I love the idea of an entire park being general admission (first come, first serve seating). The…read morebigger-more loyal the fan, the better the seats they'll get. While that didn't work out perfectly for my visit from out of country, I'm willing to live with it, especially since we still managed to get a decent view. We checked out my 1st every hurling match. I quickly became a fan of the fast pace game, but honestly still have trouble figuring out all of the rules. That being said, I don't know if it is typical or just the game I attended, but it was pretty sweet to be allowed on the field after the game! They also had groups on the field during halftime. Having just been to dinner, I didn't check out the concession stands, but can say the bathrooms were cleaned. Overall, an excellent part of my Dublin experience!

You see, I knew the minute that I typed "Parnell Park" into Yelp that no-one would have reviewed…read morethe place. You can all wax lyrical about the joys of "Croker this" and "Hill 16 that", Parnell Park is the true home of Dublin GAA (this is also strictly true in the technical sense; for Croke Park is the national stadium and the headquarters of the GAA, while Parnell Park is Dublin's home ground and the home of the Dublin County Board). It's grand for all the fair-weather fans supporting Dublin in the glamorous championship during the summer; where were they on the rainy night in February for the national league match against Roscommon? I first became acquainted with Parnell Park when I was very young. We were still living in Killester, just down the road from the Nell, and I used to be able to hear the roars in my back garden on match days. As such, the place naturally held an immediate draw for me, and I used to make my Dad bring me down there, which, fair play to him, he did on a regular basis, despite him being a Tipperary man with a natural aversion to football. My nascent interest in the national game happened to coincide with a brief revival in Dublin's footballing fortunes. We got to the final in 1994, only to be beaten by Down, and we got to the final again in 1995, on which glorious day we beat Tyrone and lifted Sam for the first time in 12 years, a feat which, nearly 14 years later, we've yet to repeat since. Since 1995, my love affair with the Dublin team has been noticeably cooling. But there are some who don't go back to cutting the grass or doing whatever else people return to on Sundays having given it up between May and September. There are 2000-3000 hardcore Dublin fans who are at Parnell Park week in, week out throughout the national league, fans who don't stop following their team outside of the grand confines of Páirc an Chrócaigh. So head down to Collins Avenue some Saturday or Sunday between January and the end of April to see a real GAA experience.

Dublin's Ambassador Theatre is a glorious building at the top of O'Connell Street…read more Formerly a cinema, the Ambassador now hosts a variety of concerts, exhibitions and live music performances. The venue itself is quite impressive - a large spherical structure with grand old architecture and those gorgeous red curtains... I was particularly impressed to discover they have a ladies' powder room - how very 1940s! It was obviously constructed in the days before the population took a turn for the obese, for the staircases are rather narrow and do not easily accommodate two modern 'normal' sized women. Scary sign of the times, huh?!? Many great bands have performed here over the past few years, including Vampire Weekend, The Hives, Franz Ferdinand and Amy Winehouse. Additionally, the Bodies Exhibition has just finished a very well-received six month residency at the Ambassador. Hmmm wonder what's coming up next??

I was here for the Animals Inside Out exhibition so I suppose I only have half an impression of…read morewhat the place is like as a theatre, but it worked out great for this event! The staff were all really sound and informative, despite us not coming in until the absolute last minute of entries. The theatre is definitely aging, but it seems fairly clean and reasonably well kept together. The ladies bathrooms show the age, but they were clean! They're also down a stairs of their own, which was a little creepy in the empty theatre! The exhibition, I suppose, is not really what we are reviewing here, but it was just excellent. Just the right amount of interesting and unnerving.

We had the most wonderful experience here. We had fantastic seats for Joyce's Ulysses. Having…read moreread the book, I didn't see how it could be adapted as a play- but it was fantastic. Beautifully done- but also with some brilliant humor scattered here and there. It was a tour de force- and all the actors were superb. And there isn't a bad seat in the house! The president of Ireland came to our performance (he sat just a few seats behind us)- and it was lovely to see him and to stand an applaud. It was a completely magical evening.

Fantastic theatrical adaptation of Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses!…read more Passionate actors and on-stage seating! I came early and was upgraded free of charge from the absolute back to the absolute front, huge thanks to the ticketing staff. Go in with an open mind - if you've read the book, don't expect a one-to-one retelling. It's a super light-hearted take and considerably lightens much of the heavier topics that have made the book so lasting over the generations. But when judged on its own merit, it was a splendid performance

We saw Jim Gaffigan perform here on our last night in Dublin. Vicar Street is a performance venue…read morethat was close to our Aloft Hotel. It has a great bar area and a perfectly-sized theater area with a huge sea of tables with cushy stools, surrounded by a few rows on all sides of stadium seats and a small upper balcony with a few rows of seats as well. The staff was all friendly and helpful. The drinks are pricey, but that was to be expected. Happy to bring our drinks into the venue space for the show. There is a lounge and a coat check area, and the bathrooms are clean. We were happy to be at the very back corner of tables because the table area was spaced very close together and people in the center had a really tough time finding their table and getting in and out, as needed. Even in the back table, we had a clear view of the stage and the sound was great. Note that tables seat 4 people, so if you go with less people than that, be prepared to make friends with the strangers seated with you. We would definitely go to this venue again. I would love to see live music here. There is a great pizza place next door, too.

