Dublin Christmas Markets

One very European activity we wanted to try this year was Christmas Market shopping.  Dublin (and many other European cities) has a tradition of setting up street markets all over town at Christmastime.  The Dublin Event Guide had a special section devoted to the various Christmas markets and their hours around town.  On the same rainy Saturday we saw the Dublin Christmas displays, we visited the Christmas markets for some local goodies.  

Mmmmm... Gummies

Our first market was the Dame Street Market.  This market was set up near City Centre on the South side of the River Liffey.  Stalls sold Christmas crafts and foods on the open street.  We Cory couldn't resist getting some huge gummi cola bottles at one all-candy stall.

Mmmmmmm.... Fudge

Indoor Irish Food Board Market

After Dame Street, we went North of the River to a larger indoor market.  On the square outside the market, a carnival atmosphere had been set up with rides, games, and food tents.  Inside, there was a crafty market and a food market, sponsored by the Irish Food Board.  We didn't find anything jumping out at us at the craft market, but we did fall to temptation at the Irish Food Board market and its dizzying variety of locally grown and produced foods.

Christmas Market Carousel

Among the food displays outside the market was a chestnut cart.  People lined up to buy a paper sack of fresh, hot chestnuts from the roaster.  We got in line and got ours for a snack for the walk back to City Centre to see the Christmas lights.

Chestnut Cart

Roasted Chestnuts on Display

Our chestnuts in a bag

Our timing on the Christmas markets wasn't quite perfect, and there was a little bit of daylight left after our shopping.  We needed a way to kill some time in Dublin... hmmm... How about a visit to the Brew Dock Pub serving locally brewed Galway Bay beers?  We got a pint of Full Sail IPA and Buried at Sea Chocolate Milk Stout to help us pass the last hour of daylight.

Before...

After...

When we got home, we unpacked our Irish Food Board market goodies.  The market had a great selection of Irish cheese, meats, breads, candies, desserts, and more.  We saw, smelled, and sampled the lot of them. We settled on some Irish Brie cheese, locally made fudge, the chestnuts, and Keogh's artisan potato crisps (chips.)  All of this with some crackers, cider, wine, and pasta made a great meal when we got home after a long, cold day out.

The Spread

Crisps and Fudge

Irish Brie Cheese