Good Night, Dublin

Crossing the Liffey for the last time.

Christ Church Cathedral. Across the street from our hotel. 

The Streets of Dublin

Chaotic, not for the faint of heart, dirty, crowded, and friendly!! The streets are full at all times of the day and night.

Famine Memorial - starving Irish walk towards the ship leaving Ireland. 

Modern section of Ireland in Docklands (like London)

Craziness around four-year construction of LRT line. Millennial Spire in the distance. 

Georgian houses. Queen Victoria decreed all doors in the kingdom be painted black when Albert died. Of course while some retain their black, you see all colours. 

Combination of old and new

All good things have to come to an end...

Well we've checked off everything on our Dublin list and are now printing boarding passes and packing suitcases for the last time. Hard to believe a month has gone by. We are sad to be leaving Ireland but glad to be going home.
Today was museum day with three stops: National Museum of Ireland - archaeology, Museum of Natural History, and the National Library. We also walked the area around Trinity College again as well as  the streets of southeast Dublin. I don't need a fit-bit, my feet say it was a full day!
Much of the fun in the time we've been in Dublin has been the impromptu conversations we've had with people trying to make our stay better. Bus drivers were always anxious to help, a lovely guy in the Museum of Ireland not only gave us directions but drew us a map with highlights noted along his suggested route, When we asked directions from a fellow who sold tickets for the hop-on, hop-off bus, he said he was off duty and going our way so walked us twelve blocks to our destination, all the time giving us a running commentary of the sites we were passing, the economy of Ireland, and what was best about being Irish ("laid-back, easy-going, nothing bothers us").
Did we like Ireland? You bet.

A real-life depiction of Bog Man . There have been many discoveries of Iron Age bodies in the bog lands of Ireland - perfect conditions for preservation. They are respectfully displayed in small, private rooms. 

Bronze-age gold jewellery from the "hordes of gold" hidden in the bogs. 

Main floor of museum. Modern adaptation of a very old space. 

Bog butter - actual butter preserved in containers in bogs (To keep it cool, then forgotten? For sacrifice?) 

Extinct giant "Irish Elk"

Traditional Methods of Display in Natural History Museum - static but quite beautiful 

Take the bus!

Driving in Dublin is great - if someone else is doing it! Construction of new Rapid Transit line has torn up most streets. We are just happy that the bus strike ended a few days ago. 

Books - old and older

Next, Trinity College and The Book of Kells. We started with a tour of the college led by a student who entertained us with her take on college-life. Trinity was started by Elizabeth I although women were not allowed to enrol until 1904. Our student guide was pleased to tell us that 65% of students are now women.  

Our tour was followed by a pretty short wait to see The Book Of Kells. While most art galleries and museums now allow taking pictures (without flash), The Book of Kells is another story and a very loud, gruff man shouted at anyone trying to sneak a shot of the famous book. The display is interesting with enlarged pages and detailed descriptions of the history and art of illuminating manuscripts. The book itself has been divided into four parts and two parts are on view at once. Pages are turned every few months. Other than our shouting guardian, the room was silent as we took turns to get close views. The book itself is smaller than I expected but fascinating to see. 
We moved upstairs into the Long Room, part of the Old Library where 200,000 antiquarian books are stored. 

Dramatic Long Room

Books are arranged with largest on bottom, getting smaller as they ascend. Busts of 98 famous scholars and intellectuals line the room.

This book happened to be on display in the Long Room - so this is as close to a view of The Book of Kells as I could get. 

A grim start to the day.

A full day in Dublin. We started with an early bus trip to Kilmainham Gaol - a must-see if I thought we could learn from our past. So many repeated attempts to achieve independence and its brutal consequences,  along with the history of punishment and "new" improved programs to set the prisoners on the right path, emphasizes the sheer viciousness of the powerful. We were glad to escape and breathe the fresh air.

Built in 1798, the open windows were thought to minimize disease. Prisoners were given one small candle every two weeks to use for warmth. 

Closed in 1924 (last prisoner went on to become President), the prison was abandoned until the 1960's when restoration was begun. 

Innovation in the late 1800's in the East wing provided a sky-light so prisoners could see God and rethink their ways. 

Two Solitudes

The majority of the population of the Republic of Ireland live in Dublin. It is a chaotic city even on a Sunday - crowds of people, knots of traffic, litters of garbage, mixtures of buildings - historic and modern, and pubs everywhere. We did a hop-on, hop-off bus tour for an introduction and now have our two full days planned. We spent the evening walking along the Liffey and into the Temple region along with hundreds of others people (most at least three decades younger). It was such a change from the green glens, beautiful coastlines and colourful bog lands of our three weeks in the rest of the rest of Ireland. 

Dublin: a grownup version of an Irish town

Commemorating the 2016 anniversary of the Easter Rebellion

Modern City Hall

Ancient Christ Church Cathedral

Strange clouds forming as we walked across the Liffey

Ha'Penny Bridge

Setting sun