Joe Higgins, searing political wit and staunch defender of the working classes, is a tough act to follow. But 27-year-old Paul Murphy is quietly confident that he can fill the shoes of the great Socialist when he takes over as Dublin MEP next month.

A native of Ballinteer who has been assistant to Joe Higgins since 2009, Paul Murphy is the Socialist Party’s choice to fill the seat left vacant at the European Parliament since Higgins regained his position in the Dáil.

Subject to final approval by MEPs, he is due to attend his first plenary session of the parliament in April as Ireland’s youngest ever MEP. Despite his tender years, Paul is already a seasoned activist and political advisor, having campaigned on Socialist issues for over ten years.

Although he was down the list of substitutes to replace Joe Higgins, Paul Murphy was the only candidate free to assume the role. Former Councillor Clare Daly won a seat in the Dail, while second substitute Councillor Ruth Coppinger had family obligations which prevented her accepting the job in Brussels. Paul insists there was no power struggle involved in his selection, and dismisses claims that anyone had been “shafted”.

Paul Murphy MEP

“This is the Socialist Party, no-one is in it for the career gains or the money! There is no dispute between any party members,” he said.

In line with his predecessor, Paul Murphy will claim less than one third of his annual MEP’s salary estimated at €90,000. He will only accept an average workers’ wage of about €24,000, plus travel expenses, and will donate the rest of his earnings to workers’ groups and human rights campaigns.Murphy is determined to continue Joe Higgins’ work in Brussels of exposing what he described as the “predatory nature” of the EU’s trade policy.

“I will take over from Joe as a member of the International Trade Committee, where I will fight against the exploitation of under-developed countries for the benefit of European multinationals,” he said.

He will also keep a hand in domestic politics by campaigning against water charges, home taxes and other threats to working people. And Paul will also keep in close contact with mentor Joe Higgins, who was happy to give his blessing to his young colleague.

“Paul is highly competent and will be a very energetic EU parliamentarian, he will carry on with the same crucial issues that I fought for myself,” said Higgins.

Article by journalist Jessie Magee for Eurolink, which is funded by the European Parliament.

MAIN IMAGE: Some rights reserved by European Parliament

Dublin Bikes has gone from predictions of mass theft and vandalism, to one of the most successful on-street bicycle rental schemes in the world, so the big question is: “When will it expand?”

On the back of the scheme smashing all expectations in its first year, Dublin City Council has drawn up a plan to expand across the city, increasing the amount of bicycles from 500 to 5,000.

“When I first proposed it back in 2004, a lot of people said it’d never work, that all the bikes would be stolen or end up in the River Liffey,” said Labour councillor Andrew Montague, who is the chair of the Dublin City Council transport committee. “Thankfully it has turned out to be one of the most successful bike rental schemes in the world.”

The first millionth journey was achieved last summer and the bikes have now being used for over 1.7 million journeys. There are nearly 50,000 subscribers and around 30,000 of those are yearly subscriptions. It is now an accepted feature of the city’s landscape, used by business men in suits and estate agents commonly listing the nearest station as a feature on property rental adverts.

The main problem with Dublin Bikes is how its success has led to capacity issues at stations.

The first phase was funded by advertising billboards in a controversial deal with ad company JCDecaux, but advertising is now taking a back seat with the new expansion.

“Predominately this is going to be funded by a few different sources – firstly the National Transport Authority is going to put some funding to it, and we’ve also got commitments from various businesses who want a station near their business and they’re prepared to pay for it,” says Cllr Montague.

He adds: “There may be some advertising, but if there is it will be a very minor part of it. Advertising was 100 per cent of the funding before, now it’ll be a very minor part of the funding.”

The Fine Gael-Labour programme for government, taken at face value, can be seen as more ambitious than Dublin City Council’s plans for expansion, which are confined to its area of the city. The programme says: “We will continue to invest in the National Cycle Policy and we will look to extend the Dublin Bikes Scheme across the wider Dublin area and to other cities and integrate the scheme much more effectively with public transport links.”

Will Andrews, chairman of the Dublin Cycle Campaign says: “It should be pushed as soon as possible. It should be given whatever funding is required – which is not hugely significant compared to what has been spent on motorways. It should be given everybody’s support.”

