I visited Ireland in 2001, traveling to Dublin, Cashel, and Newgrange having come down from Belfast and a trip to Giant’s Causeway. In 2006, I stayed in Dublin for another day when flying from the UK to California.

Irish Cities

• Dublin – 6/10 (2001, 2006)
• Cashel – 5/10 (2001)
• Newgrange – 8/10 (2001)

Ireland is a very specific country in terms of demographic history. Uniquely, its population today – even if the Republic was to unite – is lower than its 8.5M peak in 1840, just before the Irish Famine. Under demographic normality, its population could have been 30M. Consequently, there is a strong impression that the rain-soaked and fertile landscape is emptier than it should be. However, it is also a rich and modern country, and that was evident to me even during my 2001 visit. Young as I was, I was still struck by how suddenly the roads went from being potholed to smooth on crossing the border with the Republic, and by how gas stations suddenly accepted cards instead of cash only. It’s fascinating how strongly early industrial lock-in and religious sectarianism held Northern Ireland back, allowing its more rural and previously backward southern neighbor to leapfrog it during the 1990s and never look back.

I can’t say much about Dublin without another visit. I know that even back then it was jam-packed with East European labor migrants, and these have since been augmented by the usual Third World Gastarbeiters. It is Anglophone, unlike the Israelis, the Irish never made a real hardcore effort to revive their language on a mass scale. I quite like Irish cuisine, a plate of boxty with a pint of Guinness isn’t something I’d ever complain about. Overall, I think Dublin could be a nice place to live, but there are many places with superior bang for the buck.