In Dublin's fair city, where girls are so pretty…

So begins the famous folk song "Molly Malone (Cockles and Mussels)." But the capital of Dublin— which was founded by Viking raiders in the mid- ninth century and whose name comes from the Irish words for "black pool"— has much more to offer the visitor than just pretty girls.

The city is known for its theaters, of which Abbey has the designation of "National Theater of Ireland." It first opened its doors in 1904, in an edifice built on the spot where a circus had once stood, and soon became the first theater in an anglophone nation to receive government subsidies. William Butler Yeats is among the many Irish playwrights for whom the Abbey has served as a "nursery." Plays by people throughout the world have been performed here.

At the Croke Park Stadium on Jones Road, Gaelic football matches are held. This sport resembles Rugby, but one of its most important skills is dropping the ball, kicking it with the toe, and subsequently catching it; this is called soloing. Amateur games are also played.

For fans of golf, there is the course on the Leopardstown Racecourse; it is a "pay as you play" course. Old Jamestown Distillery is another popular tourist attraction; they show videos about making whiskey here and give visitors a chance to taste it, though no whiskey has actually been made here in a long time.

If you have much money and wish to go shopping, try the famous Brown Thomas, the most expensive store in the city. There, you can buy luxurious clothing and jewelry. Right now they are having a 70- percent- off sale.

There is loads of a things to do in Dublin, just check out the quays of Dublin which are lined with monumental buildings that include two neoclassical masterpieces, the Custom House and the Four Courts. Both buildings were destroyed during the Irish war of independence by Republicans who wished to eliminate all reminders of the country's British colonial past, but they have since been restored, as has the General Post Office, from which the 1916 uprising was launched.

Phoenix Park, originally a royal park where deer were kept, is one of Dublin's best and is also home to a zoo known for breeding lions. And at Sandymount, four miles away from the city's center, you can see Martello Tower, mentioned in the novel "Ulysses!" This is one of many Dublin tours that is recommended when visiting Dublin.