O'Connell St. in Dublin, Ireland

Thanks for all the replies. I figured it wasn't as bad as some people were making it out to be. All of the hotels in that area have rave reviews from hundreds of people. I just think I needed to hear it from others that have been there. Thanks again for the help and happy travels to you all :)

O'Connel from the bridge to a half mile north is the main drag. It's brightly lit and essentially a boulevard without grass in the middle. Admittedly, I don't know what midnight looks like any place in the world, but at ten-thirty or eleven it looked like one of the safest places in town -- not that any area we saw gave us any concerns at all.

My wife and I just got back from Ireland. We stayed in the Harding Hotel (Rick's recommendation). It's right across from Christs Church so it's close to O'Connell St but "officially" a Temple Bar hotel. The Musical Pub Crawl took us to a pub just off O'Connell St. and we came back in the dark. The street itself seemed fine with lots of pedestrians. I didn't see any reason to feel "unsafe." There are a lot of places in Houston I'd avoid more than what I saw of O'Connell St.

That being said -- I recommend that you exercise reasonable judgement when you're out and about.

If you are talking about Gardiner St., don't worry, it's fine. I was told the same thing, but found it to be well-populated well into the evening. That end of the street is full of hostels and guesthouses.

Like others have said, it's a pretty busy street, lots of people around. That being said, in any major city you need to have your wits about you and use your head. Don't wander down little alleyways after dark, use a moneybelt (O'Connell street can get very busy, it could be easy for someone to bump into you and get your wallet).

We're going in a couple of weeks and staying at a B&B in Rush. We will take the train into the Pearse St. Station on a Saturday. We have a Musical Pub Crawl scheduled that evening and this thread makes me ask the question - Is it generally safe to walk from the last pub in the MPC to Pearse st? I am not getting train tickets until I arrive so a different station is possible.

We stayed just off O'Connell and never felt unsafe, even walking back from Temple Bar at night.

We spent 2 weeks in Dublin and we were up and down O'Connell Street all day and half the night. Never felt unsafe. We were there as late as 11:30 and as early as 4:00 AM (trying to catch a bus that never came).

The area is busy and there can certainly be a lot of late night drunks on weekends (at least past 3 a.m.).

I could be wrong but I seem to recall hotels are allowed to sell drinks after the bars close, which results in a lot of drunks trying to get into hotel bars. Your hotel will probably have a doorman who won't allow anyone, who isn't a guest, in. I would be most concerned with the potential noise.

As far as safety is concerned, Dublin is a big city and the potential for crime exists. I would take downtown Dublin, however, over Houston or any major US city in a heartbeat. As others have said, use common sense and it won't be a problem.

The area you are talking about is fine as long as you "keep your wits" about you, as you say... I believe the further north you go, away from the River Liffey, the less safe it becomes.

You'll be fine in the area where you'll be staying, relatively close to the river. As Chris states, the further you go north up O'Connell St., the less nice the surrounding neighborhood becomes.

When I was walking up O'Connell St. with my wife during the day two years ago, I started to notice the neighborhood changing. No sooner had I mentioned this to my wife than we noticed a suspicious looking guy walking behind us. He quickly walked past us as soon as he realized we saw him. He was undoubtedly looking to snatch a purse and run -- which is what 95 % of criminals in tourist areas are seeking. Violent crime in an area like this is very rare.

Enjoy your trip!