Describing Limerick as “proper”, the Australian whose real name is Anthony Lees, told his more than 890k followers how he wished he had spent more time in the city by the Shannon.
As he checklisted all the big-hitters such as King John’s Castle, St Mary’s Cathedral and Thomond Bridge, Spanian declared: “I wish I had come straight here and stayed here instead. I thought it was going to be a little town.
“I’d come here for a few hours, then go back to the big city of Dublin but it’s the other way around – this is proper.”
He enjoyed his experience even after Irish locals had told him: “Are you serious? Don’t go there” when they heard about his plans to visit Limerick.
But he has left Dublin in the dust in his four-part series tracing his family’s heritage that has already led him to Belfast.
Known for travelling the world and walking through some of its most dangerous and notorious neighbourhoods to see how life really is for people living in these places, he said he was “shocked” by Dublin.
“I don’t want to be harsh,” he began. “How do I say it? I wonder if Dublin was ever good, that’s how I’m going to say it.
Spanian in Dublin
“It’s so weird, I went from Belfast being one of the maddest cities that I’ve ever been to, like the vibe of it, I would raise a family there. But here – it’s yuck. It’s a s**t city in every aspect of it.”
The 37-year-old had apparently stayed on Talbot Street for two nights before hopping on the Luas Red line to Conor McGregor’s Black Forge Inn pub in Crumlin.
As he aired his views on the capital, he said: “Dublin is one s**t city. It was a shock. I can’t believe it’s Ireland.
“I know I’m not going to lose Irish fans over it, you probably know this city’s rubbish itself.
“I didn’t expect this from Ireland, it’s something you’d expect when you’re in Rome or somewhere like that.”
Describing Dublin as “more crackhead than Belfast”, he added: “I don’t know how long your city’s been like this but that’s yuck. That’s my breakdown, I know it’s harsh, but I have to keep it real.”
While his reaction has divided Irish fans, one Dublin City councillor who is a long-time resident of Dublin agreed with him.
Mannix Flynn told the Mail that Spanian was correct in what he’s saying.
“Romantic Ireland is dead and gone,” Cllr Flynn declared. “It’s been gone for quite some time, it’s been replaced by criminals, drug takers and people begging on the streets – some of them genuine and some not.”
Having lived in Dublin for more than 67 years, Cllr Flynn said he has seen the city go through different phases, although it had always retained a “certain charm and curiosity”.
That, however, is now “gone”, he said, adding: “We have a substantial homelessness problem, it has a major tent issue on the streets. The city council doesn’t have the money or resources to be able to stay on top of it and everybody’s impacted.
“We used to get returning tourists. We don’t get that anymore – the same people never come back. The person,” referring to Spanian, “unfortunately, is right. It’s now a complete and absolute mess.”
Cllr Flynn, who is also the vice chairperson of Dublin’s Joint Policing Committee, even claimed some gardaí working in the city “want to get out of here”.
He blamed Dublin’s “crisis” on a result of issues “that were not addressed in the first place”.
However, others have sprung to Dublin defence with one commentator arguing that Spanian had spent his time in the “more run-down end of the city”.
“Dublin definitely has its issues just like any city but I think you would really enjoy it if you had more time to experience other parts of the city and suburbs,” they insisted.
One Dubliner said Spanian had given viewers “an ‘absolute most grim parts of Dublin’ tour,” although another was “glad you called out Dublin for what it is. As a Dubliner, I can tell you it’s done”.
Irish TikTok star Garron Noone also stood up for Dublin, even though he’s from Mayo, saying “nobody’s allowed to call Dublin a s**thole except us”.
Garron said: “Listen, Dublin has its problems, but there are lots of beautiful parts of Dublin, and I will not have this slander.”
