A few months ago, Dad suggested we go to Ireland in February. So this February, I left Ruth with the kids and flew across the pond to spend a few days in the land of “Saints and Scholars” and Guinness. They call Ireland the land of Saints and Scholars because it has a strong religious and strong literary tradition. I added the Guinness part to the moniker because, well, it’s also where they brew Guinness. Our hotel was within easy walking distance of the heart of Dublin so as soon as I arrived, we set out to explore Dublin on foot.
We walked through St. Stephen’s Green which is a city park with an entrance marked by this archway with a large pond with ducks, geese and swans. It used to be used for public executions, but its a much nicer place to visit now. We passed through the park to get to Grafton Street. Grafton Street is Dublin’s busiest shopping district.
We took this shot for Karen while walking on Grafton Street. Even halfway across the world in the middle of Dublin, one can still find the magic, and marketing, of Disney.
At the end of Grafton Street, there’s a statue of Molly Malone pushing her wares to sell on Grafton Street. By the look of the cleavage, I take it she had more to sell than what was in her cart. The locals call her the “Tart with the Cart.”
Across from the statue of Molly Malone, we found Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest college. There are two principal highlights of the college. One is the Book of Kells which is the four gospels written in a lavish book back in 800 A.D. It’s one of the most famous books in the world so we could only view it behind thick glass–and I believe the kindle version lacks the grandeur of the printed copy. The second highlight of the college, is the “Long Room.” It’s the old college library–a majestic, huge panelled hall of over 200,000 books. No photography is allowed, but I sneaked a shot from the entrance.
After our visit to Trinity College, we walked toward the Dublin Castle in one of the oldest sections of Dublin. The Castle was closed so I only took this photo of the outside of the castle but we stopped into the nearby Chester Beatty Library which housed old manuscripts of the Quran and Christian manuscripts such as copies of the Book of Common Prayer.
From there, we started to make our way toward the Guiness Storehouse. On the way, we ran into a huge protest and demonstration. What an event that was. Parents brought their children to march alongside them with signs and slogans. It’s a family affair!
Once making it through, the demonstrations, we continued on toward the home of Guinness. Along the way, we fell behind this curious flock of sheep who were also headed to the Guinness brewery. I had to take their photo because they were dressed like “Shaun the Sheep” and Tommy loves that British animated series. No, I don’t know why these guys were visiting Guinness dressed as a bunch of sheep. I did see them later at the Gravity Bar in the Guinness storehouse but I didn’t ask them why they were dressed like sheep–I was afraid they’d tell me and then there would be no way for me to get those two minutes back.
The Guinness Storehouse is built right next to the old St. James Gate Brewery where Guiness was born in 1759. The St. James Gate Brewery was moved to the Storehouse location where Guinness was brewed until the late ’80s (until it moved to a more modern, a less interesting facility next door). The Storehouse has been preserved as a Guinness museum where you can learn how the stout is brewed and how to properly pour one. The center of the storehouse is shaped like a giant Guinness glass. At the top, there is the “Gravity Bar” where you can enjoy 360 degree views of Dublin along with a pint of Guinness. As an aside, some college-aged girl next to me tried to order something other than Guinness. The bartender told her that all they serve there is Guinness. Seriously, she’s at the end of a Guinness tour that she had to have tickets to take; she’s at the top of a Guinness-shaped glass in the middle of the Guinness brewery and she wants something else? She should have been asked to leave.
Well I told you it was the land of “Saints and Scholars” and Guiness. We explored scholarly sites in Trinity College and Chester Beatty Library and then we toured the Guinness Storehouse–because that’s where the Guinness is. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by St. Patrick’s Cathedral to see some of the monastic side of Dublin. This is Ireland’s largest church and it’s most famous dean was the writer Jonathon Swift who is buried in the floor. It’s supposed to be built on the site where St. Patrick baptized local pagan converts although I also heard that it was built on that site because it was outside the old city walls so they wouldn’t have to pay Dublin taxes.
For more photos of our first day in Ireland, view the slideshow below:
