Why is Dublin the fastest growing city in Europe? Because it just keeps doubling and doubling and doubling! Odd that seemed funnier in my head.

Anyhow to begin, some confessions. I am not Irish. I don't live in Dublin. I don't visit Dublin every other day that has a 'Y' in it and I don't even drink Guinness very often. However, I recently organised a trip to take a group of thirteen for what was my first ever visit to the Emerald Isle. So if you don't think I'm qualified to write this opinion then, well in all honesty the lame gag at the start should have scared you off. Alternatively if you are planning a similar trip (and let's face it the city is becoming quite the Mecca for hen/stag weekend aways) then I might have some interesting points. I don't, but I might.

Anyway the reason us thirteen boys and girls decided to take the 50 minute flight from Bristol to Dublin wasn't for anything as exciting as a forthcoming marriage but because Ryanair were offering flights for £1. When you see something that cheap you have no excuse but to go really. So go we did.

Being sensible souls we booked our room in advance. That's right room, singular. At one point we were looking for who needed doubles; who could share; who snored; who shouted in their sleep and so forth but ended up deciding that as we were supposed to be doing this on a budget, booking a dormitory would be a darn site easier and cheaper. (and not to mention entertaining when the girls got into their jammies, but that's another story...).

When it comes to budget travel naturally the first thing you want is a hostel. The roughguides website gave us an excellent selection and from there we found Ashfield House on D'Olier Street. Charging £10 a night for a dormitory room and situated about 5 minutes walk from Temple Bar (the drinking heart of the town) we thought we couldn't go far wrong and in all honesty we didn't. If you're are used to staying in hotels then be prepared for a step down but if all you want from accommodation is a comfortable bed and hot shower then this is the place for you. For your tenner a night you even get a continental breakfast included. (So it only consists of bread, jam, tea and orange juice but what do you expect!)

Anyway back to the Dublin. As a capital city you won't be surprised to learn that it's fairly crowded at the weekend, however head into a pub or restaurant this annoying bustle turns into a lively atmosphere. Around the Temple Bar area there is practically a pub on every street corner with one or two in between making it the ideal location for the lazy person's pub crawl. Dublin being the cultural city that it is there is also the opportunity to take the 'literary pub crawl', and visit the previous haunts of Oscar Wilde and the like (should you be that way inclined.)

However for all its young population and lively centre it is possible to find non-drinking related distractions. For a start you'll need to kill time before the bars open again at ten. The main tourist attractions of the city (all worth an opinion in their own right) are,
Trinity College: home of one of the oldest surviving books in the world, the Book of Kells.
Dublin Castle: accidentally blown up many times due to poor gunpowder storage and now more of a stately home.
Guinness Brewery: see the manufacture of Ireland's most famous export after the colour green.
The post office: No seriously, it's even a stop on the open top bus tours of the city (which I'd only recommend if you're a fan of mother-in-law jokes) Now a museum, the main post office was the site of the 1916 rebellion and there are still bullet holes in the walls to prove it.