I mentioned an Irish architecture forum in an earlier post. The site in question is Archiseek.com, and for those of you who like to get their hands dirty with the history of a city or who have more than a passing interest in architecture and town planning it’s a must-read.

There’s a lot of stuff there of purely professional interest – details of awards and long discussions of planning applications – but the casual visitor will want to start with the brief histories of some of Dublin’s landmark buildings old and new, best approached from this page. There’s also a directory of Dublin street names and their origins.

The forums too can be enlightening, populated as they are by folks with a sometimes astonishing knowledge of their city. For example, there’s a fascinating recent thread on “Dutch Billies”, the form of housing once (mid-18th century) ubiquitous in Dublin but now almost completely wiped out. It is interesting to note that the Wide Streets Commissioners, lauded by tour guides and tourist pamphlets here for their work in creating the Georgian Dublin that still stands today, are viewed by some as perpetrating an act of historical vandalism unmatched until the wars of the last century.

Another great thread, and an entertaining one, is the long-running “How well do you know Dublin?”, in which posters offer photos of often obscure details of the city’s buildings. Once again, bear in mind that there are professionals at work here, and their ability to distinguish between one sash window and another can be quite startling. There’s also much discussion of the relative merits of calp and Portland stone. That said, if you’re the kind that likes to know something about what you’re looking at, or who is attracted by details, the kind of whom Hardy wrote “he was a man who used to notice such things”, then a browsing of this thread before you visit Dublin will vastly enrich your stay.

Finally, and for those of you who like your culture wet, here’s the architects’ list for the perfect pub crawl, one pub per postal district.

The Northside:

Dublin 1 – The Sackville Lounge (off O’Connell St.)
Dublin 3 – Kavanaghs, Malahide Road
Dublin 5 – Kyles, Coolock
Dublin 7 – The Hut, Phibsboro
Dublin 9 – The Gravediggers, Glasnevin
Dublin 11 – The Autobahn, Glasnevin Avenue
Dublin 13 – Graingers, Baldoyle
Dublin 15 – Myo's
Dublin 17 – Coyles

The Southside:

Dublin 2 – The Palace
Dublin 4 – The Sandymount House
Dublin 6 – Slattery’s of Rathmines
Dublin 6W – The Terenure Inn
Dublin 8 – Ryan’s of Parkgate St.
Dublin 10 – Silver Granite
Dublin 12 – The Halfway House, Walkinstown
Dublin 14 – The Morgue (aka Templeogue Inn)
Dublin 16 – The Blue Haven
Dublin 18 – Byrne’s of Galloping Green
Dublin 20 – The Villager, Chapelizod
Dublin 22 – The Finches, Nielstown
Dublin 24 – The Dragon Inn