Three Leaf Clover: Thoughts on Dublin
Given how many famous writers hail from Ireland, I should write a higher-quality entry. But James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, et al did not work for an internet company or have a needy cat (like me), so here’s the quick one so I can get back to doing what I do well:respond to email, attend meetings, and help my cat chase a string.
1. Alcohol: The Guinness factory is the #1 tourist destination in the country. The Jameson’s distillery is likely in the top 25. And neither of those has quite the same mass-market appeal as tasting a chardonnay in France.
2. Stag & Hen Parties: That’s “bachelor” and “bachelorette” for the American readers. The Temple Bar area resembled Vegas on Saturday night. Fortunately, all attendees wear the same outfits for easy identification including some Carrie-Bradshaw-as-a-teenager headpieces for the ladies. You can see one great example in the pictures posted earlier.
3. Historical contribution: Small country, big output. I hear and see Ireland mentioned much more frequently than its size of 4M people would suggest. Famous writers (mentioned earlier), famous artists (U2, Van Morrison, that crazy-legged dancing guy), 16 US Presidents with Irish family ties (according to their tourist info), the Lucky Charms mascot, and the largest Viagra production facility accounting for 3% of Irish GDP (according to our tour guide who I don’t believe for an instant). Can you name another country of similar size with similar prominence?
And that concludes this three-leafed (clover) of an excuse for writing.