Does the campaign support more advertisements? “As long as the bikes get on the ground and the bikes work, we wouldn’t really want to interfere with how it’s funded. Personally as a citizen of Dublin, you’d hate to see too many of those billboards going up,” says Andrews.

With the funding from businesses model, it is not yet clear if these businesses are willing to spend on set up costs, or if they are willing to provide key on-going funding which keeps the system maintained. “We’d have to get into negotiations with them,” Cllr Montague said. “But they have indicated they are willing to provide money.”

A Dublin Bikes station

The Dublin Cycle Campaign believes bike rental schemes should be rolled out in every city in Ireland and even larger towns.

And what about users contributing more to the costs? “There may be slight variations in cost, but we’d like to see the existing structure retained – you get a great take-up because the first half hour is free and it encourages people to leave bikes back quicker,” Andrews says.

Cllr Montague says Melbourne’s bike system – which has 600 bicycles, about 100 more than Dublin – is used for about 100 to 150 trips a day in summer time, while Dubliners did “2,000 trips per day in the snow.” The council’s report on the expansion (see the link at the bottom of this page) says there’s an average of 5,000 trips on weekdays in the summer and 4,000 in the winter.

JCDecaux said today that the daily record was broken yesterday, Thursday March 24. “Yesterday saw a new rental record of 5,874 journeys being taken in one day, perhaps a reflection of the sunshine we’ve been having in Dublin this week,” said JCDecaux on its website today.

The city council’s report highlights journey time reliability, health, tourism, and fewer emissions as some of the main benefits of the plan. Needing to lower emissions may sound strange in a recession, but traffic emissions in parts of Dublin were recently recorded as exceeding EU limits.

The docking stations will be expanded first to the Docklands and the Heuston areas, covering Islandbridge, and as far as Kilmainham. Following this, it is planned to be rolled out to a total of 14 zones – which will cover:

[3] Dolphin’s Barn and the Liberties;
[4A] Fairview, East Wall, and Croke Park;
[4B] Phibsborogh, Cabra, and Stoneybatter;
[5] Ballsbridge, Ranelagh, Rathmines;
[6] Drumcondra, Marino, and parts of Glasnevin;
[7] Harold’s Cross;
[8] Ringsend, Irishtown, and Sandymount;
[9] Parts of Drimnagh and Inchicore, and further areas of Kilmainham;
[10] Donnybrook
[11] Further into Rathmines and Ranelagh, out as far as Rathgar and Clonskeagh;
[12] Areas around Crumlin and Terenure;
[13] Glasnevin east and central
[14] DCU and Whitehall.

If the five year plan goes ahead as scheduled, the ambitious strategy also mentions further expansion into the rest of the city council’s areas, such as Finglas, Ballymun, and Ballyfermot.

Why was the order chosen? Cllr Montague explains: “Each expansion has to connect to another, so you can’t start in the city centre and then put a station in DCU, you have to work from the city centre out.”

He says: “The most important expansion is the east-west expansion in the city centre, that’s why that’s the first – down towards Grand Canal Dock and towards Heuston Station. That’s the really high demand area, and we focus on high employment and high density residential areas as well.”

On a timeframe, Cllr Montague says the first phase has to go out for tender. “Until we get the tenders back we can’t say for sure, but I’d be hopeful within a year or so we’ll get it up and running, but I think once we get the first stage up and running it’ll be quicker after that.” But he adds: “There are no definitive dates yet.”

MORE: Dublin Bikes Strategic Planning Framework 2011-2016 (PDF)
MORE: In Pictures: Canal cycle route (under construction)
MORE: Millions for strategic cycle route suspended due to objections
MORE: DATA BLOG: Dublin Bikes subscriber numbers released
MORE: City council “committed” to expanding Dublin Bikes
MORE: Bike scheme advertising questioned
MORE: One millionth Dublin Bikes journey expected
MORE: Dublin Cycle Chic Fashion Show on Dublin Bikes and more

Dublin has a wealth of parks, gardens, and other outdoor areas. Here’s some of our picks — if you think we’ve overlooked any places that we should have included then comment below and tell us where you’re favourite outdoor areas in Dublin are.

Parks

Highly recommended is a visit to Glasnevin for the National Botanic Gardens. The 19 and 83 buses leave you directly outside, while there’s a short walk from stops served by the 4/4a and 19a – ask the driver where to get off.

