Sadhbh Byrne
Staff Writer
These halcyon days of summer are thankfully still closer to Midsummer’s Day (an apt reference, given the success of this years 10 day homage to the theatrical works of Billy S) than to the beginning of the next academic year. They do continue to slide ever-closer to that notorious week of debauchery and drunkenness; when freshers are swindled of their €2s by societies eager to increase head counts at events, and hangovers are nursed with not just one hair of the dog but several; but in the meantime, however, awaiting the frantic rush to Daft and Rent.ie to find our new humble abodes, a wayward stroll along the not-as-cobbled thoroughfares of our alma mater suggests that the only inhabitants these days are tourists and their guides.
It can be occasionally frustrating during the college year to wade through herds of Lonely Planet-wielding tourists sporting baseball caps and Mac-In-A-Sacks. One wonders do they deliberately time their requests for directions to coincide with the precise moment when you’re sprinting, with all the fervour that a dodgy post-Coppers stomach can handle, toward a compulsory attendance 9AM lab.
Despite their disadvantages, of which there are few, tourists bring that extra fourth dimension, if you will, to Trinity that’s missing from other colleges; an oft-pondered thought of mine at times like these is what visitors must think of Dublin as a tourist destination and Trinity in particular.
Although TCD bears little in the way of tacky glitter covered shamrocks, its centrality ensures it is popularly targeted by guides and tours hell set on providing the authentic Irish experience. Given the distinct lack of paddywhackery in our hallowed grounds (although that elderly gent on Grafton Street, with his incredible bodhrán playing and sean nos dancing skills, more than makes up for this), its hard to see from their sunglass-shielded faces whether the majority give our institution a yay or a nay.
Our own Science Gallery is a Critic’s Choice in the newly launched Time Out Guide to Ireland, and holds eighth place on the “20 Great Things To Do in Dublin” list. The review of the Gallery comes in at number 6 in the list of the most viewed articles about Dublin on the Time Out website.
The Douglas Hyde Gallery was evidently also well received by reviewers, perhaps moreso than Trinity itself, as they say “this neat modernist exhibition space could scarcely be more at odds with the fusty, old-world atmosphere that Trinity tends to project to the outside world”.
The well-worn tale of Americans asking if Arnaldo Pomodoro’s Sphere Within Sphere sculpture outside the Berkeley is the famous Trinity Ball (repeated just once or twice on the long forgotten Overheard in Trinity Facebook page) may not be alluded to by the website, but they do make reference to The Book of Kells pseudonym, used exclusively by middleaged Americans, ‘Kelly’s Book’. Whether or not the writers were truly excited by this hallmark of Irish culture and history seems doubtful as they say “The remarkable craftwork and intricate design are highly impressive, but frankly not show-stopping”.
A near heart-attack inducing post on the website included “Palace Bar” as another Critic’s Choice. Thankfully, it appears this is the name of an establishment on Fleet Street, not the hub of sleaze and top quality choons that is the Camden Street hotspot.
Travel websites are all very well and good, but the document that will perhaps draw even more visitors to our sodden little isle is the 1911 Census, which has been uploaded to www.census.nationalarchives.ie – seeing as tracing ancestors and family trees is one of the most common motives for our U.S. friends in particular, all of whom become thoroughly Paddyicised the moment they step off the plane.
All in all, Dublin is surely a great place to visit during the summer; torrential rains nonewithstanding; and this summer perhaps even more so with the introduction of new cultural event 10 Days in Dublin. As Time Out says, the one cliché about our fair city which is true – there’s something for everyone. So, if, like me, you regrettably decided the Asia/J1/inter-railing thing wasn’t for you, make like Molly Malone and wander through streets wide and narrow (though perhaps forego the shouting about seafood part).
