Day in Dublin

I have been going back to Ireland regularly to see my children but in the future I'll probably go less often as Cian is moving to the UK in September and I will bring my Aifric over there instead. Incidentally, Cian has finished university this year - passing out with flying colours, while Aifric is awaiting her school leaving exam results in August so this is a watershed year for both (I've every confidence that Aifric will come out with flying colours too).

In the past I found the trips depressing - partly for personal reasons and partly because of the state of the country. As everyone knows, Ireland is saddled with a massive bank debt - the legacy of 10 years of recklessly irresponsible government. There is a credit famine, unemployment is up and people have been spending less, so many businesses have folded or are in examinership.

I was pleased, however, on my last visit that things seemed a little less gloomy - at least in terms of the mood in the street. I met Cian and my friend, Dermot, for a very healthy salad lunch in the lovely Cornucopia café (the food there is delicious, even if the queuing system is a bit chaotic). We undermined the healthiness, though, by finishing off with chocolate brownies and cream.

After that, I wandered up Grafton street on a fine summer afternoon (the fact that it was a fine afternoon probably had a lot to do with the mood - also, the sales were on). I wandered in and out of shops making purchases - rashers, sausages etc. to bring home to make an Irish breakfast, cheddar cheese (for a country that produces so many excellent cheeses of its own, I was surprised at how excited the Swiss are by a good cheddar), baked beans (for Magdalena's son), second-hand books, DVDs, clothes, Polish cheese and sausage (there are great Polish shops in Dublin - much better than here in Geneva or its environs), and so on.

It was heartening to see how busy the shops were but the activity in the pedestrianised street was no less frenetic.. There were numerous buskers - most of them outstandingly good, sand sculptors and many other street artists and the outside tables at pubs and cafés were full.

I am not blind to the fact that poverty levels have risen sharply in recent years and that there is a lot of invisible misery. Moreover, the economic prospects aren't good; there is every reason to believe that things will get worse before they get better. Still, I hope my compatriots at least have more such pleasant days this summer.