Top Ten Facts About Dublin

What you don’t, but should know. Here is a list of the most surprising curiosities which will help you to understand Ireland’s capital more.

1. Dublin’s O’Connell Bridge that covers River Liffey is considered as the only bridge in the European continent that is wider than it is long.

2. Trinity College (founded in 1592), the ancient Dublin university established at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, has had some famous and memorable graduates, including Oscar Wilde, Edmund Burke, Samuel Beckett and Bram Stoker (creator of Dracula).

3. The Oldest Pub in Dublin is called Brazen Head (Dublin 8). It was founded in 1198.

4. There are two versions of Dublin name in Irish : Dubh Linn and Baile Átha Cliath. The meaning of Átha Cliath is “Ford of the Reed Hurdles”. Dubh Linn (what means “Black Pool”) was a lake used by the Vikings to moor their trade ships and was connected to the Liffey by the River Poddle.

5. Dublin is twinned to cities Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, Liverpool in the United Kingdom and San Jose, in California.

6. A lot of important people from the Literary and Movie World were born in Dublin. Including George Bernard Shaw (dramatist, critic & Nobel Prize winner), James Joyce (writer and poet and writer of Ulysses), Oscar Wilde (playwright, poet, essayist & novelist) and Hollywood stars like Maureen O’Hara, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne or Colin Farrell.

7. The city of Dublin covers a land area of 115.3 square kilometres. The average temperature in January is 5°C and the July Average is 17°C. Dublin is also considered as one of the European capitals with youngest population. Dress warmly and party hard.

8. Dublin is home to many of Ireland’s most famous musicians, from the Dubliners and Thin Lizzy to Sinead O’Connor and U2.

9. None of the mounds, called the Dublin Mountains, is high enough to meet the criteria required to claim mountain status. The Sugarloaf is the tallest ‘Dublin Mountain’ (423.3 meters above sea level). 8425 metres less than Mount Everest.

10. The Oscar, Academy Awards statuette, was designed by a Dubliner – Cedric Gibbons. Statuette shows a knight standing with a crusader sword. It has changed only a little since that time.