Area: 114.99 km². Population: 505.739. Time Zone: WET (UTC+0).
The name Dublin is derived from the Irish name Dubh Linn (meaning "black pool"). Historically, in the traditional Gaelic script used for the Irish language, bh was written with a dot over the b, rendering 'Dub Linn' or 'Dublinn'. Those without a knowledge of Irish omitted the dot and spelled the name variously as Dyflin (a phonetic rendering in Old Norse), Develyn or Dublin.
Dublin is a thriving centre for culture and is home to a great literary tradition - its native sons include Shaw, Yeats, Joyce and Beckett -- and is the cradle of many musical talents, from the Dubliners and the Chieftains to U2. Street-side cafes and pubs are always alive with animated conversations and visitors may soon be engrossed in topics as diverse as sport, politics and literature or the old favourite, the weather. It is interesting to note that it was in many of these same cafes and pubs that the literary giants such as Joyce, Kavanagh and O'Casey discussed the topics of the day over a thick creamy pint of Guinness....
Nightlife and entertainment Temple Bar, the city's centre for nightlife and entertainment. There is a vibrant nightlife in Dublin and it is reputedly one of the most youthful cities in Europe - with estimates of 50% of inhabitants being younger than 25. Furthermore in 2007, and again in 2009, Dublin was voted the friendliest city in Europe. Like the rest of Ireland, there are pubs right across the city centre. The area around St. Stephen's Green - especially Harcourt Street, Camden Street, Wexford Street and Leeson Street - is a centre for some of the most popular nightclubs and pubs in Dublin.
Live music is popularly played on streets and at venues throughout Dublin in general and the city has produced several musicians and groups of international success, including U2, The Dubliners, Horslips, The Boomtown Rats, Thin Lizzy, Sinéad O'Connor and My Bloody Valentine . The two best known cinemas in the city centre are the Savoy Cinema and the Cineworld Cinema, both north of the Liffey. Alternative and special-interest cinema can be found in the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar, in the Screen Cinema on d'Olier Street and in the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield. Across suburban Dublin are located large modern multiscreen cinemas. Situated on the Liffey at the Eastlink tollbridge, The O2, Dublin (originally called, and still often known as, the Point Theatre) has housed world renowned performers in all fields of music.