What to Do if You're in Dublin For Just 24 Hours

Dublin, like Amsterdam, is a much smaller capital than say London or Paris. Thus, it's easy to get a really good feel for the city (and see most of the main attractions) in just 24 hours. 

We flew in from Birmingham and as our carrier was Ryanair, the flight was cheap! From Dublin airport it's just a short bus ride into the centre. (Which costs  €6.) 

The best part of the bus ride was that there was a massive blockage of people and cops:

Tom Cruise was there! He was there for his Oblivion premiere!

Now I can't guarantee that you will see Tom Cruise if you go to Dublin, but I can guarantee that you'll have a great time especially if you go to Temple Bar

We had dinner here and a couple of pints of Guinness.

Then we went to the (many) other pubs right next door to Temple Bar, we tried and failed miserably at the 8 pint Guinness challenge, I think I managed three 

and Tanbay managed two

before we switched to whisky. I now can't stand Guinness it makes me feel ill. 

We booked a room at Eliza Lodge. We really enjoyed our stay there and it came with an awesome Full Irish Breakfast:

Although we already hated Guinness we went to the Guinness factory the next day, which is well worth a visit, if only for the amazing views. 

On the way to the Guinness factory (if your way is from Temple Bar) is an amazing market called The Ferocious Mingle Marcade. It's only open Thursday to Sunday but if you're around on those days it's definitely worth a look. 

In terms of how different Ireland is from the UK, it's not really at all. Obviously they have the Irish accent, but most people we met there were immigrants. They have Euros instead of pounds, but they still have the British socket. My favourite difference was the postboxes.

We'd like to revisit Ireland and see Cork. Does anyone have anyone other recommendations for us of places to go/ things to do in Ireland?