Photo by SagenVrabel

Attention lovers of the extraordinary! Your world headquarters will soon be set up at Merrion Square Park.

From June 15 through June 17, 2007, this Dublin city center park will play host to the Street Performance World Championship, three days worth of the ordinary, extraordinary, and downright unbelievable. From sword swallowers to bull fighters, this is one competition that will have it all.

Be sure to check out the acts and locate their venues early, as the popular performers are sure to attract a large crowd. And as this is Dublin, remember to bring both your umbrella and your sunglasses—you don’t have to be a fortune teller to know that you’ll probably need both!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Photo by triptothegluefactory

Golf isn’t generally up our alley, but we’re nothing if not suggestable.

Dublin Tourism is now offering a host of great golfing offers from clubs around Ireland. Participating clubs include Malahide Golf Club and St. Anne’s Golf Club in County Dublin.

Until June 30, 2007, Malahide Golf Club is offering greens fees of just €30 for play on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays before 9:30 a.m., and only €40 for play after 9:30 a.m.

At St. Anne’s Golf Club the fees will stand at €40 until May 31 for play before 8:30 a.m. on any weekday.m

Popularity: 7% [?]

The Dublin Pass is on discount, though for just a few more hours.

At the promotional discount of 15 percent, an adult Dublin Pass currently costs just under €42. This may seem expensive but works out to be a great value for a busy visitors. With free entry to over 30 Dublin attractions, free return fair to Dublin Airport via the Aircoach, special offers on food and drink all over the city, and even free gifts from top tourist venues, the Dublin Pass is a good fit for hyperactive tourists.

Order online and have your Dublin Pass delivered to the Suffolk Street Dublin Tourism Office or the Dublin Airport Tourist Information Desk for easy pickup in Dublin, or have your pass sent directly to your own home.

The offer ends today, May 14, 2007. Time is of the essence on this one, Cheapos.

Popularity: 4% [?]

It’s a big week for literary events in Dublin, with free readings popping up all over the place.

On Thursday, May 10 (2007) Anne Haverty will be reading from The Free and Easy, a satirical look at modern Ireland as viewed through the eyes of a returned emigrant from America. Haverty is an Arts Council of Ireland Writer Fellow and the 1997 winner of the Rooney Prize for Literature. Her reading will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Robert Emmet Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, free of charge for the general public.

On Friday, May 11, poet Colette Nic Aodha will read at the Irish Writer’s Centre at 1:15 p.m. Nic Aodha writes mainly in Irish and teaches at NUI Galway. Admission to this event will also be free.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The fourth annual Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (DGTF) began yesterday and continues on until May 20, 2007, with 35 productions entertaining audiences at ten venues across downtown Dublin.

This year’s festival presents productions that either have a gay element, theme, or relevance. Theatre troupes from the UK, USA, Canada, Spain, South Africa, and the Ukraine are taking part and Award winning Broadway sensation Rick Skye is making his Dublin debut in the Irish premiere of A Slice O’Minelli, a high energy cabaret set to have audiences rolling in the aisles.

Tickets prices for DGTF events vary. Discounts are available for students, the unemployed, those with disabilities, and senior citizens. But with tickets starting as low as €14, and some events going for free, you won’t have to break the bank to attend.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo by Matthew S.

Finding a bargain meal in Dublin can be a challenge. As long as Luigi Malones is in operation, there will be cheap meals on offer in the Irish capital.

Located on the corner of Temple Bar Square, Luigi Malones serves up an All Day menu that offers a meal plus complimentary drink—beer, wine or soft drink—for just €10.90. Another deal: the All Day coffee and dessert for just €4.90.

While “All Day” is a bit of a misnomer (the menu is only available from noon until 5 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 3 p.m. on weekends) the deal still can’t be beat.

Popularity: 6% [?]

House prices have shot up in Dublin in recent years, and real estate aftershocks can still be felt in the rental market. For students and young professionals, this altered housing context has engendered real financial stresses. Those in the know use Daft to ease the pain.

Daft, you say? Daft is Ireland’s biggest property site, with over 60,000 properties available for sale or to let at any given time. With categories including Lettings (rental), Short Term (rentals of just a few weeks or months), and Sharing (search for renters or owners who need roommates) the site is very helpful, to say the least. Visitors to Dublin might take an especially close look at the Short Term rental option.

Forums such as Moving to Ireland and Renting Questions also make it easy for those just arriving in Dublin to find their bearings, and email alerts allow prospective renters know the minute something suitable comes on the market for them.

So don’t be daft when it comes to finding a rental in Dublin—or rather, do.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Photo by lylycat

There’s nothing worse than running to catch a tour that has already left without you—unless it’s paying for an unwieldy, uninteresting, or too-pricey tour, of course.

Dubl!n, the official online tourist office for Dublin, has made the frustrations of guided walking tours a thing of the past. Visitors can simply log on and download one of their iWalks for free.

iWalks are podcast audio guides to Dublin that guide the listeners to specific haunts and tell interesting stories along the way. The downloads even come with their own color maps and illustrations.

At present, iWalks exist on a variety of Dublin themes, including Georgian Dublin, The Historic Northside, Castles & Cathedrals, Viking & Medieval Dublin, Temple Bar to the Docklands, Ulysses, Kilmainham, Howth, Dalkey & Dun Laoghaire, and Malahide to Portmarnock.

Just remember to charge up your batteries before you go!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Today, April 19, 2007, head down to the Amnesty International Freedom Café in Temple Bar to celebrate Zimbabwe Independence Day in Dublin.

For just €7, visitors are treated to an evening of food, wine/drinks, raffles Zimbabwean music by DJ Tando and the chance to chat with Simeon Mawanza. Mr. Mawanza is a researcher with Amnesty International’s International Secretariat and has just recently returned from a tour of Zimbabwe.

Though the evening is being held a day after Zimbabwean Independence Day, it promises to be a fun time for all. The Zimbabwe Independence Day Café Evening will be held from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Amnesty Freedom Café, 48 Fleet Street, Dublin.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Photo by EcoCabs

The next time you cross a street in Dublin, make sure to check both ways to avoid being flattened by the stampede of eco-friendly bicycle cabs zooming around the city.

EcoCabs has just launched a free downtown service that offers weary pedestrians the chance to catch a quick lift between 10am and 8pm. These emission-free vehicles are available for short city jaunts, and are fully covered in case of a surprise shower.

Though it may take a healthy sense of humor to get pedaled around in these loudly painted cabs, they are completely safe for two adult passengers and include space to hold packages. In fact, EcoCabs is the only passenger bikes fleet to be awarded the DEKRA certificate for safety.

Popularity: 5% [?]