Solution found to Ireland's catastrophic littering problem.

Carry a litter bin with you wherever you go - just like this guy!

(As seen in Stephen's Green today.)

I have a (transport) dream...

Imagine if our major cities had proper transport, equivalent to our European peers.

Imagine if it was managed based on public need, not union convenience.

Imagine if it was then communicated to the public in a simple way.

Aris Ventikidis has this dream, and this is what it looked like.

Thanks for the vision Aris!

Copyright Aris Venetikidis: www.venetikidis.com/aris/

Cycle Hoops - Pole parking in Dublin goes mainstream.

I noticed this new blue "Cycle Hoop" thing on a pole today (Friday) near Grafton St.

Seems a very good idea. Thumbs up to Dublin City Council!

"Pirates of the CORRIBBEAN" .. a raft race on the Corrib river in Galway.

What's with the new craze for punny names for local events?

Add "PIRATES of the CORRIBBEAN" to...

• The ConneMarathon (in Connemara)
• The TriAthlone (in Athlone)

IBAL finds that Limerick is the most littered city in Ireland.

Limerick got a bashing from Irish Business Against Litter yesterday for being the most littered city in Ireland.

Limerick's profile on LikePlace.ie shows that LAW-&-ORDER is actually its biggest problem. (No real surprise there.)

• Schools: 3.9 -out-of- 5
• Local Services: 3.8 -out-of- 5
• Sense of Community : 3.7 -out-of- 5
• Environment: 3.5 -out-of- 5
• Cost of Living: 3.1 -out-of- 5
• Economy: 3.0 -out-of- 5
• Law & Order: 2.9 -out-of- 5

Me & my brother battling thru Gaelforce 2010.

Myself & my brother did the Gaelforce West event in Mayo at the weekend.

Ciaran got a great time: 5h 27m.

I wimped out 6h 19m. (I hurt my knee, so that's my excuse.)

Some video I took along the route is below.

The best bit?

The initial 14km run. Beautiful.

The worst bit?

The endless cycle into the wind over the bog coming up to Croagh Patrick.

What madman thought that was a good idea?!?

Cork City up in arms! Article about LikePlace in Cork newspaper today.

LikePlace features on page 2 of the CORK INDEPENDENT newspaper today.

"Despite acclaim from the Lonely Planet guide, it seems Irish people will always knock our own. A new website that rates towns features Cork City as the 51st best area in the country to live in – hardly a glowing reference for the Real Capital."

Oops..!

Ireland ranked 9th out of 27 in the EU - & 17th in the world.

Another report that ranks Ireland as a place to live versus our peers.

Ireland comes 9th out of 27 in the EU - and 17th in the world.

We are behind the UK, France & Germany (of course), but ahead of Austria (surprising), Belgium, Italy & Spain. Seems kinda fair.

As usual Scandanavia tops the list (hats off to the Finns). Will anyone ever out do those guys?!?

Video of the small coves around Dalkey.

Last weekend I cycled out along the south Dublin coast, visiting the small coves clustered around Dalkey.

Constructed of old granite and relatively unchanged for ages past, on a sunny day they would make you think you were on the Med or somewhere.

Dalkey itself is also a great place.

One of the few real 'villages' in the city that retains its own character. It is home to 3 old castles and a serene main street. A great place to sit back with a coffee.

Seal basking under Sean Casey bridge, Dublin 2.

Cycling home from the cinema on Friday night, I spotted a seal basking on one of the bollards underneath Sean Casey bridge.

He was perfectly content. Flapping his tail and gazing at the people passing overhead. Hope he comes back.

Basques on the march in Dublin.

A parade of Basques (in animal costumes, with large bells around their waists) just passed by the offices where I work.

Sure, why not!

Bágóg Baby - sar-bhréagán nua do phaistí.

Seachas Síle Ní Seoige, sílim féin gur seo an rud is déise le Gaeilge a chonaic mé le fada an lá.

Bágóg Baby is ainm do.

Bain tríail as an gcleas ar a shuíomh.

