The leaving of unlivable Temple Bar

The island of Ireland is well covered in The Irish Times this week, with stories from the north, the south and the capital city.

Starting in Dublin, the discussion on how to make it a more livable city is a well-worn one at this stage with rising rent prices, short-term lets and an abundance of hotels often cited as factors in people moving further from the city centre.

This weekend, Frank McDonald and Olivia Kelly write about one of the busiest areas of the city that is also, for many, one of the most unlivable: Temple Bar.

In 1995 McDonald and his partner bought an apartment in a renovated 1840s warehouse building at the corner of Temple Lane and Cecilia Street – where they would live until 2022.

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In this piece, he recalls the good and the bad of living in the area and why, in the end, they needed to move.

So what of the future of Dublin’s most touristed area? In her accompanying article, Olivia Kelly speaks to business leaders who argue that the district is moving in the right direction and reject a judge’s recent stark depiction of it as a ‘no-go area’.

“I think a lot of the criticism and the view or positioning of Temple Bar comes from the late 1990s and early-noughties and that massive, mad drink culture. It was true then, there were queues outside every pub and hotel, it certainly isn’t true now,” says Martin Harte, chief executive of business group the Temple Bar Company.

Earlier this week, Aoife McElwain wrote about a trip north where she came across what is now her favourite food destination in Ireland: Ballycastle.

Even those of us with the most basic grasp of history understand why a conscious or unconscious barrier between North and South lingers, she writes.

“I’ve seen a map of the UK with Northern Ireland floating off to the left, detached and bizarre, an offshore community, an afterthought,” says Ciara Ohartghaile, co-founder and baker at Ursa Minor Bakehouse & Cafe. “I’ve even seen the opposite where we’re cut out of the rest of the island. How weird. Does no one else scrunch their face at the madness of it? What has our history, the politics, done to us?”

Meanwhile, Kevin O’Sullivan took a trip in the opposite direction, to Dingle, Co Kerry to be precise to see how the peninsula is modelling a new way for rural Ireland to thrive.

The Kerry community is embracing innovation with a mix of local energy projects, nature-positive farming and sustainable tourism, he writes.

With temperatures soaring thanks to an Azores High over Ireland, it’s the perfect time to get the barbecue out so thankfully Mark Moriarty’s recipes this weekend and last weekend are perfect for outdoor cooking.

In his column this week Fintan O’Toole wrote about Ireland’s proud history of opposing anti-Semitism, while Daniel Geary makes the point that Trump’s big, beautiful Bill could be the Republicans’ undoing in mid-term elections.

Yesterday, Kerry booked their place in the All-Ireland final with a comprehensive win over Tyrone while, this afternoon, Meath face Donegal. It’s been a remarkable year for unfancied Meath and on Friday, Gordon Manning profiled the players who have taken the championship by storm.

Also yesterday, the Lions rounded off their warm-up matches with an easy win over an Australia and New Zealand selection. You can keep up to date with all of the action from the Lions tour on irishtimes.com/rugby, including a sit-down interview Gerry Thornley did with Ronan O’Gara last week.

As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest in sport. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.

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