At City Language School English Language School Dublin we like to let our students know what we think are the best things to see and do around Dublin in their free time. After a busy week of learning English, we know it is important to wind down and relax. So here are our Three on a Thursday – three recommendations for this weekend. This week we are heading back over to the south side of the city and to hang around the wealthy suburbs Dublin 4 & 6.
Visit of the Weekend – Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Herbert Park is in a very posh part of the city between Ballsbridge and Donnybrook and as such is very well-kept. The park has all weather football pitches, grass pitches, tennis courts, a small lake and lots of green space. This is a great location for an afternoon picnic before you continue on to check out nearby or play a game of football in the park itself. There are lots of buses you can take from right outside our school door that will take you to Herbert Park but you can also walk it and enjoy the sites of Georgian Dublin on the way. If you are a nanny or au pair there are two playgrounds to choose from there is free parking after 2pm Monday to Friday – just be sure you are on the correct side of the road.
Walk of the Weekend – Raglan Road & Patrick Kavanagh\’s Statue, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
OK so it\’s just a road but once you look at Luke Kelly\’s rendition of Raglan Road you might change your mind. The area around Raglan Road is known as the Embassy Belt due to the large amount of…eh…embassies. The houses around here have been used in lots of Hollywood period movies and if you own a house around here you are probably loaded. It was here that Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh spotted and fell in love with a woman to whom he wrote this famous poem. Years later the words were put to music and sung by Luke Kelly of The Dubliners. It is one of the most famous Irish songs of all time. Not far from here you will see a statue of Patrick Kavanagh. People often stop, sit down beside him and tell him everything that\’s on their mind.
(Give it a minute. Believe us you have never hear a voice like this)
Pub of the Weekend – The Beggar\’s Bush, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
There are several pubs to choose from around here and some others are more lively but at around 6pm on a sunny Friday this is a great spot to sit outside and watch the world go by. It is also comparatively cheap (not Dicey\’s now) and it will have a good mix of Irish and foreign workers from the nearby offices of Facebook and Google.
