Think you know Dublin? Fatti curiosi di Dublino

Stasera sono andata al Johnny Fox's Pub e tra le tantissime cose appese alle pareti e al soffitto c'era un interessante manifesto di fatti curiosi di Dublino.

E' facile trovarne una copia nel web, anche se molte sono le varianti.
www.at.artslink.co.za/~gerry/knowledge.htm
www2.gol.com/users/coynerhm/45_useless_facts_about_dublin.htm
homepage.tinet.ie/~nobyrne/dublinfacts.html
www.de-ridder.info/ireland/knowledge.shtml

Chiedo perdono per la lunghezza, ma prendetevi il tempo, è interessante e molto simpatico soprattutto per coloro a cui piacciono le curiosità di questo tipo...

1) Dublin's O'Connell Bridge was originally made of rope and could only carry one man and a donkey at a time. It was replaced with a wooden structure in 1801. The current concrete bridge was built in 1863 and was first called "Carlisle Bridge".

2) O'Connell Bridge is the only traffic bridge in Europe which is wider than it is long and Dublin's second O'Connell Bridge is across the pond in Stephen's Green.

3) Dublin Corporation planted 43,765 deciduous trees in the Greater Dublin area in 1998.

4) Dublin's oldest workhouse closed its doors for the last time in July 1969. Based in Smithfield, the premises housed 10,037 orphan children during the one hundred and seventy years it operated.

5) Dublin was originally called Dubh Linn meaning Black Pool. The pool to which the name referred is the oldest known natural treacle lake in Northern Europe and currently forms the centrepiece of the penguin enclosure in Dublin Zoo.

6) There are over 1,000 prostitutes operating in the Dublin area on any given night. Most are women from outside Dublin.

7) The average Dubliner earns £19,000 per annum, giving twelve pounds to charity and a hundred and sixty two pounds in tips. The most important consideration when a man is deciding whether or not to give a barmaid a tip is the amount of her body that he can see. A quarter of all tips go to taxi drivers even though they earn, on average, four times the average wage in the city, higher than ninety six percent of their clients.

8) None of the so-called Dublin Mountains is high enough to meet the criteria required to claim mountain status. The Sugarloaf is the tallest 'Dublin Mountain' yet measures a mere 1389 feet above sea level.

9) The headquarters of the national broadcaster RTE in Montrose was originally built for use as an abattoir.

10) Dublin's oldest traffic light is situated beside the Renault garage in Clontarf. The light, which is still in full working order, was installed in 1893 outside the home of Fergus Mitchell who was the owner of the first car in Ireland.

11) The Temple Bar area is so called because it housed the first Jewish temple built in Ireland. The word 'bar' refers to the refusal of Catholics to allow the Jewish community to enter any of the adjoining commercial premises.

12) Tiny Coliemore Harbour beside the Dalkey Island Hotel was the main harbour for Dublin from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century.

13) Dublin is the IT Call Centre capital of Europe with over 100,000 people employed in the industry.

14) In 1761 a family of itinerants from Navan were refused entry to Dublin. The family settled on the outskirts of the city and created the town of Rush. Two hundred and fifty years later, almost the entire population of Rush can still trace their roots back to this one family.

15) Ireland's longest running Internet publication www.bowsie.com was established in Dublin in 1994.

16) Dubliners drink a total of 9800 pints an hour between the hours of 5.30pm on a Friday and 3.00am the following Monday.

17) Women from Dublin are the least likely to become pregnant through casual sex. Women from Meath are the most likely.

18) Dublin is Europe's most popular destination with travelling stag and hen parties. There are an estimated six hundred 'pre wedding sessions' every weekend in the capital.

19) Harold's Cross got it's name because a tribe called the Harolds lived in the Wickow Mountains and the Archbiship of Dublin would not let them come any nearer to the city than that point.

20) Leopardstown was once known as Leperstown.

21) The average 25-year-old Dubliner still lives with his/her parents preferring to spend their money on fast cars and clothes rather than a mortgage.

22) Dublin vets charge up to fifteen times more for animal health services than their counterparts outside the capital.

23) Two radio stations attract over 90% of all listeners in the Dublin area.

24) There are twelve Dublins in the United States and six in Australia.

25) Buck Whaley was an extremely wealthy gambler who lived in Dublin in the seventeen hundreds. Due to inheritances, he had an income of seven thousand pounds per year (not far off seven million a year at today's prices). He lived in a huge house near Stephen's Green which is now the Catholic University of Ireland. He went broke and he had to leave Ireland due to gambling debts. He swore he'd be buried on Irish soil but is in fact buried in the Isle of Man in a shipload of Irish soil which he imported for the purpose.

