48 hours in Saintly Dublin

It's St Patrick's Day next weekend, the perfect excuse to sink a few pints of Guinness. And where better to do so than in Dublin? Here, Ireland's patron saint is in excellent company, as the city is awash with saintly connections, says Aoife O'Riordain

Why go now?

There is a saint for almost every day of the year in Ireland, but the day that is most celebrated is St Patrick's Day on 17 March. And where better to spend it than Dublin, where every street resonates with saintly associations? Last year the festivities had to be postponed as a result of foot-and-mouth restrictions, so this year the celebrations in honour of the island's patron saint promise to be more spectacular than ever. Four days of events are planned from 15-18 March, including everything from street theatre to fireworks. It all culminates in the annual St Patrick's Day parade on Sunday 17, which starts at 12 noon in Patrick Street at the heart of the city. For further information, visit www.stpatricksday.ie.

Beam down

The most saintly way to travel is with Aer Lingus (0845 973 7747, www.aerlingus.com) as each of its 37 aeroplanes is named after a saint. Return fares from Heathrow to Dublin cost from £86.80. Regional departures are also available. The following airlines also operate regular services from all over the UK to Dublin: Ryanair (0870 1569 569, www.ryanair.com); Go (0870 6076543, www.gofly.com); British Midland (0870 607 0555, www.flybmi.com); and British European (08705 676676, www.british-european.com). Two ferry companies sail between Holyhead and Dublin: Irish Ferries (08705 171717, www.irishferries.com) and Stena Line (08705 707070, www.stenaline.com). Return fares for a car and two passengers cost from £179 with Stena Line. Dublin airport is eight miles north of the city. Taxis cost around €24 (£15) one way. There are also several bus links from the airport to the city centre, for further information visit www.dublinbus.ie. Alternatively, an express bus known as the Aircoach (www.aircoach.ie) departs from outside the terminal building every 15 minutes and drops off and picks up passengers from several locations throughout the city. Fares cost €5 (£3) one way.

Get your bearings

Dublin, which hugs the arc of Dublin Bay, is sliced in half by the River Liffey; the two areas are known as the northside and the southside. The city is interspersed with grandly proportioned Georgian squares such as Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square on the southside, and Parnell on the northside of the city. The medieval origins of the city are evident in the jumble of streets around the Temple Bar and Christchurch areas. O'Connell Street is the principle thoroughfare, with grand statues and the imposing General Post Office building, or GPO, the site of the 1916 Easter Rising. The Dublin Tourism Centre is housed in the former church of St Andrew on Suffolk Street. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm, closed Sun. For further information visit www.ireland.travel.ie or www.visitdublin.com.

Check in

U2 are known as the patron saints of Irish rock music, so it seems fitting to spend the night at The Clarence, 6-8 Wellington Quay (00 353 1 407 0800, www.theclarence.ie), which is owned by Bono and The Edge, and overlooks the River Liffey. Doubles cost from €285 (£183). Staunton's on the Green, 83 St Stephen's Green (00 353 1 478 2300), is a Georgian townhouse overlooking the pretty public garden. Double rooms cost from €140 (£85). St Aidan's Guesthouse, 32 Brighton Road, Rathgar (00 353 1 490 2011), is a Victorian house set in a leafy residential suburb, just south of the city centre. Double rooms cost from €90 (£55).

Take a ride

Hop on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) bound for Bray at Pearse Street station. This light railway runs along the outskirts of the bay from Bray to Howth Head and affords some spectacular views. Alight at Dalkey, a pretty suburb of the city, to visit the remains of St Begnet's Church on Dalkey Island, just 300 yards offshore. Boats from the Coliemore harbour take you across. From the island you can also marvel at the mansions lining Killiney Hill, owned by rock stars, writers and directors.

Take a hike

Get back on the DART and take it all the way to the picturesque harbour of Howth. Here you can take a stroll around Howth Head, which on a clear day has far-reaching views across the Irish Sea, sometimes even as far as Wales. Finish your stroll at the ruins of St Mary's Abbey, which dates from 1235. The site was also home to an earlier church, founded by the Norse king of Dublin, King Sitric, and underneath lies the burial crypt of Christopher St Lawrence, the 13th Earl of Howth.

Lunch on the run

Anybody trying to attain saintly status should be able to speak at least a bit of Gaelic. Trí-d Café, 3 Dawson Street (00 353 1 474 1050), is a trendy-looking café serving salads, soups, paninis and sandwiches. It seems like any other café in the city until the staff open their mouths; they all speak Gaelic. For the uninitiated, they will take your order in English and will happily teach you cupla focal (a few words) in the process. Alternatively, drop into the ironically named Gruel, 68A Dame Street (00 353 1 670 7119), (an offshoot of the nearby Mermaid Café) and have one of their homemade soups or delicious sandwiches made with thick bread. Around €5 (£3).

