I visited Dublin a few months ago. I hadn't been to Dublin for more than 12 years (my trips back to Ireland take me to Cork instead).
Dublin felt like an invigorated city to me, lively and exciting. My visit coincided with excellent sunny weather (rare for Ireland), so I took the opportunity to sit in the sun and people-watch.
I wandered around and sat in Stephen's Green for an afternoon, one of the main garden squares in the centre of Dublin.
I saw and heard the following microcosms of Dublin:
- Lots of teenage girls queuing up to meet a boyband with no name that hadn't made any music.
- Two young guys talking about women (and magpies) with every sentence filled with swearwords.
- A woman saying to another, "You were gone up like a tomato!"
- A young woman playing the ukelele (badly) to raise money for a charity trip to Uganda. An older woman passed her, commenting with a disdainful Dublin drawl, "Don't give up yer day job!"
- 3 young women having a picnic. One had (evidently) just married. They were catching up, in the most insincere tones I've maybe ever heard. Cork accents, like.
"Hoooow's married life?"
"Noooo different"
"So, how was the wedding?"
"Great!"
"Did you have a great time?"
"Great time!"
"Wassss it fabliss?"
"Fabulous!"
"And you'd definitely go back?"
"Definitely go back!"
"And how was the hotel?"
"Beautiful!"
"And the food?"
"Out of this world!"