Not a park or garden, nearby is Glasnevin Cemetery which includes the graves of former Irish leaders such as Eamon De Valera and Michael Collins. Outside the remit of being free, the graveyard’s trust now offers guided tours daily lead by a historian for a fiver a pop. The main buses which head up the Finglas Road will leave you outside the graveyard’s gates – the 40A, and 40D.

Deer in the Phoenix Park

The Phoenix Park is the largest enclosed urban public park in Europe. Heuston station and its Luas stop are a short walk away, the no. 10 bus stops nearest to the zoo, or most buses heading towards Chapelizod including the 25A, 26, and 66/66A all pass the south end of the park. Expect deer, rabbits, squirrels and other wildlife, although sometimes you need to travel half the park to find them.

The park holds the residences of the President and the US ambassador. To make use of the park’s vast amount of off-road cycle tracks and quiet road, bicycle rental  is available just inside the main entrance at Parkgate Street – the nearest Dublin Bikes station is currently at Smithfield, so the park’s own bike rental may be better if you’re planning on spending a while there.

If you find the Phoenix Park too small or get bored looking for the deer, there’s always even more parkland to the south of it. The National War Memorial Park and the adjacent linear park with a path and cycle track along the river gives quite a refreshing view of the River Liffey.

Blessington Street Basin

In the city centre, most may know of St Stephen’s Green and Merrion Square, but the Iveagh Gardens off Harcourt Street is a lesser known alternative for a break from the city noise (nearest Luas stop is Harcourt Street but also walking distance from the St Stephen’s Green).

On the Northside, one of our favourite part-hidden places is just off Dorset Street, where an old Royal Canal basin makes up the strange sight of the Blessington Street Basin where water is isolated after the canal branch was filled in. Many northbound bus routes split in the area, but there’s a Dublin Bikes station at the other end of the street.

Dublin Bay

If you want even fresher air then Dublin Bay has a lot to offer. Bull Island Beach offers the feel of a country beach, right beside the city (if you ignore the large ships in the distance). You can take the 130 bus or the infrequent orbital 104 to Clontarf where you walk out onto Bull Island. If travelling by Dart, the 130 bus will take you from Clontarf Road Dart station to Clontarf itself.

On the Great South Wall looking towards Poolbeg power station

Dun Laghaire Harbour might be known to be great for walks (Dun Laghaire Dart Station), but a slightly secret option closer to the city is the Great South Wall on the Poolbeg peninsula – while you’ll usually find a decent amount of people walking the seawall out into the bay, many city residents seem unaware of it. As you go out to it, the industrial setting of the south port hides the impressive setting of the walkway. On the tip of the peninsula, it stretches a further 2km into the middle of the bay, on a clear day giving a view from Howth to Dalkey.

Back on the Northside, a path and off-road cycle track (with just a small missing stretch, this being Ireland) cover most of the bay from just outside the city centre to Howth Head.

The Dublin Mountains

Last, but not least, are the Dublin Mountains which give stunning views of the country and the city. The Dublin Mountaineer shuttle bus runs from July to October, leaving three times daily from the Sandyford Luas stop and also from Sean Walsh Park which is behind Tallaght Stadium. For details of the mountains and the shuttle bus see the website of Dublin Mountains Partnership at dublinmountains.ie.

Are our recommendations too general or too city centric? What free places in Dublin do you suggest people visit? And we’re likely missing loads of suggestions in the city too? Comment below.

View Outdoors places to visit in Dublin for free in a larger map

Havana Cafe

Hidden as it is upstairs in the Decent Cigar Emporium on Grafton Street, the Havana Café is one of the very best ‘secret’ coffee spots in the capital. Not only does it serve a mean espresso, the prices are among the lowest in Dublin (and definitely on Grafton Street). How cheap, you ask? How does a single euro for an espresso sound?

Cobblers  Cafe

Keep this one quiet, it’s long been a favourite haunt of people just looking to get away from it all. Cobblers serve good coffee, good salads and good pizza. All in a nice building just off Leeson Street with plenty of seating room inside and outside. You’ll get plenty of office types in here, but if that doesn’t bother you then Cobblers is well worth going to. Just watch out for the potholes on the way.

