If you know one thing about Dublin, it’s Guinness. If you know two things about Dublin, it’s the Guinness and the literary greats the city has fathered such as Beckett, Joyce, Swift and Wilde. Pick up any mainstream guidebook on the city and you’ll probably get these names cited in the opening paragraph. The guide book will probably have pictures of some of the many visual icons the city is blessed with – possibly including the two tallest things in Ireland : the Poolbeg chimneys, which tower over Dublin bay. I snapped the above photo earlier today and it inspired the thoughts behind this blog post. These chimneys are often the first thing you’ll see of Dublin – especially if you’re arriving by ferry. Another very tall thing in Dublin would be ‘The Spire’ – the worlds tallest sculpture at around 400 feet tall which dominates Dublin’s main shopping and touristy drag on the north side of the river. I’ve spotted a pattern. Everything has been nicknamed. For instance, the towers pictured above are ‘aka’ The Pigeon House. Perhaps this is something to do with ‘in the footsteps’ of the cities literary forefathers; Dubliners creativity has always gone to town in renaming all of the cities landmarks. Some of the notable examples would include; * The Tart with the Cart, aka The Dish With The Fish (Molly Malone statue) * Floozie in the Jacuzzi (Anna Livia monument – no longer standing) * The Hags With The Bags (Jakki McKenna sculpture, city centre) * The Prick With The Stick (Daniel O’Connell statue) The aforementioned Spire hasn’t got of lightly either…
Some of the names I’ve come across (that I can publish on this website without having its ‘suitable for all ages’ status revoked) are; * The Stiletto in the Ghetto * The Stiffy at the Liffey * The Spike on the Dike * The Rod to God * The Poker next to Croker And finally, one that doesn’t rate quite as highly on the poetic scale, but still perhaps deserves an honorable mention; * The Taoiseach’s [Irish Prime Minister’s] memo spike for irrelevant expenses. I think this habit is quintessential Dublin. As Dublin as Guinness. I’m rather hoping this tradition of comically renaming art continues in Dublin. I wonder if the creators of the controversial Spire, with its connotation potential, actually had that in mind when they *ahem* erected it in the first place. I rather hope they did. I’m awaiting Dublin’s next public art, with baited breath.
