It has awful traffic problems and many of its residents don't have a job, but Dublin is Europe's best city to do business in, according to Fortune magazine, an influential US publication.
The magazine, in its annual survey of the world's cities, says Dublin has a vibrancy not seen since the 18th century, when it had its last "golden age". It selects Dublin as number one, ahead of Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Rome and Milan, among others.
The cosmopolitanism of Temple Bar is one reason for the magazine's decision and the young, educated workforce is another. But living there is not all good news. "Unemployment remains high and in certain pockets it is 30 per cent", and traffic congestion continues unchecked.
As if that wasn't enough, residents must also put up with "stratospheric" indirect tax rates, the authors state.
The magazine has used indicators like the cost of labour, education levels, office rental rates, accessibility and other factors such as the crime level, the availability of culture and recreation, to arrive at its decision.
Fortune does not pull any punches in its explanation for the city's success - Brussels. "While politicians from other countries go home after a tough day at the EU, the Irish treat EU ministers to a pint at Kitty O'Shea's, their favourite Brussels pub," it says.
This has resulted in the Republic securing "$16 billion in EU money over 10 years, a huge sum for a country of only 3.5 million people".
The natives have done other things to enhance their prospects, the magazine tells us. "Dubliners make sure their kids stay at school and they have also devised a set of tax perks, including a low rate of corporation tax for the kind of corporations they want."
It says: "Today the likes of Barclays, Chase Manhattan, Citicorp and Sumitomo Bank run everything from treasury operations to fund management in Ireland. Costs are lower and talent is cheaper than in London."