3rd Floor Espresso

Home to Ireland’s champion barista Colin Harmon, 3rd Floor Espresso (as reviewed on Sour Grapes) is another place seemingly handcrafted for espresso junkies.  Located on the ground floor of the Twisted Pepper on Middle Abbey Street. The only place that puts the Havana Cafe espresso in the shade.

Milk & Honey

The artist formerly known as Darwin’s. Happily, Milk & Honey has retained the same excellent standards in coffee. M & H do a nice Mocha in particular, although coffee must be combined with a hearty lunch.

Cafe ToGo

To go, or Togo? Does it matter? This cafe is all about the location. Just beside Bewley’s on Grafton Street, there is a lane. Go down that lane. Right beside Powerscourt on the other side of the lane is this cafe. Get a  Latte and a (Nom, Nom) Mars Bar Square.

IMAGE: Picture by dongga BS on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

View Dublin City spots for a decent coffee in a larger map

The inaugural Dublin Zombie Walk leaves St.Stephen’s Green at 2pm on Saturday and aims to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society and the RNLI Lifeboats.

Organiser Eamonn Dee spoke to DublinObserver.com:

What inspired you to plan a Zombie Walk for Dublin? Has this been done before?

There is a lot of interest in zombies and there are a few hardcore fans out there, me being one of them.  I suppose my inspiration came from all the hype surrounding new zombie movies, like Zombieland.  I started up the facebook group hoping to get a few friends together who were willing to dress up as zombies in the city centre.  I soon noticed, however, that there was massive interest in the idea.  In collaboration with another die-hard fan, Pauline Swaine, we set about making this the Biggest Zombie Walk Ever.  There have been a few Zombie Walks in the capital, but nothing of the magnitude we have planned for Saturday the 26^th June.

What do you hope to achieve? Is there a figure for the amount of money you hope to raise?

I don’t have a figure in my head as to the amount of money but we are hoping it will be a significant amount as the charities are both very deserving causes that are close to our hearts. Judging from the response we have been getting so far I am positive that Dublin Zombie Walk 2010 will raise plenty of cash for our chosen charities.  The objective is to have some fun, do something out of the ordinary on a Saturday afternoon and collect money in the process.  One million euro perhaps?

How do you think people on the street will react? Will the ‘shock factor’ work and boost the amount of money you raised?

I am sure there will be a certain amount of astonishment in the streets of Dublin on the 26^th.  It’s not a normal everyday experience to see hundreds of flesh hungry zombies shuffling towards you, buckets in hand.  The people of Dublin are generous souls and I am sure that this Saturday will be no exception.  If hundreds of undead Zombies don’t give people an added incentive to donate I am not sure what will.

Do you plan to make this an annual event?

We are planning to make this event annual and to make it even bigger in future years.  The plan is to incorporate the Zombie Walk into a whole weekend event which will involve movie screenings and live music for all lovers of blood, guts and gore.

How much preparation will go in the making the participants look and behave like zombies?

On the day we will have a team of talented make up people on hand to make sure all participants who need to be Zombified are.   A lot of people have been busy sorting out costumes’, latex make up and practicing their vacant stares in the mirror so many Zombies will turn up all ready to rock.

Our stewards will ensure that everyone behaves according to the Zombie code and keep to the planned route.  A lot of preparation has been done so far and on the day it will take the organisational talent of the one and only Pauline to ensure that everyone knows their roles and gets into Zombie mode.

IMAGE: Photo of the 2009 Paris Zombie Walk by Philip LeRoyer on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

DublinObserver.com will have a series of photos from the Dublin Zombie Walk on the website on Saturday evening.

Sean McTiernan takes a wry look at five Dublin-based films you should see.

1 Intermission:
In Bruges is the most realistic depiction of Dublin logic in cinema history It’s also set in Bruges, so I can’t really mention it here. Intermission is, however, a reasonably close second. When I lived down the country I assumed this was a cartoonish satire of Dublin. Then I got here and realised it was a toned down sanitised version of what actually goes on. I would imagine that this is exactly how Colm Meaney lived his life day to day and his bits are just from an aborted reality show called This is how it’s done. As someone who spends 4 hours a day on Dublin Bus, it’s hard not to watch the bus sections of this movie, weep quietly and whisper: “someone understands”.

