Dublin’ Our Pleasure

I was up early and tried a few locations before I abandoned my search for a cafe that is open near our hotel. We are located in the business district, so I guess those types of spots are closed on Saturday.

Once again the weather looks great and it looks like we will not have any rain at all today. I was fairly confident and only packed our rain ponchos instead of bringing our coats.

We showed up at Trinity College at 9am for our scheduled Book Of Kells tour. It was a self-guided tour but we were able to download the app on our phone for a really well done audio guide.

Before you see the ancient text, there are a couple of rooms that have blown up images of the illuminated manuscript that you can view and get a better understanding and appreciation for the text.

The book contains the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and was created in 800 AD by monks who had their own unique styles. It is written in Latin and used beautiful calligraphy and paintings to illustrate the stories. It was written on vellum made from calf skin.

A lot of symbolism was used and I learned that the peacock, eagle, and snake are all used to represent Jesus because they all symbolize rebirth.

We were able to view the open book of one of the gospels. It is displayed in climate controlled conditions in order to preserve it.

Then we were able to explore the Long Room of the Old Library. It was built between 1712 and 32. It is close to 65 m long and has over 200,000 of the oldest books in the world. The dark wood book cases, impressive barrel-vaulted high ceiling above the second story, and marble busts of famous writers and philosophers is stunning.

We were able to see the aforementioned 15th century Brian Boru harp that we learned about at Guinness yesterday located in the middle of the library. It was interesting to learn that they have to turn the 2nd storey book shelves to access the books as no walkway was installed when it was added in 1860.

I purchased a t-shirt with a print inspired by the beautiful artwork of the monks in the gift shop.

Along the way to the Dead Zoo we cut through the National gallery and explored a bit of the first floor. It had a small collection of Impressionist artists and just one Monet and a few Renoirs. I did really enjoy A Connemara Village by Paul Henry. It depicts some cottages and the mountains near Galway and really captures a lot of the great scenery we saw driving around Ireland this past week.

We found out that we needed to book entrance in advance at the Dead Zoo, even though it is free to enter. The two male comical attendants told “Nikon guy” Doug to have a seat on one of the benches at the entrance. They allowed a few families with tickets to enter ahead of us and then gave us the green light to go in an explore.

We were able to see up close lots of the Irish birds I wished we had seen on our trip, especially the illusive (and very tiny) puffin. I took some photos in the hopes of trying to identify some of the birds that we actually did see earlier in our travels.

There were great displays of birds, mammals, fish, insects, and antlers. An there were some rocks too. In addition to seeing a lot of neat birds like the European Roller, we enjoyed seeing the giant Irish deer (now extinct), hedgehogs, badgers, and hares.

We stopped at Cafe Boulevard nearby for some delicious almond croissants, coffee, and chai.

Next stop on our tour of Dublin was the self-guided tour of the Dublin Castle. Again we were able to use the audio guide app and listen to the tour on our phone.

The Dublin Castle had been the centre of British rule in Ireland from 1204 - 1922 where it was a Royal palace, parliament, and a prison. In medieval times, it was the site of a castle built by the Vikings. Today it is still used for state ceremonies. More recent visitors include Nelson Mandela, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Pope Francis.

The tour starts by climbing the impressive wooden Battleaxe Staircase that was built in 1749. allows you to view the State Apartments which had been home to the Lord Lieutenants of Ireland (viceroy) and was used for hosting and entertainment purposes.

In the James Connolly Room we learned about Ireland’s history in gaining independence. James Connolly was a leader in the Easter Rising of 1916. It was a rebellion against British rule and it did not go well. It ended a week later and the badly injured Connolly was executed after being hospitalized at the castle during his arrest.

Less than three years later, the Irish War of Independence began and successfully concluded in 1921. On January 16, 1922 the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed. The tricolour flag of Ireland represents green for the nationalists, orange for the unionists, and white for the peace between these two opposing sides.

