It was incredibly popular at the time for girls of my age to celebrate birthdays by going up to the ice rink in Dolphin’s Barn. I was something of a whizz on roller skates thanks to a 25-foot driveway with only a few potholes and the relatively isolated childhood of a rural tween. It was incredibly popular at the time for girls of my age to celebrate birthdays by going up to the ice rink in Dolphin’s Barn. Alas both the Dolphin’s Barn rink and Silver Skate in Phibsboro didn’t last into the new millennium, and with them went my dreams of gold. Among my many, many deranged pandemic lockdown purchases was a pair of adult roller skates.

Source: The Irish Times January 29, 2026 07:34 UTC