Dublin Castle

I love Dublin Castle. I mentioned it previously in conjunction with the annual display of sand sculptures.

I was there last Friday for the Scratch Competition 2014 finals.

I was surprised to find myself in a new (to me) and lovely part of the castle. Included below is a picture I took on my phone. The place is full of surprises!

Unique Street Sign

I spotted this street sign in Hatch Lane in Dublin and I had to take a photo.

It has been made to look like a normal street sign.

I know nothing about it but I found the following on the web:

“All I want to do now is walk through walls.”
Gary Baseman’s quote was machine carved into a wood and hand-painted to look like a metal Dublin street name sign. It was installed on Hatch Lane in the early hours of a cold Dublin Thursday.
Thanks to Art from Artisan for carving the sign.

It's lovely to round a corner and see a subtle and unexpected piece of art.

Casino Marino

My last few posts were about things to see in Dublin at at specific time of the year.

This is one about something you can see any time.

We went to see the Casino Marino few weeks ago.

This "little house" was built by James Caulfeild, the 1st Earl of Charlemont, in the late 1700s.

The building is lovely and the staff are very friendly and informative.

The weather was lovely the day we were there and we had a picnic in the grounds (something the staff encourage).

My favourite part of the story is about the tunnel that was used by servants to go back and forth to the main house so that the family and their guests would not have to see them. Different times indeed!

It's a little gem well worth seeing, slightly off the beaten track. A family ticket is only €8.

More information about location and opening hours is available here.

This is a photo my wife took inside the building:

Dublin Castle Sand Sculptures

In my last post I mentioned that we try to go into Dublin city every year to catch the Street Performance World Championship.

Another trip we have been doing for years (although we missed it last year for some reason) is to see the sand sculptures in Dublin Castle. It has been going on for 11 years apparently (there are photos on display going back to 2006).

The first 3 sculptures were to be finished today and the fourth between the 10th and 14th August.

The sculptures are to be demolished on the 29th so there is still plenty of time to see them as I write.

Congratulations to the Office of Public Works and Dublin Castle for sponsoring this event.

Here is a picture I took yesterday of the work in progress:

Street Performance World Championship 2013

Last year I blogged about the SPWC 2012. I mentioned what a great day (or two if you like) it is and that "Cirque No Problem" (whom we didn't see) had won. Well we went back in to Merrion Square again this year and again the weather was extremely kind.

Our favourite act (Mario - Queen of the Circus) was not present this year unfortunately.

We made a point of seeing Cirque No Problem and it is easy to see why they won last year. They are absolutely brilliant. We would have voted for them if we could (the winner from the previous year is not in the competition).

The other acts we saw were:

• Alakazam
• Senmaru
• Nigel Blackstorm
• The Chairmen (briefly)

I think Senmaru (whom we had seen a few years previously) is incredibly talented but I suspect that because he makes the (almost) impossible seem easy (and because he says "very easy" at the end of each piece!) that people do not realise just how impressive his act is.

Congratulations to Laya Healthcare for sponsoring such a great event.

Here is a clip of them performing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in last year's competition (we watched this from a better angle this year but unfortunately we didn't video it):

Street Performers World Championships

We attended an event with the very grand title of the "Street Performers World Championships" in Dublin over the weekend.

It's a fun free event that takes place in Merrion Square (and apparently in Cork too) every year and we try to attend most years.

This year (as with previous years we have been there) the weather was extremely kind.

Mario (Queen of the Circus) is a favourite of ours and we went to see him first. He did not disappoint. He has a new show which tells how he used to be a Prince before he became the Queen. The introduction of music from the world's greater singer/songwriter suits me just fine!

We also watched Lisa Lottie, Jonathan Burns, Reuben Dot Dot Dot, and Hakuna Matata. The pick of that bunch was Reuben Dot Dot Dot. Only found out afterwards that Reuben and Lisa are husband and wife.

The winner this year was "Cirque no problem". We didn't see them unfortunately but that fact that they won means that they can come back next year if they wish to do so.

Here's a picture I took of Mario at the start of his performance (unfortunately the picture does not capture either the sunshine or the size of the crowd):