A WRITER FROM Cork has written an alternative guide to Dublin. And he wasn’t nice.
The back story: last week, Ryanair were caught rotten using a photo of Cork to advertise Dublin in their in-flight magazine. They told the Irish Examiner that they had substituted the photo as there was “nowhere as beautiful as Cork in Dublin”.
In response, Cork-born journalist Padraig Reidy wrote a guide to Dublin for The Guardian, pointing out some of “the sights that Ryanair could have used to illustrate the delights of aul’ Dublin town”.
He wasn’t kind. We’ve picked out a few of our favourite lines:
1. “O’Connell Street, a delightful 42-lane boulevard/stretch of motorway plonked in the middle of the capital.”
2. “”The Spire”, a 398ft needle penetrating the sky; symbol of Dublin’s thrusting modernity (or, cynics suggest, the grip heroin holds on some parts of the city)”
3. “The corner where Brendan Behan drank himself to death”
4. “The canalside bench where Patrick Kavanagh sat and composed his greatest work, God Dublin’s Grim But At Least It’s Not Monaghan.”
5. “The “hop store” bar at the St James Gate brewery now towers over the city like Mordor, reminding the residents below to pay fealty to the god Diageo.”
6. “Copperface Jack’s, Dublin’s premier “nite spot” for student teachers, off-duty Gardai and other rural types drawn like freckly moths to the metropolis.”
Oh.
Padraig, it should be pointed out, has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.
Any thoughts? Hell, let’s have ourselves a poll. Which is better, Cork or Dublin?
Poll Results:
h/t Reddit
