The Irish Times

Chou En Lai, the late Chinese foreign minister, when asked once for his thoughts on the lasting impact of the French Revolution, memorably declared that it was "too early to say". Likewise, it is probably premature to judge the success or otherwise of Temple Bar, but with Laura Magahy, managing director of Temple Bar Properties, leaving at the end of this month, a tentative verdict seems timely. So what is it really like, this much-hyped "cultural quarter" in the heart of Dublin? A few statistics paint the picture. Within a 24 acre enclave of relatively narrow and poorly re-cobbled streets, there are now at least 44 restaurants, 28 licensed premises, 15 nightclubs, 12 hotels or hostels, 12 cultural centres, 1,200 employees, 1,500 residents and - staggeringly - 100,000 visitors every 24 hours, on average.