Waterfront base on Dublin’s Grand Canal

Quite a few decent hotels in Ireland’s capital are within a stone’s throw of the River Liffey, which has been the city’s lifeblood since Viking longboats sailed up to establish a settlement here in the 9th century.

But Dublin has a few other prominent waterways, not least the Grand Canal, which curves on the city’s Southside.

I’m staying here at the Mespil Hotel, a smart four-star choice that faces the canal and is looking good after a revamp injected a contemporary fizz to its guest rooms and public spaces. You could find a more central stay than this, but the location is good.

St Stephen’s Green, the largest of Dublin’s attractive squares, is 15 minutes away on foot, and you’re also within strolling distance of some of the city’s sought-after suburbs, and the Aviva Stadium, where top rugby and soccer matches play out.

Having the tree-shaded towpaths of the Grand Canal a few seconds from the hotel makes it all the more appealing in a vaguely Amsterdam-like way.

Work on this waterway began in 1757 to link the Liffey and docks of Dublin, the gateway to the Irish Sea and Britain, with the River Shannon, a portal to the Atlantic Ocean and the Americas.

Threading cross-country, through the Irish Midlands, and whiskey-making towns like Tullamore, the canal stretched 144km and was completed in the early 19th century.

Useful for trade, helping to transport freight and people, the canal fell into decline after the rise of the railways and motorised road traffic, and closed to commercial vessels in 1951.

Later revived for leisure purposes, this waterway today carries narrowboats, canoeists and kayakers, while its towpaths and bike lanes attract walkers, joggers and cyclists — some of whom commute to work along this wildlife corridor, which is flush with flora and fauna, even in the city.

After passing a tribute to Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967), who’s depicted in a statue seated on a bench opposite the Mespil Hotel, I see ducks gliding on the inky waters and a solitary swan grazing on the grassy banks. Birds and butterflies race by as I pass a fisherman with his rod.

Apparently, there’s a decent stock of pike, perch, bream and eels in this canal, which has preserved many of its original locks and lock keepers’ cottages.

On another bench, a young woman is reading a book, occasionally looking up from the pages in silent contemplation.

Close by, an after-work crowd are clinking pints and conversing in a Dublin lilt outside McCafferty’s The Barge, a bar by the bridge arching over the canal between Portobello and Rathmines, a pair of inner-city suburbs with a string of famous former residents. Playwright George Bernard Shaw lived in Portobello, as did Leopold Bloom, the fictional lead character in Ulysses by James Joyce, who was born in Rathmines in 1882, when the area was in the midst of a drastic transformation.

It was largely rural until the early Victorian age, when rows of townhouses were constructed for the middle classes. Many properties were later divided into flats as Rathmines became known as a hive of political activists and students. Now the suburb is home to a mix of people from Ireland and abroad.

As the hills edging Dublin hover in the distance, a few landmarks stop me as I walk along its principal thoroughfare, Rathmines Road.

I wait for several double-decker buses to pass before I photograph the Church of Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners, which has a huge copper dome sprouting from its neoclassical body. The original dome was destroyed in a fire, with this one added in the early 20th century (it was initially said to be destined for an Orthodox church in Russia before the 1917 revolution put a stop to that).

Another architectural standout, across the street from Rathmines’ library, is the four-faced clock tower of the town hall. Before the days of electrification, the clock apparently often showed four different times, giving it the local nickname “the four-faced liar”.

There’s laughter and chatter (in that Dublin lilt again) as I pass another after-work crowd mingling outside Slattery’s, a bar with vintage Guinness adverts on its facade.

Rathmines has other establishments with attractive old frontages to entice you in, including Mother Reilly’s and Rody Bolands Tea, Wine and Spirits Store.

While the high street is more shabby than chic in parts, the streets behind the main drag feel leafy and prosperous. I pass through a few on my way to Ranelagh, another suburb that has smart bars and eateries as well as a station on Dublin’s suburban Luas light-rail network.

You could be in the city centre, at St Stephen’s Green, in about seven minutes from Ranelagh. But I carry on walking, completing my loop back to the canal and The Mespil.

It’s almost 7pm and I’m a bit peckish now. Modern Irish cuisine is served at the hotel’s restaurant, but I’ll be having breakfast there in the morning, and fancy a different setting.

There are multiple eateries around the corner, including Japanese, Chinese, Mexican and Thai spots, as well as Beshoff Bros for fish and chips and Searsons, a quintessential Dublin watering hole that counted Kavanagh as a regular.

After dinner, I could also stroll towards the city centre along Baggot Street and call in at O’Donoghue’s, where that legendary Irish folk band The Dubliners used to play, and where Noel Gallagher was seen partying after Oasis’ reunion concert in Dublin in August.

It’s always a tempting option, not least because there’s live Irish music there seven nights a week.

+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Tourism Ireland. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

fact file

+ Rooms at the Mespil Hotel are priced from around $250 per night. See mespilhotel.com

+ To help plan a trip to Dublin and Ireland, see visitdublin.com and ireland.com.