D is for Dublin

Pauls's characters all visit one of her favourite cities! 

Dublin has featured in all my Irish novels, even though the main part of the story takes place in Clifden and Connemara on the opposite side of Ireland.

In Irish Inheritance, Jenna and Guy first meet at Dublin Airport, and again at the lawyer’s office on St. Stephen’s Green. I imagined the office to be in one of the beautiful Georgian houses that border the large park in the centre of Dublin.

They visit the Book of Kells exhibition at Trinity College, and spend the evening together in the Temple Bar area of the city, which is full of bars and restaurants (and tourists!). Later in the story they return to Dublin, or rather to Dalkey, which was originally a separate town, but is now classed as a suburb of Dublin. However, it retains its ‘small town’ atmosphere, with a medieval castle, as well as a wonderful view of Killiney Bay, one of my favourite views in Ireland.

In Irish Intrigue, Charley goes to Dublin with Jenna for a weekend. They stay at a 5 star hotel overlooking St. Stephen’s Green – and every Dubliner will know which hotel I mean even though I didn’t actually name it! They also attend a film premiere at a cinema on Upper O’Connell Street. I gave it a different name, but based it on a real cinema that does host Hollywood-style premieres!

In Irish Secrets, Kara and Ryan stay at that same hotel on St. Stephen’s Green. One day, if  my Irish books continue to sell well, I might just treat myself to a night there – it's only about £450 (about $600) per night! 

Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery features in this story. It is an amazing place, the final resting place of many of Ireland’s patriots or, as someone has said, everyone who was anyone in Irish history. I wrote about Glasnevin before I actually managed to go there, so I based my description on photos and videos, and a fascinating DVD called ‘One Million Dubliners’ – because there are over a million graves in the cemetery, going back to the mid-19th century. I was quite relieved, when I finally visited Glasnevin earlier this year, that my descriptions of the cemetery, the visitor centre, and the pub next to cemetery were fairly accurate!

In my current ‘work in progress’, Irish Deceptions, the heroine, Ellie, will be going to watch a ballet at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. I saw a play there a few years ago, so at least I’ll be able to draw on my own memories for that. I haven’t yet decided what else Ellie will visit while in Dublin, but there’s plenty to choose from!