(Less Than) 24 Hours in Dublin

During our ride from the airport, the cab driver disagreed with us when we told him that we’d stay for only one night in Dublin. “You need two nights, at least,” he said. I don’t think so: to get to know a place, you need at least a week to slow down and go with the day-to-day flow of life.

But this time, we had only one night and less than 24 hours on the way back from a family event in Hamburg, Germany.

And I have to say, there is something to short and sweet. It takes all the pressure out of a visit. Are we seeing the Book of Kells and the library of Trinity College? The lines are too long, and you need to book in advance. The Guinness Storehouse, a must-see? No, we do not have enough time for that.

So we just walked up and down the banks of the River Liffey, crossed the Ha’penny Bridge, and took photos of the Calatrava-architected Samuel Becket Bridge. Then we enjoyed the sunset from our hotel room on the 6th Floor and watched enormous flocks of seagulls flying eastward.

But the highlight was our dinner in an authentic Irish pub. Not in one of the places in the famous Temple Bar district, which our travel guide described as cartoonish and devoid of Irish people, but at O’Shea’s Merchant. Our cab driver recommended it as the oldest pub in Ireland (which is false: The Brazen Head across the street claims to be the oldest).

We had Guinness and some good Irish dishes, and despite being a Monday night, the vibe was friendly, relaxed, and celebratory.

And of course, there was live music, like – from what we heard – pretty much in every pub in the city seven days a week. No wonder the two singing guitarists knew how to play their instruments and played intriguing covers of songs from around the world.

That made us think about the Irish artists we wrote about on glamglare over the years. We are early U2 fans, but Irish rock and pop music neither started nor ended with them, so check out our playlist of Song Picks from Ireland below:

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Song Pick of the Day

Listen to/watch all seven songs on YouTube. Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube and Spotify for the 50 latest Song Picks of the Day. Thank you for following us and sharing the excitement.

There is no better musical way to start October than with a new song by Californian singer/songwriter Chelsea Wolfe. As dark and unsettling as “Dusk” is, it tells a love story: “The friends or lovers have gone through hell and back but are still and always united in the end by love.”

A song titled “Universal Heartbreak” speaks for itself. The London musician Michael Lovett, aka NZCA LINES, used a stripped-down production to reflect on the last few years. This and other tracks of his new EP also refer to our hometown: “These songs are also inextricably linked with New York City and my life there between 2020-23 […].

A couple of hours to the west, in Bath, lives Katrina Swift, aka Lilac Haze. “My Dreamworld” is the title of her latest song and a new EP. With the slow, ethereal track, she “wanted to create something that would transport the listener to another world where dreams and hopes don’t feel like a million miles away or unreachable, and to know that things can get better no matter how bleak the reality may seem.”

We’re still in England with Jack Kane, whose new song “Sequins” takes us back to the times of sleek pop music of 90s boy bands. The upbeat track is about a tough topic: “It explores the early signs of addiction and how hard it can be navigating those first conversations with someone you care about,” Jack explains.

The singer, songwriter, producer, and overall force of nature, Rivita, finally closes in on releasing her first album. “I didn’t want to make another sad song,” she said and produced a bouncy, upbeat track, “Too Close,” is about coming out stronger after a heartbreak.

Brighton singer/songwriter Emma Gatrill enlisted several friends to help her with an intricate production for her new song. Never give up; there will be the one “Seed” that grows into a blooming flower is the message here.

For her latest song, “Freefall,” the London-based singer/songwriter Eaves Wilder shreds her guitar hard. The song celebrated “pure hedonism,” you want to swirl around and enjoy life when you hear it.

Also Happening

We’re looking forward to two new releases tomorrow: Experimental pop artist Glasser with her new album crux and the exuberant debut EP Bleeding Hearts Disco by Montréal musician Minoe.

A Las Vegas residency often marks the end of an artist’s career. So I’m not sure what to think of U2 giving 25 shows at a brand-new hi-tech venue there. The Sphere. Is it that technology finally allows them to do the shows they wanted to do in the 90s? Or is it just what a once great band must do now? The New York Times review is mixed.

Nine Photos of Dublin by Night