26) The Burke Brothers were Dublin's 1960's equivalent of the Kray twins. They weren't actually brothers but second cousins.

27) The converted Ford Transit used for the Pope's visit in 1976 was upholstered using the most expensive carpet ever made in Dublin. The carpet was a silk and Teflon weave and rumoured to have cost over £950.00 per square meter.

26) There was once a large statue of Queen Victoria in the Garden outside Leinster House. It was taken away when the Republic of Ireland became independent and in 1988 was given as a present to the city of Sydney, Australia to mark that city's 200th anniversary.

29) The largest cake ever baked in Dublin weighed a whopping 190lb's and was made to celebrate the 1988 city millennium. The cake stood untouched in the Mansion House until 1991 when it was thrown out.

30) A pint of Guinness in Dublin can cost as much as £2.75 or as little as £2.10p depending on where you drink.

31) Dubliners are more likely to buy a stranger a drink than locals from any other area of the country are.

32) The Radisson St Helens Hotel in Stillorgan sells the dearest pint in Ireland.

33) There are forty six rivers in Dublin city. The river flowing through Rathmines is called the River Swan (beside the Swan Centre). The Poddle was once known as the 'Tiber' and was also known as the River Salach (dirty river), which is the origin of the children's song "Down by the river Saile". It is also the river whose peaty, mountain water causes the Black Pool mentioned above.

34) Saint Valentine was martyred in Rome on February 28th eighteen centuries ago. He was the Bishop of Terni. His remains are in a cask in White Friar Street Church, Dublin. He is no longer recognised as a Saint by the Vatican.

35) The statue in Dublin's O'Connell Street is commonly known as the 'Floozy in the Jacuzzi' while the one at the bottom of Grafton Street is best known as the 'Tart with the Cart'. The women at the Ha'Penny bridge are the "Hags with the bags", James Joyce's statue is called the "Dick with the stick" and the Chimney Stack with the new lift in Smithfield Village is now called the "Flue with the View". The Millenium Spire is being called the "Stilleto by the Ghetto" and the "Stiffy by the Liffey".

36) There is a fountain in College Green with some ghastly statues of angels. This stands on the spot where there was once a statue of King Billy on a horse. It was blown up six times before being completely destroyed by a bomb in 1946. The wreck was taken to a corporation yard and the horses huge lead testicles were melted down and used to repair a pipe.

37) St Michan's Church was called after St Michan and St Stephen's Green was called after St Stephen.

38) Montgomery Street was once the biggest red-light district in Europe with an estimated 1600 prostitutes. It was known locally as the "Monto" and this is the origin of the song "Take me up to Monto"

39) Dublin boasts more homosexuals per capita than San Francisco.

40) Henry Moore, Earl of Drogheda lived in Dublin in the eighteenth century. His job was naming streets. He called several after himself. Henry Street, Moore Street, Earl Street, Drogheda Street. Drogheda Street later became Sackville Street and is now O'Connell Street. He didn't like to see the 'of' from his name left out so when he was naming a small lane (off O'Connell Street) he called it "Of Lane" (it's gone now).

41) Nelson's Pillar was blown up in 1966 to mark the fiftieth annivarsary of the 1916 rising. It now lies in a heap in a valley in County Wicklow.

42) Leinster House in Dublin was originally built as a private home for the Duke of Leinster. At that time, the most fashionable part of Dublin was the North Side and he was asked why he was building on the South Side. He said "Where I go, fashion follows me.!" ..... and to this day the most fashionable part of Dublin is the South Side.

43) Tallaght is one of the oldest placenames in Ireland and it means "The Plague Cemetery"

44) There are five areas in Dublin whose names end in the letter 'O'. Fewer than one Dubliner in 20,000 can name them off by heart.
They are..... Rialto, Marino, Portobello, Phibsboro and Pimlico.

45) Kevin Street Garda Station was once the Palace of the Archbishop of Dublin.

46) The original name of Trinity College was "Trinity College Near Dublin". The capital was a lot smaller then.

[Modificato da nadiaidi 19/02/2006 16.53]

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Scritto da: nadiaidi 19/02/2006 4.36
11) The Temple Bar area is so called because it housed the first Jewish temple built in Ireland. The word 'bar' refers to the refusal of Catholics to allow the Jewish community to enter any of the adjoining commercial premises.

