DAY 178 - Dublin, Here We Come!

Sept 13 - The People in Dublin are C rAzY!!

Up Up and Away...

The Irish (as well as other countries) use rocks instead of fences to divide their land.

At the Dublin Airport

 We took a bus to meet our next host...a single young lady named Sara, who housed us for one night.  We met her at the Spire; then she took us around for the afternoon to see the sites.

 Spire of Dublin rises behind the statue of Jim Larkin.

Jim Larkin (1876-1947)
was an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist, born to Irish parents.  He organized casual and unskilled workers in the docks. On August 11, 1907 Larkin formally launched the NUDL in the city. Over the next twelve months Larkin recruited 2,700 men to the union. He also led three strikes and the NUDL, concerned by the costs of these industrial disputes, suspended Larkin on December 7th, 1908.





Dublin is situated in the province of Leinster near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey.

Satellite image showing the River Liffey entering the Irish Sea as it divides Dublin into the Northside and the Southside.

 Founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of  Dublin and became the island's principal city following the Norman invasion.

Henrietta Street developed in the 1720s, is the earliest Georgian Street in Dublin.

The famous Samuel Beckett Bridge

The city had a population of 21,000 in 1640 before a plague in 1649–51 wiped out almost half of the city's inhabitants. However, the city prospered again soon after as a result of the wool and linen trade with England, reaching a population of over 50,000 in 1700.   Today there are 550,000 people.

Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847)

 Daniel O'Connell, often referred to as "The Liberator" was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century. He campaigned for Catholic Emancipation -including the right for Catholics to sit in the Westminster Parliament, denied for over 100 years—and repeal of the Act of Union which combined Great Britain and Ireland.


As we walked through the crowded city streets (with our backpacks on), one of the first things a lady did was to yell out to us to mind our things because there were pickpockets and thieves and to hold onto our stuff.  After that it seemed as if everyone was staring at us and bumping us.  I just wanted off the busy streets as there were all kinds of shady characters and ethnic minorities and people dressed strangely.  I felt as if I were in a different world - I could hardly breathe.   I really had to concentrate on breathing - I guess I got a bit of claustrophobia.  WHEW!

The crowded streets of Dublin in the middle of the day.

First stop - something to eat....we went to a fast food place and then off to Trinity College.

The oldest university in Ireland

The college was founded in 1592 as the "mother" of a new university, modeled after Oxford and Cambridge, but, unlike these, only one college was ever established.  "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes. 

Sara talking about the college and Ireland, in general.

                                     
                               

 Determined to make Dublin a Protestant city, Queen Elizabeth of England established Trinity College as a solely Protestant university and ordered that the Catholic St. Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals be converted to Protestant.

Posing at the Bell Tower in Parliament Square

William Lecky (1838-1903)

 William Lecky graduated from Trinity College and wrote the chief work of his life, A History of England during the Eighteenth Century, Vols. i. and ii. of which appeared in 1878, and Vols. vii. and viii., which completed the work, in 1890.

 We wanted to go into the famous library, but it was $10 per person just to go in.  I guess it's huge (65 meters or 214 feet) and the Harry Potter scenes are fashioned after this library.  65 meters or 214 feet.  The Library is a legal deposit library for Ireland and the United Kingdom, containing over 4.5 million printed volumes and significant quantities of manuscripts (including the Book of Kells), maps and music.

Enthroned Christ

Two pages from the Book of Kells.

Madonna and Child

The famous Molly Malone

 Molly Malone Song - unofficial anthem of Dublin....

In Dublin's fair city,

Where the girls are so pretty,

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,

As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

Flower vendors on the streets are very popular.

There are many famous Irish movies made in the Dublin area:  "Far and Away" (with Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman) - loved this movie, "Angela's Ashes", "Braveheart", and "Leap Year" being some of my favorites.  Great Actors from here include:  Piece Brosnan, Maureen O'Hara, Colin Farrell, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, and Aiden Quinn.

Pond in the famous St. Stephen's Green Park

Traditional Live Irish Music is famous here, so we went into Gogarty's and listened to some while we waited for Sara to get back from a meeting she had.  We had our backpacks and it was CROWDED, so we took turns going inside.  The other one waited outside.  It was crazy with people everywhere, drinking, partying, singing, and everything in-between.

These ladies must have been in a beauty pageant & they were D rUnK !!

Back to Sara's apartment that she was sharing with an older lady who happened to be gone for the evening.  We cooked her a late stir-fry dinner, which she was very appreciative.

A welcome LATE dinner for all of us.

On to Blackrock - about a half hour away to Paul's flat for the next three days.