Trip Report Ireland 2004 Part 2- Dublin
B Vaughan
dining sections for specifics of those topics.]
We arrived in Dublin at 2 PM after a flight from Italy. By 3:30 we
were settled into our guesthouse and decided to go out for a walk.
Padraig Breathnach had suggested many things that were worth seeing,
both indoors and outdoors. We decided to spend the entire afternoon
out of doors as the weather was lovely and we had been cooped up in
airports and planes all day. This meant that we would be retracing our
steps the next day to see some of the indoor things along the same
route, but no problem, we enjoy walking.
We walked along O’Connell St to the river Liffey, stopping to inspect
the various statues and monuments along the way. One of the most
puzzling was a huge metal spire, that looks like a 160-meter flagpole.
Nothing on the site identified its purpose, but Lonely Planet informed
us that it was intended to celebrate the millennium. There was
supposed to be a nearby statue of Anna Livia, Joyce’s immortalization
of the Liffey, otherwise known as the “floozy in the Jacuzzi”, but we
couldn’t find it. There was one place where something that looked like
a fountain was surrounded by fencing and other signs of extensive
works, so maybe Anna was having a facelift.
The streets of central Dublin were full of people, many shoppers, but
also a lot of tourists, and many of them very young. It looked as
though it would be fun to live and work there.
We crossed the Liffey and walked past Trinity College, then went on to
Merrion Square, which is surrounded by well-preserved Georgian
buildings, each with a cluster of chimneypots. The Georgian style is
very plain, almost severe, but the total effect is very pleasing. The
Square itself is a small park, with very dense vegetation in places.
Next we went to St Stephen’s Green, a very pleasant urban park. We sat
for a long time on a bench watching the world go by and basking in the
warm sun. This would be the only time we encountered warm sunny
weather all week, actually. However, this being Ireland, no sooner had
we resumed our walk, this time to the Temple Bar area, than we were
overtaken by a downpour. Although it was only 5:30, I suggested we
kill two birds with one stone and wait it out in a café, where we had
an early supper. We recrossed the Liffey by the picturesque Ha’penney
Bridge. We had hoped to visit the Winding Stair bookshop, recommended
by Padraig, but it was unfortunately closed for the day, and wouldn’t
be open on Sunday either. We did stop in another bookshop, which was
having a sale, and I picked up four books for future reading.
On Sunday, we set out walking again, this time walking along the north
bank of the Liffey for a while before crossing near Christ Church
Cathedral. We toured the church and the crypt and then stayed for the
service which was about to begin. There is a small admission fee to
tour the church, but they ask if you’re planning to stay for the
service and, if so, they waive the fee. This is an Anglican cathedral,
which is my religion, and living in Italy I rarely see an Anglican
church. The cathedral has an excellent resident choir and very good
acoustics. We noticed that there had been a concert there the evening
before, which we could have attended had we known about it. However,
perhaps we would have been too tired anyway.
After the service at the cathedral, we had free coffee and cookies in
the crypt. On my way out, I decided to offer a donation for the upkeep
of the church to the lady who was collecting the admission fees. She
looked a little puzzled, as we were leaving rather than entering. I
mentioned that we had been at the service, and she said, “Oh, there’s
no need to do that. After all, you made a donation at the collection
during the service.” Trusting soul. I gave her the donation anyway.
Our next visit was to Trinity College. Here we had to choose whether
to take the guided tour or just walk around relying on the Lonely
Planet to point out interesting things. The tour costs something like
8 euros, which includes the cost of a visit to the Book of Kells. The
cost is not much more than the admission to see the Book of Kells, so
it’s a pretty good value. However, my husband’s English is pretty
basic and he was struggling to cope with the Irish accent, so he
didn’t think he would understand much of the tour. The Lonely Planet
actually gives a pretty good description of the various buildings and
statues to be seen.
When I saw the Book of Kells in 1986, it was displayed behind glass in
a small corridor (if I remember correctly). Now it is in a spacious
room with very dim lighting to prevent deterioration of the colours.
Before entering this room, you pass through a display that explains
the historic context of the book. The book itself, an eighth century
illuminated manuscript of the four gospels, is actually bound in four
volumes, two of which are on display at any one time, one open to an
illuminated page, the other to a page of text. There are a number of
other very old manuscripts on display in the same room. One, the Book
of Durrow, is more than 100 years older than the Book of Kells. To me,
seeing these books would justify a trip to Ireland by themselves. If I
lived nearby, I would probably return at least once a month to see
them over and over again.
In the same building is the Long Room, an historic reading room with
alcoves filled with shelves of ancient books along both sides. In the
center are glass display cases showing some of the more interesting
books and documents in the library’s collection. We found some of
these fascinating and spent a good deal of time in this room. Somehow
I missed Brian Boru’s harp (which dates from the 14th century,
according to the Lonely Planet, and thus Brian never saw it.) We had a
good browse in the bookshop, where I bought a well-illustrated book
about the Book of Kells, and then sat on benches overlooking the
green, reading our purchases and watching some half-hearted Frisbee
players.
