Airlines Aer Lingus, 41 Upper O'Connell St and 13 St.
Stephen's Green (tel 886 8888, www.aerlingus.ie ); British
Airways, 60 Dawson St (tel 1800/626747,
www.british-airways.com ); British Midland, Merrion Centre
(tel 283 8833; Dublin Airport tel 677 4422,
www.britishmidland.com ); Ryanair, 3 Dawson St (tel 669 7800
www.ryanair.ie ).
Banks Banking hours are Mon-Fri 10am-4pm, except Thurs
when they stay open until 5pm. Main high-street banks are the
Allied Irish and Bank of Ireland; branches throughout the city
centre. ATMs are widely available throughout the city.
Bicycles Bicycles can be hired from: Bike Store, 58 Lower
Gardiner St (tel 872 5399); Dublin Bike Tours, 3 Mornington Rd,
Ranelagh (tel 679 0899); Track Cycles, 8 Botanic Rd, Glasnevin (tel
850 0252).
Car rental Budget at the airport (tel 844 5150 or 874
5919), in the city (tel 837 9611 or 9802); Dan Dooley Kenning,
42-43 Westland Row (tel 677 2723); Thrifty Rent-a-Car, 14 Duke St
(tel 679 9420); Windsor Car Rentals (tel 1800 515 800,
www.windsor.ie ); plus all the usual desks at the
airport.
Counselling Rape Crisis Centre, 70 Lower Leeson St (tel
661 4911 or tel 1800 77 88 88); Samaritans, 112 Marlborough St (tel
872 7700); Well Woman's Centre, 73 Lower Leeson St (tel 661
0083).
Departures Buses to the airport set off from Eden Quay
(not all of them go into the airport compound, so check with the
driver). For the ferries, take the DART service to Dún Laoghaire;
or a bus (#53 or #53A) to Dublin Port from Eden Quay. Buses to all
parts of the country (Bus Éireann) leave from Busáras or the
streets immediately around (Eden Quay, Abbey Street, Talbot
Street); enquiries all handled at the information office located at
59 Upper O'Connell St, opposite the main tourist information office
(Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-1pm; tel 836 6111). Officially approved
private buses are generally cheaper: ask to see the bus information
file at the tourist office. Unofficial buses may be cheaper still;
they leave from various points around the city, especially on
Friday and Sunday evenings. Check the Evening Herald for
advertisements - weekend buses generally need advance booking.
Trains to the limited parts of Ireland served by the national train
system leave from Heuston Station (still sometimes known by its old
name of Kingsbridge) on the southside (Cork, Waterford, Limerick,
Killarney, Tralee, Athlone, Galway, Westport, Ballina, Claremorris)
or Connolly Station (aka Amiens St Station) on the northside
(Belfast, Derry, Portadown, Dundalk, Sligo, Arklow, Wexford,
Rosslare Harbour). Mainline commuter trains serving coastal towns
north and south of Dublin call at Connolly, Tara Street and Pearse
Street stations. For train information call 836 6222.
Embassies Australia, Fitzwilton House, Wilton Terrace
(tel 676 1517); Canada, 65 St Stephen's Green (tel 478 1988);
Denmark, 121 St Stephen's Green (tel 475 6404); France, 36
Ailesbury Rd (tel 269 4777); Netherlands, 160 Merrion Rd (tel 269
3444); Norway, 34 Molesworth St (tel 662 1800); Sweden, Sun
Alliance House, Dawson St (tel 671 5822); UK, 31-33 Merrion Rd (tel
269 5211); United States, 42 Elgin Rd, Ballsbridge (tel 668
8777).
Exchange American Express Foreign Exchange in Dublin
Tourism's main office, Suffolk St (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm) and Thomas
Cook, 118 Grafton St, give a fair rate; although the best exchange
rates are given by banks
.
Ferry companies Irish Ferries, 16 Westmoreland St (tel
661 0511); Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. (tel 1800 551743); Merchant
Ferries (tel 819 2999); Stena Line, 15 Westmoreland St (tel 204
7777).
Gaelic football All the major games of the season are
played at Croke Park (tel 831 2099). The championship season runs
from mid-February, culminating in the All Ireland finals on the
third Sunday in September. Prices reflect the status of the match,
with stand tickets starting from £20/€25.40 for semi-finals and
£25/€31.75 to £50/€63.50 for finals.
Gay Switchboard (tel 872 1055).
Horse racing You shouldn't leave Dublin without
experiencing Irish horse racing (and betting). Many of the bigger
races are run out in Co. Kildare
, but check out more local events at Leopardstown (tel 289 3994);
its major jump-race festival is held on the four days after
Christmas, while in early February its most prestigious
steeplechase, the Hennessy Gold Cup, is run. Dublin Bus
run a special service to Leopardstown on race days, leaving an
hour and a half from Busáras before the first race (£3/€3.81
return). Tickets to the races range in price from £8/€10.16 to
£10/€12.70, with an extra £5/€6.35 to £7/€8.89 for admission to the
enclosure.
Hospitals northside: Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Eccles
St (tel 830 1122); southside: Meath Hospital, Heytesbury St (tel
453 6555). Dial 999 for an ambulance.
Hurling As with gaelic football
the important games are played at Croke Park; the championship
season which begins in early summer finishes with the All Ireland
final on the first Saturday in September.
Laundry EXEL Launderette, 12 Main St, Donnybrook (tel 269
7172); Nova Launderette, 2 Belvedere St, just off Dorset St (tel
855 6736); Powder Launderette, 42a South Richmond St (tel 478
2655); Shirley's, 141 Rathmines Rd (tel 962 2228).
Left luggage There are left luggage offices at Busáras
(Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm), Connolly Station (Mon-Sat
7.40am-9.30pm, Sun 9.15am-1pm & 5-9pm) and Heuston Station
(Mon-Sat 7.15am-8.35pm, Sun 8am-3pm & 5-9pm).
Legal advice Free Legal Advice Centre, Administration
office, 49 South William St (tel 679 4239).
Pharmacy O'Connell's, 55 Lower O'Connell St (tel 873
0427), is open till 10pm daily.
Phones At least half of Dublin's public phones now
operate on CallCards, available from newsagents and garages.
International payphones are available in the GPO.
Photography One Hour Photo, 110 Lower Grafton St (tel 677
4472), or 5 St Stephen's Green (tel 671 8578).
Police The main metropolitan Garda station is on Harcourt
Street, just off St Stephen's Green (tel 873 2222). In an emergency
dial 999.
Post office General Post Office, O'Connell St (Mon-Sat
8am-8pm, Sun 10.30am-6.30pm; tel 705 7000).
Rugby The big games - the Six Nations Championship
matches held between January and March - are played at the
Lansdowne Rd Stadium in Ballsbridge (tel 668 9300).
Travel agents CIE Tours, 35 Lower Abbey St (tel 830
1888), is the biggest internal tour operator, if you want a bus
trip around Ireland; Thomas Cook, 118 Grafton St (tel 677 1721),
and Trailfinders 4-5 Dawson St (tel 677 7888,
www.trailfinders.com ), for general travel services; USIT,
19-21 Aston Quay, O'Connell Bridge (tel 679 1600), are experts in
student/youth travel.