Find out what makes Dublin special while studying abroad

Dublin packs in a huge amount of culture for such a small city. When you’re studying at the University College Dublin or Trinity College Dublin, or if you complete a summer or semester internship program, you won’t be short of places to go, things to do, and people to meet in this fair city. Get to know Dublin’s cultural heart while you’re staying in the city and discover this multicultural, thrilling city of history, green spaces, and music and literature.

Literary Greats

Dubliners have storytelling in their DNA, whether they’re writing a novel or telling a yarn in a local pub corner. This is a city with many celebrated Dublin authors: Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, and Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw and Bram Stoker – the author behind Dracula.

Dublin’s rich literary heritage spills out of every street. There are monuments, statues, homes, and street art that pay tribute to its literary heroes, and a great way to see them is to join a literature walking tour. Or if it’s a little chilly outside, pay a visit to the Museum of Literature Ireland, which has the first copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses on display.

Pubs and Guinness

The pub isn’t just a place to drink in Ireland. This is where people gather for special family occasions, meet friends new and old, and have a craic. When you’re a student in Dublin, a visit to an authentic Irish pub should definitely be on your to-do list. There are hundreds of pubs in Dublin, and many will tell you they serve the best pint of Guinness. One such pub known for its Guinness pouring skills is Kehoes, just off Grafton Street.

Another part of the Irish pub culture is music. The Cobblestone calls itself a “drinking pub with a music problem,” so this is a great place to go for a traditional Irish music pub night.

Phoenix Park

Join Dubliners in Phoenix Park for a weekend stroll in what is Europe’s biggest enclosed park. Home to Dublin Zoo, the Irish president’s home, Áras an Uachtaráin, and the Papal Cross, Phoenix Park is also a place where you might spot wild deer grazing at sunset. It’s hosted rock concerts, sporting events, and even the Pope back in 1979. It’s close to the city center too, so if you’re here in the summer, do as the locals do and make Phoenix Park your regular spot for your study group, for catching up on reading, or for relaxing with your classmates.

Irish Music

Wherever you are in Dublin, there’s music. From Celtic tunes spilling out of pubs and troubadours on Grafton Street to rock bands filling stadiums and DJs playing in nightclubs. Traditional Irish songs had a resurgence in the 1970s in Dublin, but this is a young city with plenty of live music venues, so every genre is covered. Artists like U2, The Pogues, and Sinead O’Conner call the city home, and you can see them and other Dublin legends on the Wall of Fame in Temple Bar.