An-sport!

Another great streetname ... "Blood Stoney Road".

Visit it (if you dare) beside Grand Canal Dock in Dublin 2.

See more odd & just plain scary streetnames on our Flickr map.

Video: Bad song composition in Skerries, Co.Dublin.

Myself and my brother are in training for the Gaelforce event in Mayo in August. So, last weekend we did a 14km loop in north Co.Dublin finishing off in Skerries.

Despite our exhaustion we managed to lift a few pints afterwards (as a reward to ourselves). Before doing so, we took a short stroll around the town.

Skerries looks like a great place to live. A long beach, interesting harbour & a playground for the kids.

It also has wonderful views of the Mourne mountains to the north. Interestingly, it was in Skerries that Percy French composed "The Mountains of Mourne" ..'Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea..' etc. (In the video, my brother tries his own hand at dodgy composition.)

A good place to stop after a long run.

Colourless liquid seen falling from sky over Ireland.

Any ideas what it is?

180km of pedalling on the Ring of Kerry.

I took part in the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle this year. 180Km of road cycling.

It was a great day. Took me 8hrs 30 minutes excluding stops. I admit to being somewhat saddle-sore afterwards, but was glad to have taken part.

Apparently, there was over 6,000 on the tour - the largest number ever. I thought the organisation was excellent. Lots of water stops, free grub, roving bicycle repair, massages and more. Well done to the organisers. Top event.

On the negative side I had never been around the Ring before and was disappointed by the quality of landscape perservation.

In particular, the area between Killorglin and Cahersiveen is very badly blitzed with bungalows, with lots of unfinished sites and road side rubbish. The road surfaces and finishing were pretty bad too.

It is kinda sad to think that the Ring of Kerry is sold as the essential Irish experience. Though on second thoughts, maybe it is.

Zombie hotties stagger thru Dublin.

Some rather hot, blood-smeared zombies staggered thru Dublin at the weekend, as part of the Dublin Zombie Walk.

I am so sorry I missed as Zombie films are one of my secret pleasures.

Copyright David Williams: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=831147707

Source: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=184910&id=831147707&ref=mf#!/photo.php?pid=4320372&id=831147707

Liz Windsor (aka 'The Queen') gets in the Irish mood by wearing shamrock hat.

Someone told me that Liz Windsor (aka 'The Queen') is coming to Ireland soon for a long weekend.

I hear she is already getting in the Irish mood & taken to wearing a shamrock hat at public engagements.

Gawd bless ya ma'am!

Each county page on LikePlace.ie now proudly displays its coat-of-arms. Niiice!

Irish people LOVE their counties (at least each September during the GAA All Ireland finals).

So now each county page now proudly displays its county coat-of-arms. Niiice!

See some examples...

• Antrim
• Dublin
• Cork
• Galway

Joycean scholars hit their stride early on Bloomsday today.

An early photo from today's BLOOMSDAY shenanigans. Some C19-type chaps (in bowler hat and straw boater's hat) enjoying the sun outside Sweny's Pharmacy on Lincoln Place.

This pharmacy features in the novel Ulysses (see below) where Leopold buys a cake of Lemon soap. I only noticed recently that it had closed. It must have shut its doors within the last year or so.

I myself once went in there to buy some (more prosaic) aspirin - but the auld-dear behind the counter had none.

It is now a bookshop. Kinda appropriate.

As an afterthought - I wonder what Jim Joyce would make of Dublin City in 2009? It scores just 3.3-out-of-5 on this website as a place to live (from 28 entries). Not great.

Arch-rival Cork City scores higher than that, (4.0-out-of-5) with a similar number of entries.

According to our raters, the Cost of Living is the worst thing about Dublin - but the quality of Local Services is the best.

--

We're a capital couple are Bloom and I;

He brightens the earth, I polish the sky.

(The freckled face of Sweny, the druggist, appeals in the disc of the soapsun.)

SWENY Three and a penny, please.

BLOOM Yes. For my wife, Mrs Marion. Special recipe.