The State Drawing Room was designed in 1838 and was furnished with antique furniture to give you a good idea of what it would have been like for the vicerory’s wife to entertain. It reminded me of rooms you would see for young debutants courting in an episode of Bridgerton or Downton Abbey.

The room I found to be most impressive was the last on our tour, St Patrick’s Hall. This massive ballroom was named for the knights of St Patrick that used to host ceremonies in this room starting in 1783. Along the length of two sides of the room banners were hanging that represent the families of knights.

The ceiling has three murals that were completed in 1788, including one introducing Christianity by St Patrick to Ireland.

Fun Fact - Dubh Linn (Dublin) means dark pool

Sheila, Bill, and I went into Christ Church Cathedral while Doug explored the streets of Dublin. We were charged student fare because we are, after all, students of life!

The audio guide on our phone again was good but it took a while for us to download it. The first church was built on this site by a Hiberno-Norse King in 1030. It was rebuilt as a cathedral in the 12th century and then restored in the 1870’s.

I enjoyed the mosaic floor tiles that had geometric patterns, lions, doves, and friar foxes. The story of Stronbow’s tomb was interesting - during the Middle Ages it became the site where people would shake on contracts and pay rent. On display was St Laurence O’Toole’s Heart (patron saint of Dublin). He was buried in France in 1180 and his heart was brought back here and displayed in a heart shaped relic box. It was stolen in 2012, recovered in 2018, and returned to the cathedral for display. There was a small display of some of the medieval mosaic crosses that remained undamaged after the collapse of the roof in 1562.

We continued the tour in the crypt that dates back to the 12th century. They described that at one point in time this area was used as an area for markets and pubs.

We went to the Brazen Head pub for lunch. It is known to be Dublin’s oldest pub. It was established in 1198. It was very busy but we managed to score a table in a covered area in the courtyard with a knight guarding us. We had a smoked salmon salad, beef stew, and a very good seafood chowder. It had good food and great pints.

On our way back that the Little Irish Museum for our 2:30 tour, we popped into the South City Market / George Street Arcade. They had some neat shops and vendors lining the alley. It’s a really good spot to shop for some unique gifts.

We enjoyed our brief tour at the Little Irish Museum, our guide Benjamin was a great story teller and had a beautiful voice when he sang us a traditional Irish song. We really learned about the impact of the famine on Ireland and how still to this day the population has never recovered due to mortality and emigration to places like Canada. Bill really enjoyed the 3rd floor that had a room dedicated to the history of U2.

Sheila and I did a bit of souvenir shopping while Doug and Bill had some bevies at Lennan’s Yard pub. After picking up some socks and a Christmas ornament, we joined them, had a few drinks and played a round of Rummy. Bill won his 4th or 5th game.

We walked back to the hotel and headed up to the Executive Lounge. Thankfully it is stocked with everything (except a bottle opener) and we met a couple from Pennsylvania that were celebrating their 25th anniversary. They just arrived at the hotel from spending the entire day at the airport because Aer Lingus is experiencing some major difficulties and no flights left Dublin today. They are not sure when they will be able to get flights home now.

We enjoyed some beer, wine, and O’Donnells crisps (chips) and I won my 6th game of Rummy. The final standings of the trip were Doug - 6, Theresa - 6, Bill - 4 or 5, and Sheila - 3.

We walked to The Bank on College Green for dinner. It was known as Belfast Bank and was built over 120 years ago. We were seated on the second floor and had a great view of the stained glass ceiling and two storey marble pillars. The food and service was great and we enjoyed the chicken liver pate, a burger with a gluten-free bun, seafood tagliatelle, and Sheila’s custom Bailey’s cocktail.

Based on a recommendation from our waitress we stopped at O’Donoghue’s for a drink and live music. It was huge place divided between a couple of buildings, an alley patio, and a street-side patio. We found seats outside near the band but it was not really loud enough for us to hear the music.

We were hoping to catch more live music at Lincoln’s Inn again but we struck out. So we had one final drink in Dublin and called it a night after packing.