Captain America flies off and leaves us with our cool memories
When Captain America’s Cookhouse and Bar opened on Grafton Street in 1971, the US President was Richard Nixon, at home RTE was planning to introduce broadcasting in colour and a time when, perhaps, our view of America was more likely to be informed by comics or the cinema. Travel was more restricted back then. It was before the internet or social media and long before news came from all over the world as it happens, non stop, 24 hours a day. Now 55 years have passed and Captain America’s in Grafton Street has closed and the US President is Donald Trump … enough said.
The Captain introduced us to whopping American styme burgers as an antidote to ‘wimpy’ Wimpy fare
Captain Americas in Grafton Street was set up by Mark Kavanagh, who later sold it on while he went on with planning and setting up the booming Irish Financial Services Centre, Dublin’s primary financial district in the Custom House Docks area north of the River Liffey.
When Captain Americas first opened in Grafton Street, it was Ireland’s first cookhouse & bar and introduced us to all American culinary delights; the full American Burger followed by chocolate sundaes and deep pan apple pie, all accompanied with an exciting blast of Rock’n’Roll and surrounded with all the colourful artistry of American style comic characters but noticeably careful not to infringe on actual American comic heroes. Marvel Comics apparently one time tried suing Captain America’s Grafton Street restaurant for breach of copyright but our Captain Americas is carefully rendered by Irish Artist Jim Fitzpatrick in his own original unmistakable style and is not at all like the Marvel Comics Captain.
NYX Hotel opens in Portobello
Thinking of visiting Dublin? We who don’t act our age might just benefit from a few days at the NYX Hotel in Portobello…and it might even some take years off. They have introduced ‘Ireland’s first-ever in-room beauty and wellness hotel experience, what they call Ireland’s first “Glow Up Package” in partnership with Déesse PRO and iS Clinical. What’s to loose… You might even become a bit more handsome, dignified, more elegant, perhaps.
The NYX Hotel in Portobello, a notable addition to Dublin’s hotel offerings
Available from June 4th to September 2026. €40 add-on for solo guests / €80 for two guests sharing At the centre of the experience is the award-winning PRO by Déesse PRO LED mask, bringing professional-grade LED light therapy directly into the hotel setting. Developed using NASA-inspired light technology and engineered with clinically recognised wavelengths, the mask is designed to support visible improvements in skin tone, texture, redness and overall skin rejuvenation. The device has become renowned within the beauty industry for merging advanced science with sophisticated design, offering guests a results-driven treatment experience in a completely new and accessible way.
The Glow Up Package is available to book now and will be available until September 2026 exclusively at NYX Hotel Dublin, Portobello Instagram: @NYXHotelDublin – TikTok: @NYXHoteldublin
All aboard for the Baldoyle Bloomsday bus
We celebrated Bloomsday as usual with our H1 bus from Baldoyle and Luas from abbey Street to Duke Street to join the crowds alternating between The Baily and Davy Byrnes or just standing chatting, all as usual dressed in all our Edwardian Bloomsday finery. Men, bow tied, straw boaters or bowler hats. The ladies in full-length dresses, perhaps shawls, wide-brimmed hats or parasols.
This year the unexpected Bloomsday pub conversation was about the television quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” Some had watched live or some Goggleboxed. All reflecting on the contestant who actually won a million by answering the question: “Used since 1876, which trademarked logo is described in the James Joyce novel Ulysses and depicted in works by Manet and Picasso?” And how he immediately answered correctly…admitting he had never actually read Ulysses. The four possible answers were: Bass Ale, Famous Grouse, Coca-Cola or Stella Artois. Turned out the contestant was no Joycean. He had once seen Édouard Manet’s painting at a bar in the Folies-Bergère in Paris and remembered the distinct Bass red triangle on the bottles.
All aboard the Baldoyle Bloomsday bus
This year also brought the launch of Desmond J Green’s new book on his vast collection of Joyceana and celebrated by hosting an event called New Perspectives on Irish English, a biennial conference first held in 2010 at UCD. Frank McNally, he of ‘An Irish Diary’ in The Irish Times fame and wit and a major authority on the works of Joyce was asked to say a few words in an eve-of-conference workshop on “Irish-English in the real world”. Entertainingly, Frank wrote: “So I turned up and, not knowing anyone, sat at the back of the room with the rest of the audience” Prof Corrigan began to introduce a group who had taken their seats alongside her. Frank then realised that someone called “Frank McNally” was supposed to be among them and only then realised that the empty chair on stage was his.
Frank wrote: “Somewhat to the amusement of the audience, I left my seat at the back and, sheepishly interrupting the professor, said “I just realised I’m on the panel.” Frank added,”Happily, all I had to do was briefly explain my interest in Irish-English,…once started, I found, the biggest challenge was to shut up”.
James Joyce: A Life in Books: The Desmond J. Green Collection is published by Martello Publishing We did celebrate Joyce but also a thought for our other great Dublin writer Jonathan Swift, this year celebrating the 300th anniversary of the publication of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ first published in 1726,
Danny Mullin Ambassador to Leopardstown
Recently, The 1878, the Exclusive Private Members Club at 3Arena, played host to a racehorse ‘Comfort Line’ and Leopardstown Racecourse ambassador Danny Mullins, marking the renewal of its partnership with the famous Dublin racecourse.
Leopardstown Racecourse ambassador Danny Mullins with Comfort Line at the 1878
Leopardstown Racecourse Located just six miles from Dublin city centre, it is home to some of the country’s most celebrated fixtures, including the Dublin Racing Festival and the Irish Champions Festival.- founded in 1888, is one of Ireland’s premier racing venues, renowned for its rich heritage and world-class horse racing. Hosting 23 race days annually, Leopardstown showcases the best of both Flat and National Hunt racing and remains the only racecourse in Ireland to stage both Grade 1 and Group 1 races. It hosts some of Ireland’s most iconic fixtures, including the Bulmers Live at Leopardstown, the Christmas Festival, the Irish Champions Festival, and the Dublin Racing Festival.
Another accolade for The Little Museum of Dublin
You will know I’m a big fan of the The Little Museum of Dublin and delighted to hear it is now ranked among top 10 attractions in Europe. The announcement by TripAdvisor, the bible for travellers worldwide, places it 7th in Europe, ahead of the Louvre Museum and Notre-Dame Cathedral Paris and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. The announcement by TripAdvisor, the bible for travellers worldwide, sees the Little Museum of Dublin in their top ten attractions in Europe and at number 12 in the world in their 2026 Travellers’ Choice Awards – the first time that an Irish attraction has featured so prominently in their ‘Best of the Best’ awards.’
Located in the heart of Dublin on St Stephen’s Green, the Little Museum of Dublin is a city museum with a collection created through public donation. The museum’s collection is entirely curated from objects donated by the people of Ireland. Each artefact tells a story, creating a rich and personal narrative of Dublin life across generations. Visitors can explore carefully designed exhibitions that highlight defining moments in Irish history, from everyday life to pivotal national events, including the Easter Rising.
Dr. Daryl Hendley Rooney, Deputy Curator of the Little Museum of Dublin, called it an an “extraordinary achievement that speaks to the generosity of Irish people, who helped to build our collection, and the support of our patrons in Failte Ireland, Dublin City Council and the Department of Culture.
