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Why no town square in Dublin?

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    #32
    completedit
    Registered Users Posts: 2,639 ✭✭✭completedit


    Those squares aren't that great. Weneclaus Square in Prague is nice when they have something set up, like the markets or a celebration like last year for the velvet revolution but in general, nobody goes or spends time there. Old Town Square is the same, the life of the city is not in those parts.

    I actually don't enjoy those spaces tbh. I think we'd be far better off having a more thriving area along the Liffey. But there is a hatred for outdoor drinking creeping into Ireland so not sure how successful it will be.


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    #33
    Kaybaykwah
    Registered Users Posts: 3,090 ✭✭✭Kaybaykwah


    MrMusician18 wrote: »
    O'connell st was originally planned as a grand city square, they then decided to punch through the Liffey end, build the bridge and make it a grand avenue.


    Yes, and if that hadn't been done, we'd probably be complaining that there are no broad avenues in Dublin.


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    #34
    kravmaga
    Registered Users Posts: 1,945 ✭✭✭kravmaga


    Well you cant really compare Prague to Dublin, as Im a regular visitor to the Czech Republic, Prague, Ostrava, Brno.

    Prague is a 5 star city compared to Dublin's 3 star imo.

    Prague is a visually beautiful city , its old city core buildings and architecture, the old town square is a hive of activity at Xmas time. Lots of market stalls etc.

    Remember Dublin is a dull dreary working class city with not dissimilar to Liverpool.
    Grey buildings , no skyline, poor transport links and sh1te weather for outdoor events in a town square .

    DCC want to build a white water river rafting project in the IFSC beside the CHQ building, never heard anything like it , projected cost €23 million.

    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/white-water-white-elephant-cost-of-planned-dublin-rafting-course-doubles-to-23m-1.4097166

    I hope that project gets knocked on the head.

    We already have Smithfield Square and that's empty, nothing going on.

    I think the best we can hope for is the College Green/ Dame Street Plaza project.


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    #35
    completedit
    Registered Users Posts: 2,639 ✭✭✭completedit


    kravmaga wrote: »
    Well you cant really compare Prague to Dublin, as Im a regular visitor to the Czech Republic, Prague, Ostrava, Brno.

    Prague is a 5 star city compared to Dublin's 3 star imo.

    Prague is a visually beautiful city , its old city core buildings and architecture, the old town square is a hive of activity at Xmas time. Lots of market stalls etc.

    Remember Dublin is a dull dreary working class city with not dissimilar to Liverpool.
    Grey buildings , no skyline, poor transport links and sh1te weather for outdoor events in a town square .

    DCC want to build a white water river rafting project in the IFSC beside the CHQ building, never heard anything like it , projected cost €23 million.

    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/white-water-white-elephant-cost-of-planned-dublin-rafting-course-doubles-to-23m-1.4097166

    I hope that project gets knocked on the head.

    We already have Smithfield Square and that's empty, nothing going on.

    I think the best we can hope for is the College Green/ Dame Street Plaza project.

    Made me nostalgic there really. Looking forward to my return. Dublin lacks a river like Vlatva but we do have the coastline but it always strikes me as devoid of life.


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    #36
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,818 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Smithfield is disconnected from the city core despite being close by. It also suffered badly in its early era by the bad rep from the horse market, the chimney closing for safety works, and then the financial crash, the Lighthouse closing in 2011 (I know its reopened) and so on meaning it never really developed its own purpose.

    The markets area redevelopment will make it feel closer, if we do it right - however we may just end up with a wall of hotels on the way there and a rarely used markets building.

    The city currently basically ends at Capel Street heading West for tourists and indeed plenty of locals too. Get the markets done right and you're now nearly at Smithfield.


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    #37
    Eleven Benevolent Elephants
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 426 ✭✭Eleven Benevolent Elephants


    bocaman wrote: »
    As a previous poster said one of the main reasons we don't have big open square is the weather. It's something thats often commented on by tourists who come to Dublin.

    Nonsense. Amsterdam and Copenhagen have similar weather.


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    #38
    imme
    Registered Users Posts: 3,200 ✭✭✭imme


    kravmaga wrote: »
    Well you cant really compare Prague to Dublin, as Im a regular visitor to the Czech Republic, Prague, Ostrava, Brno.

    Prague is a 5 star city compared to Dublin's 3 star imo.

    Prague is a visually beautiful city , its old city core buildings and architecture, the old town square is a hive of activity at Xmas time. Lots of market stalls etc.

    Remember     Dublin is a dull dreary working class city with not dissimilar to Liverpool.
    Grey buildings , no skyline, poor transport links and sh1te weather for outdoor events in a town square .

    Comparing cities is a pointless exercise.
    5 star, 3 star :pac: :pac: :pac:

    Dublin has some beautiful parts and features. :)


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    #39
    imme
    Registered Users Posts: 3,200 ✭✭✭imme


    Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »
    Nonsense. Amsterdam and Copenhagen have similar weather.

    I don't remember anything remarkable about Copenhagen.

