"That young Paul, he was a menace.".

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My Mis-Adventures in Dublin, Ireland

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station Staff Writer

Starting this week on the U2 Station, I will be writing about my (mostly) humorous but true accounts of my two trips to Dublin, Ireland. Of course, all the stories will have a U2 twist to them. I hope you all enjoy my (mis)adventures.

Every U2 fan is required to go to Dublin, Ireland at least once in their lifetime. It's like a sacred vow we all take. Muslims go to Mecca. U2 fans go to Dublin. My first trip to Ireland was during the making of the Pop album. (Of course, at the time I don't think anyone knew it was going to be called Pop.)

My husband and I had just separated. Of course I was angry and a whole bunch of other emotions. Getting even was definitely on my mind. It was part of the separation papers that our house was to be sold with the money being shared equally between the two of us. I knew what I was going to do with my half. There was the question of what to do with the diamond ring that I no longer wore. Sentimentality told me to keep it and give it to our son when he became an adult. Then I realized the truth of the situation -- he would probably give it to his first love interest; who would, in turn, probably throw it out a car window during their first real fight. Well, I'll not have a perfectly good diamond go to waste like that. So, I took it to the local pawn shop and got enough money for a down payment on a trip to Ireland. Since, I was mad at my ex; I knew that nothing would make him angrier than my "blowing" my half of the money on something like a vacation.

And blow the whole amount I did. I planned my trip through a top rated travel agent. I brought one of the most expensive packages they had -- eight nights and seven days at a 4 star hotel. (No, it wasn't the Clarence.) My package included just about everything you could want -- theater tickets, tickets to Dublin Castle, tickets to see the book of Kells, a one day bus trip to kiss the Blarney Stone; and a week of unlimited rides on DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit system). I really didn't do any of these things; I didn't catch the theater, I didn't kiss the blarney stone. I spent most of my days sleeping and my nights intoxicated (hey, I had a lot of steam to blow off).

If you haven't been to Ireland and are maybe planning a trip -- one thing you should know is that there is absolutely NOTHING to do there on Sundays. Yes, my plane landed down on a Sunday morning. My taxi went past the power plant that is at the beginning of the "Pride" video. Only a true U2 fan would get excited about seeing a dirty power plant first thing after getting off a 6 hour plane flight. Upon arriving at my hotel; I fell asleep for 5 hours.

Since there was nothing to do on a Sunday, I decided to talk to some of the "locals'. One of the first people I met was the woman who worked in the hotel gift shop. A white haired woman, heavy set and obviously Catholic (judging by the way she liked to talk about the Saints -- St. Malachi being her favorite). Her claim to fame is that she has lived her entire adult life on the street where Bono grew up. "I remember Bob and Iris, and those two boys they had. Yes, I remember Paul when he was just a wee tot being pushed around in his trolley". Okay, I'm having a hard time dealing with anyone with the nerve to call Bono by his birth name. I'm having an even harder time imagining him as a "wee tot being pushed around in his trolley". The white haired woman continued, "It must have been true love. They had it tough those two. Bob being Catholic and his Iris being Protestant. I would see them every Sunday, Bob going one way to church and his misses and the two young tots going the other street to her church. And that young Paul, he was a menace. The whole street would hear Bob yellin, his misses cryin', and that Paul runnin' round causing trouble an' laughin' all the same time. 'Tis was a tragedy when me's Iris died. Things never were the same round there after that. I never did see Bob with another woman......."

She had somehow switched topics and was now going on about St. Malachi and the sinfulness of Ireland. I really didn't pay attention to what she was saying. Her story about the young Paul "running round causing trouble" gave me the hope I needed to carry on in my quest. I decided that the thing to do was to go out and find Windmill Lane studios -- right then and there. Again, if you have never been to Dublin, it's a very bad idea to go roaming around the docks at night -- which is exactly where Windmill Lane is located. The docks in 1990's Dublin would be the equivalent of, well -- the ghetto. And no one with half a brain would go stomping through the ghetto of a strange city at night. Unless, of course, you are a U2 fan going to Mecca.

I never saw any of the members of U2 outside of Windmill Lane. I did see some really great, beautiful artwork created by fans. And I met some great U2 fans. The only day that I really did go sight seeing was when I went to see the Book of Kells with a group of U2 fans from Spain. And I met Bridget from East Berlin. It was with Bridget that I would have my most fun (mis)adventures.

But first, I had to discover Dockers.

Next installment of my mis-adventures in Dublin: U2 Buy Me a Pint in Dockers Pub.

Copyright © 2007 U2Station.com. All rights reserved.

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Brenda published on January 20, 2007 11:32 PM.

Developer joins U2 stars in EU150m Clarence project was the previous entry in this blog.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Bono to Receive NAACP Chairman's Award is the next entry in this blog.

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