Very intimate venue for a concert. Lots of bars and bartenders for pre and post show drinks!read more

The Mill is a great wee theatre, nicely laid out and easy to navigate…read more We arrived early so got a good look around the room, there isn't a bad seat in it. The décor is clean, comfortable and modern with some nice touches like the lighting that hang down all 3 levels of the stairwell. The bar is as you would expect - a bit Spartan with a very limited selection - including just 2 beers on tap - Guinness and Heineken. It was disappointing, but then, you don't come for the drinks do you?

The Mill Theatre is a modern theatre located at the centre of the equally modern Dundrum Town…read moreCentre. It's pretty slick and has all of the comfort that you would expect from a purpose-built theatre. Like many new theatres, the seating is tiered downwards towards the stage which is on ground level so you won't have to crane your head to see. The programme is varied, and includes productions by children's story-tellers, local singing and dancing groups and touring drama troupes. This summer, it even includes an evening with a psychic medium! I saw a really professional and smooth performance of Irvine Welsh's 'Babylon Heights' here a few years ago. The building also boasts a bright gallery space.

I found this venue to be clean and easy to access. Inside there are main stairs and sets on each…read moreside. I love this. It prevents a bottleneck of people thru a main stairway which is usually the case in older venues. We sat all they way up high. 4 tickets. Took our kids to Aladdin. No problems at all with hearing the actors or seeing them. The bathrooms were completely clean. The drinks were reasonably priced. Drink are not allowed into the searing area. Only outside before the play begins or at intermission.

Beautiful theater. Great place to check out if coming from out of town and looking for theater…read more They present big shows here. We happened to catch Angela's Ashes, the musical. Had a wonderful evening. It's a bit sways from downtown Dublin, so you'll have to drive here. Buses won't be operating by the time you get out.

The home of Leinster Rugby. Well, except when they play in the RDS or Lansdowne. The fact that…read moreLeinster occasionally use different stadiums is part of the reason Donnybrook is so surprisingly small. The other, and main, reason is that they don't actually own much land on the far side and therefore can't build a second stand. Damned Tennis Court! Still, one stand and two terraces ain't half bad given the relative obscurity from which club rugby has emerged in the last ten years or so.

Donnybrook Stadium has recently been dragged into the high-octane modern world of professional club…read morerugby with a brand spanking new stand. The exterior of this futuristic concrete structure is draped with ginormous action portraits of Leinster idols like Leo Cullen or Brian 'BOD' O'Driscoll. Irish rugby has been so ludicrously successful in recent times that burgeoning crowds were causing the old venue to almost burst at the seams when a popular fixture came to town. As they cannot get hold of the adjacent properties, Stand #2 is nowhere on the horizon, and seeing as the really, really big dates like Leinster vs. Munster are held in Croke Park, and shortly, at the new Lansdowne Road, there may actually be no need for one The much harangued and ridiculed Senior and Junior School's Rugby Cup matches are held in Donnybrook each year too. These events are like clinical research into the herd-mentality and see hundreds of uniformed young males descend into an uproarious fervour of animalistic school pride. Definitely worth a look-see, as I don't think you'll find school spirit as powerful as this anywhere else this side of the Atlantic.

This is what Dublin in 2014 is all about. Giving over a small space to creative endeavours that…read moresupport the arts in Ireland, and inspire and entertain those who get to experience it, thereby thoroughly enriching the lives of our city's inhabitants. Theatre Upstairs is a totally independent theatre which is dedicated to the support of rising talent. I like this concept. Sometimes ambitions like this can come with a caveat of lack of quality, however this is certainly not the case with these guys. Great place, great value, definitely worth checking out their programme of events.

Cool little theatre about Lanigans Bar. To be honest, it's just so good to see a space for…read moreindependent arts that I can overlook some of its flaws. Firstly, it's hot... Very, very hot. Also in the quieter moments of the piece we saw there was a lot of noise bleed from the bar downstairs. But damn, it's good to see people taking a chance and putting on plays and I, for one, will be back here and may even rent it out for some of my own endeavours.