    The time I was there they were doing some kind of renovation work and the place was a shambles.

    There were no squares that stuck out for me.

    Did I miss them. Does anyone know.


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    #40
    MrMusician18
    Registered Users Posts: 7,242 ✭✭✭MrMusician18


    imme wrote: »
    Comparing cities is a pointless exercise.
    5 star, 3 star :pac: :pac: :pac:

    Dublin has some beautiful parts and features. :)

    Warren buffet once said of companies that when the tide goes out, you find out who is swimming without trunks. The tide for cities has gone out with C19, and Dublin has been completely found out. There is little to no clamour from people who work there, but now WfH to return to that kip.

    No city square is going to fix that. Dublin is a neglected filthy city, an actual embarrassment.


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    #41
    expectationlost
    Registered Users Posts: 11,767 ✭✭✭✭expectationlost


    council ruined Wolfe Tone Square by trying to make it European


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    #42
    MrMusician18
    Registered Users Posts: 7,242 ✭✭✭MrMusician18


    expectationlost wrote: »
    council ruined Wolfe Tone Square by trying to make it European

    It's the junkies that ruined that square, like every other amenity in the city. The boardwalk, the remembrance garden, O'connell st generally. I could go on.


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    #43
    completedit
    Registered Users Posts: 2,639 ✭✭✭completedit


    imme wrote: »
    Comparing cities is a pointless exercise.
    5 star, 3 star :pac: :pac: :pac:

    Dublin has some beautiful parts and features. :)

    It does but not the city insofar as the city that there is any life around. Dublin is too isolated to be a truly interesting city. But it has its charm.


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    #44
    Kaybaykwah
    Registered Users Posts: 3,090 ✭✭✭Kaybaykwah


    imme wrote: »
    Comparing cities is a pointless exercise.
    5 star, 3 star :pac: :pac: :pac:

    Dublin has some beautiful parts and features. :)



    It's not dull and dreary. I like the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian mix. There is a sober attitude to the architecture in Dublin that offsets the character of the people. It's a great city, not any less congenial than Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. I think that the weather forces you into pubs, and it certainly adds to the charm, and the buildings and parks take on a certain "je ne sais quoi" after a few pints.

    I also think that Dublin's parks like St Stephen's Green are a more mellow and introverted answer to other cities's public squares, and are conversational rather than congregational public places.


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    #45
    imme
    Registered Users Posts: 3,200 ✭✭✭imme


    MrMusician18 wrote: »
    Warren buffet once said of companies that when the tide goes out, you find out who is swimming without trunks. The tide for cities has gone out with C19, and Dublin has been completely found out. There is little to no clamour from people who work there, but now WfH to return to that kip.

    No city square is going to fix that. Dublin is a neglected filthy city, an actual embarrassment.

    Nobody wants to go back to work Work. Thanks for speaking up for everybody. :D

    Cities are about more than work.

    The mix in the city of work/living and public/private accom is something that has been an issue for decades.


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    #46
    imme
    Registered Users Posts: 3,200 ✭✭✭imme


    completedit wrote: »
    It does but not the city insofar as the city that there is any life around. Dublin is too isolated to be a truly interesting city. But it has its charm.

    You'd better not go to Belfast then. :)

    Dublin can't change its history or its geographical location.


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    #47
    MrMusician18
    Registered Users Posts: 7,242 ✭✭✭MrMusician18


    imme wrote: »
    Nobody wants to go back to work Work. Thanks for speaking up for everybody. :D

    Cities are about more than work.

    The mix in the city of work/living and public/private accom is something that has been an issue for decades.

    If cities are about more than work, then why is Dublin so quiet? Now that people have to choose to go to the city rather than be forced due to work, they are choosing not to go. This was even during the good weather and light restrictions during the summer.

    The problem for Dublin is that it offers nothing enticing in and of itself, but plenty of reasons to avoid.

    It's a filthy dump where authorities have buried their head in the sand about it's problems for decades. With the absence of workers, it's been exposed for what it is, a junkie ridden kip that decent people avoid.


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    #48
    Feenix
    Registered Users Posts: 232 ✭✭Feenix


    Eleven Benevolent Elephants wrote: »
    Nonsense. Amsterdam and Copenhagen have similar weather.

    They do not. They both have very consistent summers. Their winters aren’t similar to ours either.


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    #49
    Kaybaykwah
    Registered Users Posts: 3,090 ✭✭✭Kaybaykwah


    MrMusician18 wrote: »
    Warren buffet once said of companies that when the tide goes out, you find out who is swimming without trunks. The tide for cities has gone out with C19, and Dublin has been completely found out. There is little to no clamour from people who work there, but now WfH to return to that kip.

    No city square is going to fix that. Dublin is a neglected filthy city, an actual embarrassment.



    Ahhhhhhh Kreisst! You just burst my bubble.


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    #50
    completedit
    Registered Users Posts: 2,639 ✭✭✭completedit


    imme wrote: »
    You'd better not go to Belfast then. :)

    Dublin can't change its history or its geographical location.

