I was born in Dublin. Now I live in South Dublin close to Dún Laoghaire, the name of which comes from an old fort that belonged to an ancient Irish chieftain. In between, I’ve lived in Brussels, Warsaw, DC, and Lisbon. 

You know you’re from Dublin if you say, “Up the Dubs!” in support of the Dublin County Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), a community-centered sporting and cultural organization. You know you’re from Dublin if you wear a blue Dublin County GAA shirt. You know you’re from Dublin if you eat fish and chips from Leo Burdock. 

A movie that gets Dublin right is Once, a 2007 film starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, which gives a lovely sense of the city’s atmosphere. One that gets it wrong is anything with too many leprechauns. 

My favorite nickname for Dublin is Fair City from the song “Molly Malone.” The most famous face I’ve seen in Dublin is Jürgen Klopp, the former Liverpool FC coach. Dubliners are known for our sense of humor and for saying “thank you” to bus drivers, and we can’t live without fresh sea air. 

A visit to Fair City should include EPIC, the Irish emigration museum; Croke Park, the 80,000-seat stadium in the heart of the city and GAA’s headquarters; the Dublin Coastal Trail, which winds through 11 villages; the Museum of Literature Ireland, home to the first copy of the first edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses; and Iveagh Gardens, a secret park behind the National Concert Hall. 

If I could transport anything from DC, it would be the cherry blossoms and the Lincoln Memorial. The friendly people and abundance of parks and trees in Dublin remind me of Washington, but DC can keep its humidity. 

When I need to get away, I visit the beautiful countryside in the West of Ireland: Sligo, Mayo, Galway, and Roscommon. But my nest is best because it has great people and experiences, is easy to get around, and is beside the sea and the mountains.