To welcome in the New Year in style, why not do something a little different and head to Dublin. NYF Dublin is a fun festival combining dance, music and many other cultural events. This 3 day festival is spread across the city.
NYF Dublin – Celebrating the New Year In Style
It’s a quick and easy flight from London City airport to Dublin airport via Cityjet. Aer Lingus and your taxi transfer takes less than twenty minutes to the centre of Dublin.
Little Museum of Dublin
During your Dublin trip, we recommend a visit to The Little Museum of Dublin. Whether you have several days in Dublin or a whole week, it’s a great introduction to the city. Housed in a stunning Georgian town house, it celebrates the lives of ordinary Dubliners.
You can’t help but be impressed by the array of over 3000 artifacts. The ground floor exhibitions change regularly but one of the permanent and most popular rooms is the one dedicated to U2. Bono and The Edge even visited in secret and apparently enjoyed it, as they signed the guest book, with Bono commenting “awesome”.
Irish Music at O’Donoghue’s
From here, walk a short distance to O’Donoghue’s. This bar on Merrion Row is famous for its live music and cosy atmosphere.
Many celebrities have visited since it opened in 1934, including John F Kennedy…on a horse! The Dubliners actually formed their famous band here.
Several punters have left a signed note in their currency as decoration. If you’re lucky, you will be invited to pull a pint behind the bar. It’s surprisingly easy if you follow the instructions and pull it in 2 stages, allowing it to settle before topping up the head. They even give you a Guinness pint pulling certificate.
Dinner at Hugo’s
For dinner in Dublin, head to Hugo’s, a few doors away. This intimate restaurant has been popular since opening in 2007 and serves up Irish cuisine with French influences.
We enjoyed a delicious 3 course meal, including a tasty chicken and duck liver parfait, pan fried duck breast with beetroot, green apple amd calvados jus. My favourite course was the clementine and white chocolate mousse with a crunchy ginger bread crumble.
Irish Food Trail
We also recommend a fun Irish Food Trail around Dublin. Start your journey of discovery in Temple Bar, one of the most vibrant areas of the city.
It’s busy during the daytime but really comes alive at night. Our friendly guide took us to a traditional Irish restaurant, Gallagher’s Boxty House, that is famous for its boxty, an Irish potato pancake.
We were lucky to be treated to a demonstration on how to make boxty, before tucking into that and then a hearty selection of Winter stews. They went nicely with a pint of Jack Smyth stout.
At our next port of call, the stylish Front Door bar and restaurant on Dame Street, some other members of our group tried their hand at Guinness pint pulling.
Our final destination was Darkey Kelly’s, another good spot to listen to traditional Irish music. Darkey Kelly was burned at the stake for witchcraft in 1761 and although she was not actually a witch, bodies were discovered under the brothel that she ran so she may well have been a serial killer!
Thankfully the bar itself is a welcoming place and the perfect venue to savour a whiskey and chocolate tasting. In Ireland, whiskey is spelt with an ‘e’ to distinguish it from Scottish whisky.
Teeling Whiskey is the only distillery in Dublin and we’ll be telling you about our visit in a later post. All 3 of the whiskeys that we tasted were very drinkable, and we finished up with a superb Guinness chocolate mousse.
Now it was time to head to the NYF Dublin 2016 New Year’s Festival celebrations. There were concerts and dancing going on all around the city over 3 days, many of them free like Luminosity.
Luminosity at Customs House
With a backdrop of Dublin’s historic Customs House and the River Liffey, Luminosity was a breathtaking 3D light projection display held on several days. We watched as the building was enveloped in ever-changing images, each more spectacular than the last.
Many families had booked the free tickets and it was fun seeing the children gasp in delight as street performers on stilts approached them.
Sky Dance
For New Year’s Eve, Luminosity had a special twist…it became a 4D performance! On the top of Customs House, there are magnificent standing statues.
For this night, they were joined by performance company Fidget Feet who took their position on the roof…before floating into the sky on a broomstick and in a boat. As they twirled over the crowd and the River Liffey, we admired their agility.
For the finale, they para-sailed down the building in a seemingly effortless display.
NYF Dublin 3 Countdown Concert
After this we jumped in a cab and headed to St Stephen’s Green, where the 3 Countdown Concert takes place. It’s normally held on College Green but due to roadworks took place around the Green this year, which had been fully pedestrianized for the occasion.
There were four acts in total, Little Hours, Brian Deady, The Blizzards and the headliner, Walking on Cars. It was raining so we stopped first for a warming drink and caught the third and final performances.
The Blizzards are an Irish band from Mullingar, who were celebrating their come-back single, Drop down the Anchor. Despite the rain, their infectious tunes really pleased the crowds.
We were fortunate to see some of the behind the scenes filming of the concert for the headliner, Walking on Cars. They’re an alternative rock band who are well known for Speeding Cars, Ship goes down and Catch me if you Can. It’s impossible not to sing along to the chorus of Speeding Cars!
The countdown was fast approaching and as the New Year chimed in, we gave our fellow journalists a hug. It was nice to see the gig’s security guards shaking hands with members of the audience – all part of Dublin’s legendary friendliness.
Fade Street Social
If you’re looking for a fun place for lunch, we recommend trendy Fade Street Social. This casual eatery by chef-owner Dylan McGrath specializes in innovative cuisine.
