Dublin today is a vital, vibrant and multi-cultural city of well in excess of a million inhabitants. While since the international financial crash of the previous decade austerity has been a byword and a daily reality for many of its citizens, more recently it is displaying renewed vigour and confidence, and recovery is giving way to greater optimism about the future.
The city is in its second millennium, its first documented settlement being a “permanent raiding camp” of the Vikings established in 841. Dublin was the centre of the Easter Rising in 1916 and became capital of the Free State and Republic. 2016 is the centenary year of the rebellion, and the country and its capital has already embarked on a decade of celebrations celebrate in an inclusive manner major events in the first two decades of 20th Century Europe.
Cultural Dublin cannot escape its literary legacies. Everyone has heard of the genius Oscar Wilde, the Noble laureates George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats and Samuel Beckett, the enchanting Jonathan Swift and the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker, and more recently, Seamus Heaney, while James Joyce occupies a hallowed presence in this pantheon. Another element not to be missed from the rich cultural life in Dublin is the theatre. Several excellent locations tempt lovers of the visual art with world-class actors and performances. (<link http: www.dublintheatre.com _blank external link in new>www.dublintheatre.com)