Dublin could be called the beating heart of music in Ireland and, if that’s the case, Grafton Street is its aorta. The street is noisy, but not because of cars – it has been closed to traffic since the early eighties. Instead, it is buzzing with the sounds of conversation, the shouting of street sellers, as well as guitars, violins, flutes and voices singing in accents from all over the world. At one end of the street you might find a small band of traditional Irish musicians. A hundred metres down, a violinist plays a slow classical piece. Further on and a rock band plays U2 covers or a flamenco guitarist accompanies a dancer. This is no ordinary busking street. Grafton Street is mecca for buskers.
BONO HAS BUSKED HERE!
Grafton Street has hosted some of the most famous names in music. In December 2015, crowds of shoppers were surprised by Bono, the singer from U2, who turned up to busk accompanied by Glen Hansard and Hozier, two of Ireland’s most successful musicians. But the street has also made some of the most famous names in music, such as Rodrigo y Gabriela, a Mexican guitar duo who came to Ireland in 1999. They spoke no English and knew no one, but seven years later, they recorded an album which entered the Irish music charts at number one.
“I have two stories to tell about my life;” Rodrigo said, “before Ireland and after Ireland.”
IRELAND IS POETRY AND MUSIC
Throughout its history, Grafton Street’s bars and cafés have been visited by some of the most important poets and writers in Irish history and, for the Irish, music and poetry are one and the same. James Joyce and Samuel Becket were regulars at Bewley’s Café, right in the middle of Grafton Street, and Oscar Wilde could often be seen taking a walk along it.
GO TO GRAFTON STREET
If you are one of those people who dreams about going to Ireland one day, it’s probably because you want to understand the place and its people and to break down some of the mystery. If you want to understand Ireland, get to know its music, read its poetry, hear a man spontaneously begin to sing in a bar and throw a few coins in a busker’s hat on Grafton Street.