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Questa mi giunge nuova.
Io sapevo che prendeva il nome da un tale Mr Temple che abitava li e che era provost del Trinity o qualcosa di simile.

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18) Dublin is Europe's most popular destination with travelling stag and hen parties. There are an estimated six hundred 'pre wedding sessions' every weekend in the capital.

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Si, soprattutto inglesi.
A Londra invece non è difficile incontrare irlandesi che vanno a fare i loro stag/hen parties...

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24) There are twelve Dublins in the United States and six in Australia.

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Mi pare che Dublino sia la quarta o quinta città irlandese al mondo, a NY ce ne sono diversi milioni... oltre ai paesi citati ce ne sono moltissimi a Liverpool e Manchester, oltre ovviamente a Londra.

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41) Nelson's Pillar was blown up in 1966 to mark the fiftieth annivarsary of the 1916 rising. It now lies in a heap in a valley in County Wicklow.

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Si, da un ex-IRA.

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Scritto da: =Donegal= 19/02/2006 14.53

Mi pare che Dublino sia la quarta o quinta città irlandese al mondo, a NY ce ne sono diversi milioni... oltre ai paesi citati ce ne sono moltissimi a Liverpool e Manchester, oltre ovviamente a Londra.

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Lo sapevo che il Donegal me le leggeva!

David, quando dice "There are twelve Dublins in the United States and six in Australia", mica si intende che ci sono 12 Dublinesi negli Stati Uniti.
Si intende che ci sono dodici città chiamate Dublino negli States e 6 in Australia.

Non metto in dubbio che alcune cose siano leggende metropolitane o semplicemente credenze popolari, però sono pur sempre curiose.

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6) There are over 1,000 prostitutes operating in the Dublin area on any given night. Most are women from outside Dublin.

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Fergus...per quel tuo progetto?

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Scritto da: nadiaidi 19/02/2006 14.58
Lo sapevo che il Donegal me le leggeva!
David, quando dice "There are twelve Dublins in the United States and six in Australia", mica si intende che ci sono 12 Dublinesi negli Stati Uniti.
Si intende che ci sono dodici città chiamate Dublino negli States e 6 in Australia.
Non metto in dubbio che alcune cose siano leggende metropolitane o semplicemente credenze popolari, però sono pur sempre curiose.

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Io non l'avevo intesa come numero di città con quel nome, ma come "ci sono 12 volte gli abitanti di Dublino negli USA e 6 in Australia"... chissà quale è l'interpretazione giusta... probabilmente la tua perchè gli irlandesi negli USA sono diverse decine di milioni.
Comunque on credo che siano leggende... molte cose sono vere o almeno verosimili...

Mumble mumble, il mistero di infittisce

Però c'è scritto twelve Dublins mica twelve times...
Come la risolviamo, a pugni?

[Modificato da nadiaidi 19/02/2006 16.24]

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Scritto da: nadiaidi 19/02/2006 4.36

26) There was once a large statue of Queen Victoria in the Garden outside Leinster House. It was taken away when the Republic of Ireland became independent and in 1988 was given as a present to the city of Sydney, Australia to mark that city's 200th anniversary.

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Scritto da: nadiaidi 19/02/2006 16.08
Mumble mumble, il mistero di infittisce

Però c'è scritto twelve Dublins mica twelve times...
Come la risolviamo, a pugni?

[Modificato da nadiaidi 19/02/2006 16.16]

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per me è chiara e come al solito c'han ragione le donne

[Modificato da LorenZinos 19/02/2006 16.35]

Allora allora... lo so che fra poco vi metterete a ridere ma, sfidando il senso del ridicolo, posto lo stesso questo argomento.

Mi e' stato segnalato che esisterebbe una competizione (chiamiamola cosi'), nella quale ci si deve mettere a culo nudo attaccati allo Spire.
L'ultimo che stacca le natiche dal palo vince un mese di affitto.

Ho chiesto lumi al mio coinquilino irlandese il quale, anziche' mettersi a ridere, ha confermato la cosa aggiungendo che la competizione sarebbe stata lanciata da una radio.

Chi ne sa qualcosa?

A scanso di equivoci, non ho intenzione di partecipare alla prossima edizione di your ass on the spire.

A proposito di spire, è nella stesso punto in cui c'era la colonna di Nelson... detto ciò vi lascio ai vostri giochi con l'oggetto in questione

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Scritto da: Tameko 19/02/2006 18.07
Allora allora... lo so che fra poco vi metterete a ridere ma, sfidando il senso del ridicolo, posto lo stesso questo argomento.

