The animated streets of Dublin have been so evocatively brought to life by authors, songwriters and Dubliners themselves that when the taxi dropped us in the North Quays area, it seemed thoroughly familiar.

The rain was falling, there was the sound of someone singing in the distance and the Halfpenny Bridge spanned the Liffey as elegantly as it has done since it was built in 1816, when it cost a halfpenny to cross.