Dublin has lost a lot of the banter it used to have and is now a less friendly place than London, journalist Mary Kenny has claimed. 

Dublin-born, Ms Kenny has lived in England for decades but often returns to the city she grew up in.

Over the years, she has seen Dublin change - and she is not a fan of what she has witnessed.

“As I travel between the two, I do find that Dublin has deteriorated,” she told Newstalk Breakfast.

“We know about the crime - which has been very much in the headlines.

“Everyday encounters in public places, on buses, on trains and in shops and that sort of thing, there isn’t the friendliness or the kind of chat or banter that you used to get in Dublin.”

A Luas tram passes the GPO on Dublin's O'Connell Street in August 2020. Picture by: Andy Gibson / Alamy Stock Photo

Overall, Ms Kenny said she still feels “tremendous affection for Dublin” but that locals have sadly become “more standoffish basically”.

She contrasted this with London where she feels people are always asking her if she needs help.

“I often carry around a lot of literal baggage with me because I always have laptops and iPads and at least three books in a suitcase,” she said.

“I’m often staying overnight with my son and grandchildren and young people in London tend to spring quickly to give you a seat on the bus or the tube.

“They’re always very helpful about lugging your baggage upstairs.

“I think that’s a little bit less the case in Ireland and less the case in Dublin - that’s just my experience.

“Maybe people in Dublin feel shy about doing that?

“Maybe people in London, there are a lot of young people from the Far East and India where there’s a kind of tradition of being nice to older people because older people represent your grandparents.”

Ms Kenny said she thought Irish people are “deep down, a warm and friendly people” and that this was still the case, particularly outside of the big cities.

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Main image: Split of Dublin and London