2 The Van
Look, I know the Commitments is a movie that exists. But you know what? You people need to stop talking about it. Mother of divine mercy, you’d swear it was the only film ever produced by anyone and when it was released someone was sent across to America to punch Orson Wells into the jaw until he admitted that although he had his Rosebud it’d never match up to Outspan I genuinely prefer the Van though. It captures much better the sweet sadness of men unable to express emotion but determined on doing the right thing in desperate times. It’s also more Meaney–centric. And if you can’t see the good in that, then you’ll probably have no interest in my controversial Con Air re-edit.

3 Adam and Paul
So you know where you’re on the 4a and there’s a fella that looks like he’s trying to set some sort of perspiration world record sat across from you? And you know how awkward and weird it gets when he points at a small child and starts telling him to “get a jawb will ye…ye useless…dere in yer pram…”?? Well this goes some way to humanising those guys while simultaneously recalling the Laurel and Hardy and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Most compelling scene is where they mug the Down Syndrome man, for the sheer awkwardness of them putting on the stereotypical scumbag intimidation swagger. As humanised as you will find scary men in tracksuits after watching this movie, don’t try to hug them. Turns out they’ll still hammer the daylights out of you.

4 Micheal Collins
In this masterpiece of postmodern cinema Qui-Gon Jinn travels to Dublin to rescue his kidnapped daughter (Irish Republica). There he meets up with Hans Gruber and ends up in a romantic love affair with a prostitute posing as Julia Roberts, the prettiest of all women. Unfortunately Captain Tudor tips off the Dark (and tan) Sith Lords to Qui-Gon Jinn’s plans for the republic and he gets shot. Or at least that’s what I think happens. The best  summary of our county’s political history bar this.

5: I went down
Another great piece of Dublin gangsteristism with a slightly more bizarre but engaging take on Dublin dialect. Also captures extremely well numerous Dublin Logic Verses Real Life/Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object that many other Irish movies seem to miss out on.If you need three reasons to watch it check: here, here and here.

Honourable Mention: Event Horizon
Not set in Ireland but this bit in Event Horizon is almost definitely on a constant loop in Joe Duffy’s head.

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Plenty of pubs, cafes and restaraunts around Dublin are showing World Cup matches, but where should you go if you want a real fan experience?

If you want to rub shoulders with some of the most passionate football fans as they cheer on their national team, the cast an eye over the DublinObserver.com list of Dublin hotspots and their ‘adopted’ teams.

Australia/New Zealand:  The Woolshed Baa & Grill (Parnell Street)- Long a favoured area for fans of the more ‘obscure’ sports like Rugby League and American Football, the Woolshed is home to many of Dublin’s antipodean denizens. Go here for an Australia or New Zealand match and enjoy some Fosters and chicken wings in front of their big screens. Easily one of the best places in Dublin to watch any sporting event.

Japan: Yamamori Noodles (Ormond Quay)- It may not seem like a conventional place for watching a match, but Yamamori will be screening all of Japan’s matches as you munch your sushi and ramen.

USA: Thunder Road Cafe (Fleet Street)- The Thunder Road Cafe has long been an all-American kind of place, so it’s no surprise that they have decided to support the USA. You can watch Landon Donovan and Tim Howard on a big screen surrounded by motorbikes, jukeboxes and other American… eh… stuff.

Mexico: The Lotts (Liffey Street)- This is the second World Cup in a row where The Lotts have lent their support to Mexico, and any Mexican can get a free Corona beer upon presentation of their passport. The Cafe Bar has a great atmosphere about it and serves a mean lunch (although no burritos, sadly).

Brazil: The Gin Palace (Lower Abbey Street)- The Gin Palace is another pub which has adopted the same team this year as they did in 2006. In celebration of their support of La Selecao, bottles of Brahma beer are just four euro for the month of June.

Slovakia: The Czech Inn (Essex Gate)- Founded in 2006 as a home to Dublin’s burgeoning Czech population, the Czech Inn always has a few Slovaks knocking around for their national team’s matches. A menu of traditional Czech food is on offer, as are a great number of Czech beers like Staropramen and Budějovický.

IMAGE: Photograph of the 2006 World Cup by IsakAronsson, some rights reserved.