Irish architecture is remarkable because it displays traces from all eras since the stone age. in the 18th century, houses in ireland began to be built in large numbers, mostly from brick as it ensured they would last longer. nowadays, dublin is famous worldwide for its charming georgian houses and public buildings.
History books tell us that residents of Georgian Dublin painted their front doors in order to set their homes apart. Some tour guides like to say it all started with George Moore and Oliver St. John Gogarty. Both writers happened to live next door to one another. According to this tale, Moore painted his door green so that the drunken Gogarty would not mistake it for his own house. Gogarty did the same, painting his door red, thus starting a new trend.
An alternate story says that the Irish were given orders to paint their doors black in mourning for the death of Queen Victoria. Instead, the rebellious Irish went and painted their doors the brightest colors possible.
The vikings ruled dublin for nearly three centuries, before the norman invasion. The First Viking Age lasted from 795 to 902 a.d. and was marked by conFlicts between the native Irish and the Viking factions. Dublin has an entire museum dedicated to the Viking and Medieval history of the city (here you get to dress up like a Viking! Yay!) There is also a section in the Archaeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland that displays artifacts from Viking times.
Dublin city has a variety of biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems. Over half of the species of irish mammals can be found within just 20 km of the city centre.
Seagulls are commonly seen all over Ireland’s coast. They’re so famous, there’s even a Twitter account devoted to them! Also, seagulls are total dicks who will steal your food. The raven is Ireland’s largest breeding songbird. They eat pretty much anything they can find. You may stumble upon them while walking in the suburbs, usually staring eerily into the depths of your soul. Love them or leave them, magpies appear to be quite ‘confident’ birds who won’t hesitate to drive away any threats. And yes, that includes you. Grey squirrels are considered a local pest and are responsible for the decline in numbers of the native red squirrels. They also cause damage to trees. Down with grey squirrels! Deer herds can often be seen in Phoenix Park. They’re very popular with tourists and apparently make a great background for selfies. Dublin’s urban foxes can be seen roaming the streets, usually scavenging for food. They’re considered a rare sight, but the local fox population has been increasing noticeably in recent years.
take a little stroll in the residential areas of dublin and you’ll certainly FIND her sitting in a window. Being an exchange student at the National College of Art & Design means that I spent a decent amount of time in the Liberties, an area in central Dublin. Every day on the walk to college I’d notice these strange white lady statues sitting in the windowsills of houses, although I never figured out exactly what they meant. Was Dublin falling into the hands of some statue-worshipping cult? Was I witnessing a real Doctor Who episode? Whatever the answer was, I didn’t investigate until two weeks prior to my flight back to Brazil. It turns out there’s this wonderful research tool known as ‘Google’, and it hadn’t occurred to me to look it up until then. According to an article in TotallyDublin, there isn’t a real answer to this mystery though Dubliners sure like to come up with all sorts of weird stories about her. Some of the rumours about the statue are: • Indicates the house is actually a brothel; • Protection dues have been paid to a gang; • Home to your friendly local drug dealer;
Gaelic games are the most popular sports in Ireland and are promoted by the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). Come on you boys in blue!
The Irish can cook potatoes in a multitude of ways: roast, boiled, mashed, baked and the national favourite - chips.
Ireland has an average of 270 rainy days per year. Don’t bother bringing an umbrella - it’s often pretty damn windy, too.
In Ireland you can have a drink at any time of the day and and no one will judge you for it (at least not to your face!)
“ This never was my town, I was not born or bred Nor schooled here and she will not Have me alive or dead But yet she holds my mind With her seedy elegance, With her gentle veils of rain And all her ghosts that walk And all that hide behind Her Georgian facades – The catcalls and the pain, The glamour of her squalor, The bravado of her talk. Louis MacNeice
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