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Musicians play at Oliver St. John Gogerty’s pub in Dublin.

Musicians play at Oliver St. John Gogerty’s pub in Dublin. (Dennis Cavagnaro / Special to S&S)

Musicians play at Oliver St. John Gogerty’s pub in Dublin.

Musicians play at Oliver St. John Gogerty’s pub in Dublin. (Dennis Cavagnaro / Special to S&S)

A mannequin greets visitors with a light-hearted warning on the Guiness tour.

A mannequin greets visitors with a light-hearted warning on the Guiness tour. (Dennis Cavagnaro / Special to S&S)

Dublin, already famous for its St. Patrick’s Day blow-out, is now quite the party town year-round.

It is fast becoming the favorite European destination for twenty-somethings because half its population — and Ireland’s as well — is 25 and younger.

Since Ireland joined the European Community, its economy has been growing at a dizzying pace. Today, Ireland’s youth know if they stay in the country, they have a future. With full employment and confidence in the future, the young Irish are in a partying mood.

Nowhere is that more evident than in Temple Bar, once an area of rundown factories and warehouses that has been converted into wall-to-wall pubs, clubs and restaurants.

A walk through Temple Bar’s main artery, Fleet Street, closed to motor traffic, will get you tapped into an exciting realm of party energy, the equal of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street.

Don’t miss The Oliver St. John Gogerty, a four-story pub and restaurant (dancing, too) because at most hours (2:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m.) a group of musicians will be playing traditional Irish music on the ground floor.

One of the upper floors is the nightly gathering spot for the Musical Pub Tour. The tour calls at a number of Temple Bar pubs, each with its form of Irish music. It’s a great introduction to the genre.

The Foggy Dew, Buskers and the Quays attract the younger crowd with high-energy music. There is more traditional Irish music at the Auld Dubliner, O’Shea’s and the Brazen Head — not only Dublin’s oldest pub (at more than 800 years), but also possibly Europe’s oldest.

At Temple Bar’s high end is The Tea Rooms of the U2-owned Clarence Hotel: pricey, but worth the splurge and the chance of rubbing elbows with music’s royalty, film stars and fashion models.

For informal dining, but with convivial crowds, try the pubs for lunch — some serve dinner, too. Dubliners rightfully boast that their fish and chips are better than Britain’s. A great chip chain is Bishoff's.

For traditional Irish fare, give Gallagher’s Boxty House a try. Boxty is a potato pancake cooked on a griddle, stuffed with a variety of meats and vegetables. Another option is coddle — a thick stew of sausages, bacon, onions and potatoes.

And for drink, do as the Irish do. The Irish love their Guinness and their Irish whiskey — smoother than Scotch.

A worthwhile trip is out to the Guinness brewery, where you can take a tour. There’s a charge, but it includes a serving of the creamy stout served in a glass-enclosed sitting area looking out upon the city.

Jamesons distillery also offers tours, and I actually found that more interesting, especially after I was selected to test a number of whiskey samples.

The shops at both tours are heavy on brand-label souvenirs — including paraphernalia from those humorous Guinness advertisements.

For those who really love a party, there is St. Patrick’s Day. This “day” to honor Ireland’s patron saint has evolved into a four-day festival from Thursday, March 16, to Sunday, the 19th.

Dubliners call their festival “Four days of Music, Madness and Magic.” All events are free of charge.

The St. Patrick’s Eve Night Parade kicks off the festivities on the 16th, followed by the daytime Festival Parade on the 17th and the Monster Ceilidh — the biggest celebration of Irish dance — that night.

Saturday brings the International Street Theatre Production billed as “Ireland's biggest street theatre carnival.” The Sunday evening SkyFest — heralded as “a fireworks display that will take your breath away, using the biggest fireworks ever seen in Europe” — will conclude the fest.

Dubliners describe this as “a singularly Irish celebration, which means that whether you are Irish, or just sometimes wish you were, this party is for you.” It should be a good one.

Dennis Cavagnaro, a retired Marine, is a freelance writer living in California.

If you go ...

To find out what is happening in Dublin, buy a copy of “In Dublin.” It’s the definitive guide to entertainment and covers two weeks of listings, information and reviews of dining, comedy, theater, music, films and cabarets.

Two helpful guidebooks for getting around the city and getting the most out of it are “Time Out Guide Dublin” and “Dublin, The Mini Rough Guide.” You’ll need a good map, and I recommend the the tough, laminated and folding “Streetwise Dublin.”

First-time visitors will find a hop-on hop-off bus tour complete with commentary will give a rough idea of where places of interest are. A number of companies offer these tours. One is Dublin Bus, which also operates the city’s bus system.

I found that about 90 per cent of what I wanted to see is found on the south side of the River Liffey. The area revolves around and is within easy walking distance of Trinity College, about two blocks from Temple Bar. Walking is the operative word, as only a masochist would drive in the city center.

Trinity’s main entrance — The Front Gate — is a landmark and a well-used meeting place. From there hike two blocks, following the “i” sign, to the Dublin Tourism Centre, situated in the beautifully restored former church of St. Andrew on Suffolk Street. The center has a can-do staff that can answer almost all questions, provide maps, describe bus routes, book accommodation, make theater, rail and bus reservations and change money.

Trinity College is a great resource for visitors. Try the Accommodations Office, near the Front Gate, for inexpensive lodging between terms. Find inexpensive cafeteria-style meals at the Buttery and evening cheer at the Pub — great places for young adults to meet.

For more information on Dublin and its events, see its official tourism Web site, www.visitdublin.com.

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