Arthur's Day

Thursday, September 24th, 2009 was a historic day for Dublin and a celebration like the city had never seen. Guiness, the internationally famed Irish Stout turned 250. The story goes, Arthur Guiness founded the Guisness brewing company on this day in 1759. So, officially at 17:59 people around the world would toast his memory and the legacy of Arthur Guiness. The Guiness family is one of the most famous in Dublin and the Guiness Storehouse continues to be one of the city's most popular tourist attraction. Guiness is drank all over the world and the official celebration called for 30+ music acts in Dublin and more in other cities on each continent.

Although there were 30+ venues around the city hosting official events (which were also broadcast on live TV around the world), there were absolutely no tickets to be found a week ahead of time. Guiness had annouced the probable acts far ahead of time and they included many I would have loved to see including Tom Jones, Paolo Nutini, David Gray, The Kooks, Ravorlight, Calvin Harris and otheras. They did not announce which venue would be hosting which act which made any ticket valuable. Although we did not have tickets, my roommate Hakon and I had planned on going out and seeing as many places as possible. The plan was to start in Temple Bar and work our way back towards our house.

As we walked into the City Centre, the streets were alive with activity. Many people had taken off from work early to make it to a 17:59 show or just hit up their favorite pub. The atmosphere in the streets was alive and electric and most pubs were offering specials or hosting some kind of party. By the time we made it to Temple Bar, it was nearing 17:59 so we were anxious to get inside a pub and get a pint of Guiness for the toast. Despite the crowd spilling out of all the doors, we decided on the Quay's Bar in Temple Bar. It was so crowded the inside felt like a oven and it seemed everyone was at the bar trying to get a pint. The dark, milky Guiness was flowing continuosly from each tap as the bartenders desperately tried to accomodate the crowd. As 17:59 approached, the toasting began and lasted for nearly 10 minutes. We got our pints just in time and headed towards the crowd in the street. The crowd was ecstatic, singing songs and dancing in the street and small square outside the bar. There were old and young people, tourists and natives, all together celebrating a single beverage!

After the toasting, a band started playing in the bar. The crowd in the street intensified, however, eventually starting to smash glasses on the ground! A circle formed in the middle as more and more people threw their pint glasses into the street. Soon there was glass everywhere and time for the Garda (Irish police) to take control. When they drove over the glass, through the crowd, a few ridiculously ignorant people threw their glasses at the car! Needless to say they were arrested seconds later.

We waited at the Quay's Bar until the crowd to disperse before leaving to meet some friends outside the Stag's Head. After the craziness had transpired, Temple Bar had calmed down but was still filled with people. A windy and mostly cloudy day ended with clear skys and a nice colorful sunset. We continued along on our way home meeting friends along the way. By midnight, I was exhausted but had had a full day of events. My roommate Tim who has grown up in Dublin has said that he had never seen the cuty the way it was on Arthur's Day. It was truly a grand day to be in Dublin!