Window shopping

St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre is a large white confection at the top of Grafton Street; one of the city's premier shopping areas. The centre houses three floors of shops including Dunnes Stores, Ireland's home-grown equivalent of Marks & Spencer. Their house label is jokingly referred to as St Bernard's boutique. Or follow your nose to Sheridans Cheesemongers, 11 South Anne Street (00 353 1 679 3143), and buy some St Tola goat's cheese, an unpasteurised farmhouse cheese handmade in Co Clare, which is just about to come into season. Or have a wander around the bustling Temple Bar farmer's market, held in Meeting House Square every Saturday, and try not to be led into temptation by the delicious things on sale.

An aperitif

It would be sacrilegious not to indulge in at least one pint of Guinness while visiting its home town. Turn your back on some of the trendier watering holes and head for somewhere more authentic, like Ryan's, 28 Parkgate Street (00 353 1 671 9352), with its carved mahogany central bar, mirrors, double-faced clock and high-Victoriana décor. The less-than-saintly former US president, Bill Clinton, indulged in a pint of Murphy's at Cassidy's, 42 Lower Camden Street (00 353 1 475 1429). Or visit the wood-panelled Palace Bar, 21 Fleet Street (00 353 1 677 9290), a favourite among the patron saints of Irish literature: Brendan Behan, James Joyce, Patrick Kavanagh, W B Yeats and Oscar Wilde.

Dining with the locals

Those in search of temptation should book a table at Eden, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar (00 353 1 670 5372), a modern Irish restaurant which bears more than a passing resemblance to the interior of a swimming pool. Cross the new Millennium bridge to Halo, 6-8 Wellington Quay (00 353 1 887 2400), the main restaurant of the Morrison Hotel. The food is enough to make anyone's halo slip: typically, succulent salmon or lamb with a modern twist.

Sunday morning: go to church

Where better to worship than in St Patrick's Cathedral, Patrick Street (00 353 1 453 9472, www.stpatrickscathedral.ie)? Services of the Eucharist and Matins are held at 11.15am on Sundays. Measuring 300ft in length, the cathedral is the largest church in Ireland. The life of St Patrick is depicted on the west window, and he is reputed to have baptised several converts beside a well which is now marked by a stone in the adjacent park.

A walk in the park

As the song goes, "Dublin can be heaven, with coffee at eleven and a stroll in Stephen's Green". A 27-acre Georgian square, surrounded on four sides by terraced houses, St Stephen's Green is the largest of its kind in Europe and is an oasis of lawns, flowers and waterfalls in the centre of the city. Or take a bus from the quays to the Phoenix Park. At 1,752 acres it is the largest enclosed public park in Europe and is home to, among others, Dublin Zoo, the President of Ireland's residence, Aras an Uachtarain, and the American Embassy. Here you will find both gardens and wilderness roamed by herds of deer. The park is perhaps best known as the site of the 1979 Papal Mass, commemorated by a Papal Cross, when John Paul II presided over a mass attended by 1.4 million people and watched on television by one thousand million.

Bracing brunch

Indulge in a blow-out breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup at The Schoolhouse Restaurant, 2-8 Northumberland Road, Dublin 4 (00 353 1 614 4733), part of the hotel of the same name which was formally St Stephen's Parochial School. Brunch served 12.30pm-3.30pm Saturday and Sunday. Afterwards, cross over the canal and view St Stephens Church on Upper Mount Street, known locally as the Pepper Canister church because of its domed tower.

Cultural afternoon

Some of the most valuable displays at The National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street (00 353 1 677 7444), are Christian artefacts, such as the Ardagh Chalice, Derrynaflan Chalice and the Cross of Cong. Open 10am-5pm, Tues-Sat, 2-5pm Sun. Closed Mon. Free admission. For something a little more macabre, the vaults underneath St Michan's Church, Church Street (00 353 1 872 4154), north of the River Liffey, contain the remains of several corpses which have gradually undergone a natural process of mummification. Over the years the magnesium salts contained in the limestone walls gradually absorbed all the moisture. Open 12.30-3.30pm daily. Admission €3.

The icing on the cake

On display since the 19th century in the Old Library of Trinity College (25), the Book of Kells (00 353 1 608 2320) is one of the oldest and most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world. Dating from ad800, this book of gospels was created by the monks of St Colmcille's monastery on the island of Iona, off the western coast of Scotland. The book is bound in four volumes, two of which are on display. The library also contains the equally treasured and older Book of Durrow. Open 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat and 9.30am-4.30pm Sun. Admission €7 (£4.30).