    True. I am Dublin through and through BTW. My family are all from the inner city. But just lacks something. I think it lacks a truly city center character. The suburbanisation of Dublin reflects in the city.


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    #51
    Feenix
    Registered Users Posts: 232 ✭✭Feenix


    MrMusician18 wrote: »
    If cities are about more than work, then why is Dublin so quiet? .

    I’d hazard a guess at coronavirus


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    #52
    completedit
    Registered Users Posts: 2,639 ✭✭✭completedit


    MrMusician18 wrote: »
    If cities are about more than work, then why is Dublin so quiet? Now that people have to choose to go to the city rather than be forced due to work, they are choosing not to go. This was even during the good weather and light restrictions during the summer.

    The problem for Dublin is that it offers nothing enticing in and of itself, but plenty of reasons to avoid.

    It's a filthy dump where authorities have buried their head in the sand about it's problems for decades. With the absence of workers, it's been exposed for what it is, a junkie ridden kip that decent people avoid.

    There's just nowhere to go at all. This has been amplified with Covid. Stephens Green is great but what are the alternatives? The Pav? Inside Trinity so doesn't lend itself as a natural go to point. The canal? It's a kip mostly and people have a problem with people congregating there anyway. It's not a city that's lived in. It's a city you go into and leave.


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    #53
    Bits_n_Bobs
    Registered Users Posts: 1,300 ✭✭✭Bits_n_Bobs


    Fred Cryton wrote: »
    They would just become congregation spaces for aggressive beggars harassing members of the public, as well as hard left types shouting into megaphones.

    Those other European cities you mention don't have welfare class Dubliners in them. It's the people that are the problem. Nothing good would come from it. The less public spaces the better.

    What a miserable and pathetic worldview.


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    #54
    MrMusician18
    Registered Users Posts: 7,242 ✭✭✭MrMusician18


    Feenix wrote: »
    I’d hazard a guess at coronavirus

    Perhaps, but the city was practically back to normal business during the summer (without wet pubs) and it was quiet. There is just no reason to visit the city and lots of reasons not to.

    I don't think I'm alone in saying that I don't miss being hassled for "a euro for a hostel bud", or waiting at a bus stop surrounded by the aroma of stale piss.

    We are not quite at the San Francisco level of degeneracy, but not far off it.


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    #55
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    completedit wrote: »
    There's just nowhere to go at all. This has been amplified with Covid. Stephens Green is great but what are the alternatives? The Pav? Inside Trinity so doesn't lend itself as a natural go to point. The canal? It's a kip mostly and people have a problem with people congregating there anyway. It's not a city that's lived in. It's a city you go into and leave.

    St. Patricks Park, The Iveagh Gardens, Merrion Square at a push. I'd love to see regular year round markets, stalls or whatever in these places.


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    #56
    MrMusician18
    Registered Users Posts: 7,242 ✭✭✭MrMusician18


    Deleted User wrote: »
    St. Patricks Park, The Iveagh Gardens, Merrion Square at a push. I'd love to see regular year round markets, stalls or whatever in these places.

    "Let's go into the city to hang out in Merrion Square", said no one ever.


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    #57
    Biker79
    Closed Accounts Posts: 794 ✭✭✭Biker79


    Dublin's problem, as usual ( but particularly in the last few years ) is the number of homeless facilities in the city centre*

    At times Its like an open-air hospital with the amount of unwell shuffling around. It's quite startling at times. How this happens, and never seems to improve despite all the money thrown at the problem, is a question you can all ponder for yourselves.

    Fred Cryton and co are 100 % correct. You cant have any sort of cultural life here with the amount of degeneracy that exists here. I've been living in the CC for almost 20 years and I've never seen it as bad.

    There are great parts too...so there is something to salvage, for sure. Once the ratio of degeneracy to normality is kept in check. This is key.

    *( In reality, the majority of homeless centres are facilities for booze/ drug addicts. This is why they destroy the civic life of the surrounding area )


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    #58
    440Hertz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 651 ✭✭✭440Hertz


    Stephen’s Green?

    The big set piece is College Green, but we turned the into a bus interchange. If there were a metro it could probably be a park.


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    #59
    Dyr
    Registered Users Posts: 23,246 ✭✭✭✭Dyr


    L1011 wrote: »
    Trams along the edge of a square is pretty normal in Europe. Three sides of the Dam Square in Amsterdam - the fourth is the palace!

    The whole reason Dublin exists now is to provide the NTA with a lego set that they can run bus lanes through.


    Presumably they're going for some sort of world record


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    #60
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 13,851 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    MrMusician18 wrote: »
    "Let's go into the city to hang out in Merrion Square", said no one ever.

    Speak for yourself. When the weather is nice I've spent hours in there, it's beautiful.
    You obviously don't like Dublin, it's not the best city in the world but it's by far the city/town/village whatever in Ireland with the most options of everything really.


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    #61
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,130 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    expectationlost wrote: »
    council ruined Wolfe Tone Square by trying to make it European

    It used to be a nice little spot. What are they doing to it now? It looks like they are digging up graves.


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