The chq Building - Our Most Visited Place in Dublin, Ireland on Our Vacation

Our accommodation in Dublin, Ireland, was located in an apartment along the waterfront in Dublin. We just finished a mission trip in Germany and we needed to come back down to earth and spent the time in Dublin to relax.

Desiring to be close to everything, we booked a room on the waterfront within walking distance to many attractions and the downtown core. Our host advised us to stay away from certain rough areas in Dublin, therefore, we stayed mainly around the downtown tourist area during our stay in Dublin. Enjoying our walk to various attractions, each morning we strolled along River Liffey bypassing many modern and famous buildings located on both sides of the river.

One of these buildings we passed by was the Central Bank of Ireland where we visited an interesting exhibit about the history of banking and coinage in Ireland. It was free admission, courtesy of the Central Bank of Ireland.

One of the places situated along River Liffey we visited most often was the chq Building - ( Custom House Quay) building. It was built as a warehouse in 1820 to store large and valuable goods such as tobacco, tea and spirits. An interesting fact about the chq building - no wood was used in the construction of the building to ensure that it was absolutely fireproof. The chq buildind was made famous by hosting the Crimean War Banquet in 1856 recognizing the contributions of the Irish soldiers. But finding a venue big enought to hold a huge banquet was a problem until Henry Scovell suggested using his bonding warehouse at the Custom House Docks which had the capacity to accommodate 3000 soldiers. A great party took place on Oct. 22, 1856 offering a thousand welcome to the heroes of the Crimea!

The chq building has been renovated and modernized. Today it is an airy, bright, spacious welcoming building with an unusally huge eating area for visitors. We liked the ambience of the place - an abundance of available seats and a variety of food choices offered by the restaurants there.

Finding available seats easily whenever visiting there, we made ourselves comfortable sipping on our coffee, enjoying a delicious meal and immersing in whatever we were reading or doing at the moment. S. bought his book to read while I was afforded the opportunities to catch up on my blogging. Unlike being in a restaurant where serving staff would come up regularly asking if we needed this or that, there was nobody bothering us regardless of the length of our stay. I liked the chq building a lot as it was my retreat from the busy streets of the tourist area, an oasis to where I could relax and concentrate on my writing. It was perfect for us!

The chq Building also houses the EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum where one could learn about the devastating famine resulting in the emigration of millions of its people to North America. With a multitude of shops, interesting restaurants, creative work space and plenty of seating available to visitors, the chq is one of our most favourite places to visit in Dublin; we highly recommend it to travellers visiting Dublin if you are looking for a place to unwind, relax, read or write! RT, chq Building Dublin, Ireland 062024