Damian Byrne (1973)
About me
I grew up in Wicklow, the county below Dublin. After a spell living in Belfast, I moved to Dublin in 1997 and have remained here since, living in Drumcondra, on the northside of the city. My time in Dublin has coincided with a period of rapid change in the life of the city, reflecting the country’s dramatic fluctuations in economic fortunes.
Whilst some of these changes have been hugely positive and others less to my liking, the city has never been dull.
Why do I love my city?
- Its a cliché, but the best thing about Dublin remains the people and the pubs, despite our Government’s best efforts to ruin them (the pubs, that is) with the smoking ban and Victorian-era licensing laws;
- Proximity to the mountains and the sea. One of the great pluses of living in Dublin is that within the space of an hour, one can be swimming in the Irish Sea or walking in the Wicklow Mountains;
- The Dublin Bike Scheme. Modelled on the Parisian version, this scheme has been a huge success since its recent introduction.
- Sport. The Irish are sports-crazy. Rugby is all the rage at the moment, but it is the indigenous sports of Gaelic football and, in particular, hurling which offer the most thrilling spectacle, especially a big Championship game at the magnificent Croke Park stadium.
Check out my favorite spots!