Our final stop of the day was the National Museum. We saw various
signs pointing in different directions to places whose names seemed to
be some variant of “National Museum”. I think that there are several
submuseums whose collections specialize in different areas. The one we
wanted to see is on Kildare Street. It has a very interesting
collection of finds from the Stone age and the Bronze Age, especially
of gold objects, some of which are very beautiful. One is a small
model of a boat with oars, very delicate and elegant. There were also
a number of interesting interpretive exhibits. I was interested to see
that somehow small decorative Etruscan objects had made their way to
prehistoric Ireland. There was also quite a lot of amber jewellery. I
believe amber is found only around the Baltic sea. Obviously, trade
routes connected early Ireland to distant parts of Europe.
By now we were a bit tired, so we walked back to our B&B. The streets
were full of people who seemed to be returning from some sort of
sports event. They didn’t look very happy, so I assume their team had
lost. A lot of them had shirts referring to “Azzurri”. This means
“blue” in Italian, which is the colour of Italian national teams
(soccer and others) and is shorthand for the Italian team in any
international match. We were curious if Dublin also has a team of
Azzurri.
After a little rest, we went out to find something to eat. Marcello
didn’t want to walk far, which severely limited our possibilities. We
ended up eating in a Chinese takeout place that had one table for
people who wanted to eat their takeout in. The food was eminently
forgettable.
That ended our stay in Dublin. It would have been nice to have had one
more day there, but maybe we’ll get back again before long.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and prestwich tesco
[]
> On Sunday, we set out walking again, this time walking along the north
> bank of the Liffey for a while before crossing near Christ Church
> Cathedral. We toured the church and the crypt and then stayed for the
> service which was about to begin. There is a small admission fee to
> tour the church, but they ask if you're planning to stay for the
> service and, if so, they waive the fee. This is an Anglican cathedral,
> which is my religion, and living in Italy I rarely see an Anglican
> church. The cathedral has an excellent resident choir and very good
> acoustics. We noticed that there had been a concert there the evening
> before, which we could have attended had we known about it. However,
> perhaps we would have been too tired anyway.
It's got a long musical tradition, and the current choir has an
excellent reputation. It was actually the combined choirs of this and
St. Patrick's that have the first performance of Handel's Messiah,
albeit in another location that no longer exists.
[]
> Our next visit was to Trinity College. Here we had to choose whether
> to take the guided tour or just walk around relying on the Lonely
> Planet to point out interesting things. The tour costs something like
> 8 euros, which includes the cost of a visit to the Book of Kells. The
> cost is not much more than the admission to see the Book of Kells, so
> it's a pretty good value.
It's now 10 euros, but that's only 2.50 more than admission to the Book
of Kells.
> However, my husband's English is pretty
> basic and he was struggling to cope with the Irish accent, so he
> didn't think he would understand much of the tour.
I noticed a young german woman complain to our guide that he was
speaking too fast. He took this good-naturedly and tried to slow down-
bit he found it hard! Interestingly, my partner thought he spoke very
clearly, and while he speaks English, he often finds strong accents
difficult.
> The Lonely Planet
> actually gives a pretty good description of the various buildings and
> statues to be seen.
>
> When I saw the Book of Kells in 1986, it was displayed behind glass in
> a small corridor (if I remember correctly). Now it is in a spacious
> room with very dim lighting to prevent deterioration of the colours.
> Before entering this room, you pass through a display that explains
> the historic context of the book. The book itself, an eighth century
> illuminated manuscript of the four gospels, is actually bound in four
> volumes, two of which are on display at any one time, one open to an
> illuminated page, the other to a page of text. There are a number of
> other very old manuscripts on display in the same room. One, the Book
> of Durrow, is more than 100 years older than the Book of Kells. To me,
> seeing these books would justify a trip to Ireland by themselves. If I
> lived nearby, I would probably return at least once a month to see
> them over and over again.
I agree with you that the Book of Kells is amazing, but I don't think
it's fun to visit, as we did, when there are lots of visitors. It's a
real squeeze to fit around the display table, and people (other
tourists) seemed a bit aggressive. I'm sure that some kind of crowd
control would be a good idea. I'd like to go again, but would try and
visit when there were the fewest visitors.
> In the same building is the Long Room, an historic reading room with
> alcoves filled with shelves of ancient books along both sides. In the
> center are glass display cases showing some of the more interesting
> books and documents in the library's collection. We found some of
> these fascinating and spent a good deal of time in this room. Somehow
> I missed Brian Boru's harp (which dates from the 14th century,
> according to the Lonely Planet, and thus Brian never saw it.)
Oh- it caught my eye! Although it is in other libraries too, I enjoyed
seeing the original edition of Newton's Prinipia. