sat 02/11/2024

theartsdesk in Dublin: St Patrick's Day Festival 2011 | reviews, news & interviews

theartsdesk in Dublin: St Patrick's Day Festival 2011

theartsdesk in Dublin: St Patrick's Day Festival 2011

Craic and culture make for an intoxicating combination on a literary pilgrimage to Dublin

'Brilliant', an optimistic parable on Irish national spirit: Dublin's St Patick's Day Parade 2011

“What’s the story?” It’s a question you’ll hear again and again in the streets and pubs of Dublin. You can tell a lot about a nation from their greeting; the traditional salutation of northern China, born of decades of famine and physical hardship, translates to “Have you eaten?”, and a psychologist could extrapolate much from our English fondness for impersonal, weather-related pleasantries. So it’s surely no coincidence then that Ireland, and Dublin in particular, should favour this conversational opener. A city home to some 50 publishing houses, that has produced four Nobel Laureates, arguably the greatest Modernist novel, and was recently named a UNESCO City of Literature: Scheherazade has nothing on Dublin.

“What’s the story?” It’s a question you’ll hear again and again in the streets and pubs of Dublin. You can tell a lot about a nation from their greeting; the traditional salutation of northern China, born of decades of famine and physical hardship, translates to “Have you eaten?”, and a psychologist could extrapolate much from our English fondness for impersonal, weather-related pleasantries. So it’s surely no coincidence then that Ireland, and Dublin in particular, should favour this conversational opener. A city home to some 50 publishing houses, that has produced four Nobel Laureates, arguably the greatest Modernist novel, and was recently named a UNESCO City of Literature: Scheherazade has nothing on Dublin.

Doyle’s imagination, and the caustic vernacular of his language, creates a work both honest and joyous: authentically and unashamedly Irish

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Comments

Great article. And a sort of reminder that you really should cover books too - after all, it's the only major art form that's missing from your excellent coverage.

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