Visitors to St Stephen's Green must have thought they were seeing things yesterday. Green Party TDs lounged in deck-chairs under a palm tree as children frolicked in the sand.
There was even an attempt to introduce some cocktails into the summer scene recreated at the top of Grafton Street.
The impromptu beach coincided with European Car-Free Day in the capital.
Dublin was one of 10 Irish towns marking the day.
The emphasis of this year's event was on walking and people were encouraged to check their speed in a timed one-kilometre walk around St Stephen's Green. "This is giving people an indication of how fast they can walk so they will know how long it would take to walk from home to town or work," said Mr Declan McCulloch, Dublin City Council spokesman.
But if that seemed too energetic, Dublin Bus was providing free fares on all main services.
Back on the beach, Mr Éamon Ryan, Green Party spokesman on transport, said it was all a symbolic gesture. "We have increased pedestrian space here and it doesn't affect traffic so it just shows what can be done," he said. Dublin had a long way to go before it was a more welcoming place for pedestrians and cyclists.
Football fans created their own bit of pedestrianisation yesterday as they spilled out of pubs during pre-match celebrations. But once the crowds moved to Croke Park, the streets got noticeably quieter.
Near the Jervis Centre, a string quartet calmed shoppers' nerves as their gentle music wafted from the new Wolfe Tone Park.
In Parliament Street, face painters were busy and balloons floated off in the direction of the Garda helicopter monitoring the Reclaim the Streets march.
About 100 cyclists passed by at 2.45 p.m. blowing whistles to highlight their campaign for increased parking facilities at train stations.
