour traffic, the Irish summer – a phrase that now demands inverted commas – and the constant presence of Joe Duffy, Dublin has much to offer. The climate is benign (if you thought our August was unpleasant, try the East Village). Crime levels are going down. Literacy levels are rising. This is a relatively handsome city and there is a sincere determination to keep it that way. Wicklow is down the road. The local arts scene is booming – such an observation is almost unpatriotic – and the capital can no longer be described as a cultural backwater. Ask recent visitors like Alfred Brendel, Christopher Hitchens and Leonard Cohen. Indeed one can even dine out here without being poisoned.

That homily is not meant to excuse the failings of our government. It is a response to occasional griping in the local press (when Dublin is mentioned in New York and the New Yorker, it is with respect) and, it must be said, in conversations all the time.

Patrick Kavanagh drew a useful distinction between provincialism and parochialism. “A provincial,” he said, “is always trying to live by someone else’s loves, but a parochial is self-sufficient.” In other words, a provincial always judges here with reference to some larger there. Guilty! Yet here I am trying to celebrate the parochial.

Dublin: not a bad little village. Might we dare to admit as much?

Comments

[tom]

Dublin--the Little Green Apple?

[Magda Turek]

I have never been to NY.
Yet, having spent three yrs in Ireland, I think Dublin is the BEST city in the world.
I mean, I love everything about it, even the things I dislike. I am back in Poland now, forced out by the recession. But I am dreaming of Ireland at night and waking up missing Dublin. And I hope it won't take me too long to be back.
The only remedy to my soul's cravings is the Irish websites. Inc. The Dubliner's.
With lots of love to the best people in the world,
Magda

[gerry orchard]

It's like the gaza strip

[Mike]

Dublin, for all its problems, is still a great place to live. I,ve travelled a lot but still always love to get back home.
With better transport and further investment in the city centre I truly believe that Dublin will soon become one of the best cities in the world to live and socialise in.

[Daniel]

i haven't lived in Dublin for a couple of years, but i do miss it, and i feel that with a bit of time, realistically a few more years, with developments like the metro, toned down consumerism and hopefully saner rents it will be pretty great.

[darla]

I love DUBLIN,it is the city that allowed me to dream again.

[tom]

Where did you live before moving to Dublin?

[darla]

in the saddest place ever.i have not been back there since 93.

[tom]

Where is your saddest place ever?
I can think of a lot of places that could be identified as such.

Too bad that such places exist.

Well, glad you found Dublin.

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[darla]

the saddest place ever was cork.all the pain in the world lives in that town.