Do you really know Dublin?

In a random weekend, during a short visit to Johnny Fox (the highest pub in Ireland), I found myself completely astonished with so many old things around the pub; the ceiling was full of things that, in my opinion, there were no connection, such as wood motorcycle in real size; grandmother s underwear; an apparently heavy and old clock, in roman numerals; looking back down and around, the furniture was a mix of vintage and modernity, nothing was connect at the first sight, but in general, there were in complete harmony . On the walls, there was a lot of information about Dublin´s history. But, nothing grabbed my attention more than a frame where we could read “Forty One Interesting Facts About Dublin”...so many amazing things that, probably, most of you do not know and have no idea about at all.

Well... based on this, I picked 20 of them and will share and show to everyone how amazing this island is.

So, let the games begin!

1 – Dublin was originally called ‘Dubh Linn’ meaning ‘Black Pool’. The pool to which the name referred is the oldest known natural treacle lake in Northern Europe and currently forms the centrepiece of the penguin enclosure in Dublin Zoo.

2 - Dublin's O'Connell Bridge that covers the famed River Liffey is reckoned to be the only bridge in the European continent that has the same width as its length. It was originally made of rope and could only carry one man and a donkey at a time. It was replaced with a wooden structure in 1801. The current concrete bridge was built in 1863 and was first called ‘Carlisle Bridge’. 

O'Connell Bridge

3 - Dublin’s oldest traffic lights are situated beside the Renault garage in Clontarf. The lights, which are still in full working order, were installed in 1893 outside the home of Fergus Mitchell who was the owner of the first car in Ireland. 

4 - The Temple Bar area is so called because it housed the first Jewish temple built in Ireland. The word ‘bar’ refers to the refusal of Catholics to allow the Jewish community to enter any of the adjoining commercial premises. 

The Temple Bar

5 - Dubliners drink a total of 9800 pints an hour between the hours of 5.30pm on a Friday and 3.00am the following Monday.

6 - The average 25-year-old Dubliner still lives with his/her parents.

7 - There was once a large statue of Queen Victoria in the Garden outside Leinster House. It was taken away when the Republic of Ireland became independent and in 1988 was given as a present to the city of Sydney, Australia to mark that city’s 200th anniversary.

8 - Strangers are more likely to receive a drink from Dubliners than from a native of any other County.
9 - The statue originally in Dublin’s O’Connell Street (but now moved to the Phoenix Park) is commonly known as the ‘Floozy in the Jacuzzi’ while the one at St Andrew’s Church tourist office (new location) is best known as Molly Malone, (original name is Tart with the Cart). The women at the Ha’Penny bridge are the ‘Hags with the bags’ and the short lived millennium clock that was placed in the River Liffey in 1999 was known as ‘the chime in the slime’.

Floozy in the Jacuzzi

Molly Malone

Hags with the bags

10 - Henry Moore, Earl of Drogheda lived in Dublin in the Eighteenth century. His job was naming streets. He called several after himself. Henry Street, Moore Street, Earl Street, Drogheda Street. Drogheda Street later became Sackville Street and is now O’Connell Street.
11 - There are seven areas in Dublin whose names end in the letter ‘O’. Fewer than one Dubliner in 20,000 can name them off by heart. They are: Rialto, Marino, Portobello, Phibsboro, Monto, Casino and Pimlico.
12 - The original name of Trinity College was ‘Trinity College Near Dublin’. The capital was a lot smaller then.

13 - The headquarters of the national television broadcaster, RTE, in Montrose, was originally built for use as an abattoir.

14 - Dublin Spire on O'Connell Street was built to withstand inner-city atmospheric conditions, pollution and lighting, and to survive for at least 120 years. The monument is 3m in diameter at its base and tapers to 150mm in diameter at the tip, exactly 121m (396 feet) above, where the sway is 1.5m in any direction. Its weight of 130 tonnes is held down by 48 bolts. Having taken five months to manufacture, the Spire has graced the capital's most well-known street since January 2003. It is official name is the Monument of Light, but everyone calls it the Spire or the Spike (or one of the somewhat ruder nicknames that I won't include here!)

Dublin Spire

15 - None of the so-called Dublin Mountains is high enough to meet the criteria required to claim mountain status. The Sugarloaf is the tallest 'Dublin Mountain' yet measures a mere 423.3 meters above sea level.

16 - Dublin Corporation planted 43,765 deciduous trees in the Greater Dublin area in 1998.

17 - The Average Dubliner earns £19,000 per Annum giving twelve pounds to charity and a hundred and sixty two pounds in tips. The most important consideration when a man is deciding whether or not to give a barmaid a tip is the amount of her body that he can see.

18 - The "Oldest Pub in Ireland" is reputed to be located in Dublin. The pub is called the Brazen Head. There has been a pub on this site since 1198.

19 - Dublin is Europe’s most popular destination with travelling stag and hen parties. There is an estimated six hundred ‘pre wedding sessions’ every weekend in the capital.

20 - There are forty six rivers in Dublin City, the river flowing through Rathmines is called the River Swan (beside the Swan Centre). The Poddle was once known as the ‘Tiber’ and was also known as the River Salach (dirty river), which is the origin of the children’s song “Down by the river Saile”. It is also the river whose peaty, mountain water causes the Black Pool mentioned above.