Mi e' stato segnalato che esisterebbe una competizione (chiamiamola cosi'), nella quale ci si deve mettere a culo nudo attaccati allo Spire.
L'ultimo che stacca le natiche dal palo vince un mese di affitto.

Ho chiesto lumi al mio coinquilino irlandese il quale, anziche' mettersi a ridere, ha confermato la cosa aggiungendo che la competizione sarebbe stata lanciata da una radio.

Chi ne sa qualcosa?

A scanso di equivoci, non ho intenzione di partecipare alla prossima edizione di your ass on the spire.

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Immagino ci sia la fila e facciano a botte per tentare la gara...

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Scritto da: =Donegal= 20/02/2006 10.59
A proposito di spire, è nella stesso punto in cui c'era la colonna di Nelson... detto ciò vi lascio ai vostri giochi con l'oggetto in questione

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La colonna di Nelson era una stazione di arrivo dell'allora tram cittadino e offriva la miglior vista della città dalla sua cima, raggiungibile attraverso una scala interna.

La colonna, non tanto amata da molti dublinesi, è stata parzialmente abbattuta dall'IRA l'8 marzo 1966, in occasione del 50esimo anniversario dell'Easter Rising.

Due giorni dopo la colonna è stata interamente demolita dall'esercito, provocando molto più danni in O'Connell Street.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson's_Pillar


Nel 2003 viene eretto lo Spire, a cui subito vengono dati numerosi e simpatici nomignoli:
The Spike, The Stiletto in the Ghetto, The Scud in the Mud, The Nail in the Pale, The Metropole, The Stiffy by the Liffey, the Rod to God, the Pin in the Bin, the Erection at the Intersection, the North Pole

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_statues_and_their_nicknames

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La colonna, non tanto amata da molti dublinesi, è stata parzialmente abbattuta dall'IRA l'8 marzo 1966, in occasione del 50esimo anniversario dell'Easter Rising.

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...e allora giustamente ci hanno costruito lo Spire che divide l'opinione pubblica dublinese (questa e' la versione politically correct, in realta' i dublinesi di mia conoscenza dicono che sia odiato da molti).
Questo soprattutto per il fatto che questa, che e' la scultura piu' alta del mondo, e' costata ufficialmente 4 mln di euretti (anche qui... sembra che in realta' sia molto di piu', qualcuno mi ha detto 12), soldi che sarebbero potuti finire in servizi pubblici (io riporto sempre cio' che mi e' stato detto dagli autoctoni).

Anche a me mi ha lasciato in dubbio all'inizio per alcuni secondi pero ci sono arrivata per 1 semplice fatto.
Ogni volta che cerco qualcosa su internet mi vengono fuori tante Dublino...per poi vedere che sono in USA on in Australia e non qui.

Parzialmente abbattuta???? Ma non potevano tirarla giu del tutto scusa? Facevano un favore a tutti. 4 milioni di Euretti...sprecati :-)

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Scritto da: Earendil78 21/02/2006 11.07

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La colonna, non tanto amata da molti dublinesi, è stata parzialmente abbattuta dall'IRA l'8 marzo 1966, in occasione del 50esimo anniversario dell'Easter Rising.

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...e allora giustamente ci hanno costruito lo Spire che divide l'opinione pubblica dublinese (questa e' la versione politically correct, in realta' i dublinesi di mia conoscenza dicono che sia odiato da molti).
Questo soprattutto per il fatto che questa, che e' la scultura piu' alta del mondo, e' costata ufficialmente 4 mln di euretti (anche qui... sembra che in realta' sia molto di piu', qualcuno mi ha detto 12), soldi che sarebbero potuti finire in servizi pubblici (io riporto sempre cio' che mi e' stato detto dagli autoctoni).

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ma questi sono proprio...ubriachi!

Beh facciano pure. Io rimango giu a farmi qualche risata

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Scritto da: sandaletto 20/02/2006 11.40


Immagino ci sia la fila e facciano a botte per tentare la gara...

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Sono a Dublino da ieri e questa sorta di competizione vorrei proprio vederla! Non per partecipare ma per farmi qualche risata. Se qualcuno scopre a quando l'appuntamento faccia un fischio!
Ciao italiani a Dublino e ciao a quelli che ci vorrebbero essere!

Tameko...ma l'ultimo che stacca le natiche e vince 1 mese di affitto lo vince per la sua casa o...per 1 loculo? no sai se cadi da li...

Hi hi hi comunque mi piacerebbe davvero vederla questa competizione