We were really impressed by the tapas appetizers in the Gastro Bar, combining unusual flavours like salted popcorn with crispy free-range chicken to great effect. The mini goats logs wrapped in ham and brushed with balsamic and truffle honey were my favourite.
Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhuit – that’s Happy New Year in Gaelic!
Check out our video of our adventures at NYF Dublin here:
Have you ever been to NYF Dublin? How did you welcome in the New Year?
In association with Failte Ireland
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es todo precioso, lo habreis pasado genial
Thanks Inma, it was a wonderful celebration indeed. Hope you had fun
That all sounds so fun! I haven’t been to Dublin for years!! We just went out in London and then had some friends back to our flat for midnight 🙂
That must have been a lot of fun too, a nice cosy way to celebrate!
What a fabulous way to end 2016 and welcome the New Year! The Sky Dance must have bene great to see in person, as well as the illuminations 🙂
Gabrielle | A Glass Of Ice x
It was a lot of fun and really made a change from fireworks. Wishing you a wonderful 2017, Gabrielle!
great way to welcome in a new year!
We loved it, Tanja – hope you had an equally fun NYE
yes, I did:)
Dublin is such a great place, one of my fav’s sounds like you had such a great time.
Gemma x
www.jacquardflower.uk
It was lovely, everything was within walking distance but there was so much to do! Hope you had a good one, Gemma
How fun! Sounds like you that an amazing NYE! Dublin is SO fun–great pics!
xoxo, Vanessa
www.WhatWouldVWear.com
Thanks very much, Vanessa – and hope you had a lovely NYE too
Wow, it looks and sounds like you had a fun NYE! I need to seriously visit Dublin! 🙂
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http://ourruins.com
DUBLIN LOOKS AMAZING! I need to make it a place I visit in 2017 – thanks for sharing xx
www.kirstyjennifer.com
My pleasure, Kirsty, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it if you visit
Looks like you had a fabulous New Year’s! Interesting fact regarding the whisky spelling! Well, wishing you all the best for 2017, lots of travels and great food adventures! xo
I never knew that about whisky spelling either! Hope you have a fabulous 2017 too, Anouk – I always enjoy reading about your trips
Thank you!
Awesome !
http://www.fruityandpassion.com/2016/12/winter-calling.html
Looks amazing and fun!
http://www.myclusterofthoughts.com/
Thanks Katherine, it was a great trip
I’ve been to Ireland lots of times but never Dublin! I’d absolutely love to visit, looks like you had a whale of a time x
Sick Chick Chic
Ooh you have to visit, I guarantee you’ll have a brilliant time
This New Year’s Eve concert looks like it was so much fun!! I rang in the new year with my boyfriend at a close friend’s party and had an amazing time drinking champagne while counting down to 2017!
I visited Dublin almost 10 years ago but I’d love to spend more time in the city now that I’m older!
http://thecourtneydiaries.com
Sounds like you had a brilliant time, Courtney. We went quite easy on the drinks as we both had colds! Hope you get to return to Dublin as it’s changed quite a bit
What a packed post Suze, and such great highlights. It must have been such a blast to spend the new year in Dublin. Such a fun city as well. <3 /Madison
FASHION TALES
It was the perfect place to spend it, really easy to get to and such nice people! Hope you had a good one, Madison
This looks like such a fun trip and a great start to the New Year! Wishing you all the best for 2017!
Miriam
www.londonkitchendiaries.com
You too, Miriam! Hope you had a lovely New Year
Looks like an incredible trip1 Such lovely photographs! Love it!
Deepti xx | www.mademoisellemeetsmaquillageandmacaroons.com
That’s very kind and thanks for stopping by
Oh wow one of my favourite cities, what an amazing experiences – your photos really show how vibrant this city is!
I think it’s the people of Dublin who make it so vibrant!
Yay for a new year! And how fun was Sky Dance? Happy 2017, lady!
-Ashley
Le Stylo Rouge
Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces at Sky Dance was the best!
And for you too, Hayley – hope you have lots of fun experiences ahead
How fascinating about Darkey Kelly and how funny that John F Kennedy rode into Merrion Row on a horse! Looks like you had a fabulous New Year Suze and it’s always lovely to do something different. I saw some of Ian’s Irish family at a family wedding recently and they made us promise to visit them in Dublin next year so I will definitely re-visit your Dublin posts for tips!
How nice to have family to visit in Dublin, the people really are lovely! They’ll no doubt show you some great times
So beautiful!!!
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Glad you like it, Nicky
Happy New Year! what a great way to celebrate!
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And my very best to you too, Hadas!
What a fantastic way to see in the New Year!!
Loved it and looks like you had fun too, Emma
I’ve never been to Dublin Suze but this looks great. A fantastic way to spend a new year! Gary x
It’s a foodie paradise, Gary, you have to visit
I hope that your passport situation gets sorted soon, it must be really frustrating. Have a lovely weekend
That food looks fantastic!! It must have been a great NYE!! 🙂
www.simimaus.blogspot.com
What a fantastic way to bring in the New Year … very retro I must say. I’m not a big fan of museums & usually very picky, however, the Little Museum of Dublin looks like so much fun. I haven’t been to Dublin as yet but I definitely have to now. P.S. that Guinness chocolate mousse has got my craving for chocolate mousse right now! Yum!
Sounds like a brilliant New Year, you can always count on the Irish to throw a wonderful party. I like the look of all the food and the trail Lucy x
It looks like you guys had a great NYE
xo
www.laurajaneatelier.com