A-Z Blogging Challenge - D is for Dublin

Dublin has featured in nearly all my Irish novels, even though the main part of each story takes place in Clifden and Connemara on the opposite side of Ireland.

In Irish Inheritance, Jenna and Guy first meet at Dublin Airport, and again at the lawyer’s office on St. Stephen’s Green. I imagined the office to be in one of the beautiful Georgian houses that border the large park in the centre of Dublin. 

They visit the Book of Kells exhibition at Trinity College, and spend the evening together in the Temple Bar area of the city, which is full of bars and restaurants (and tourists). Later in the story they return to Dublin, or rather to Dalkey, which was originally a separate town, but is now classed as a suburb of Dublin. However, it retains its ‘small town’ atmosphere, with a medieval castle, as well as a wonderful view of Killiney Bay, one of my favourite views in Ireland.

In Irish Intrigue, Charley goes to Dublin with Jenna for a weekend. They stay at a 5 star hotel overlooking St. Stephen’s Green – and every Dubliner will know which hotel I mean even though I didn’t actually name it! They also attend a film premiere at a cinema on Upper O’Connell Street. I gave it a different name, but based it on a real cinema that does host Hollywood-style premieres!

In Irish Secrets, Kara and Ryan stay at that same hotel on St. Stephen’s Green. One day, if my Irish books ever reach the bestseller lists, I might just treat myself to a night there – at about £450 (about $600) per night. Also featured in this story is Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery, which is an amazing place, the final resting place of many of Ireland’s patriots or, as someone has said, everyone who was anyone in Irish history, as well as a million ‘ordinary’ Dubliners.

Grave of Michael Collins at Glasnevin

In Irish Echoes, Rachel and Elliot begin their week of visiting famine memorials in different parts of Ireland with this evocative sculpture on Customs House Quay. It shows starving people trekking along the quay to reach one of the infamous famine ships which they hoped would take them to a new life in America or Canada. Sadly, many of them didn't survive the voyage and the death toll was so great that the ships became known as 'coffin ships.'

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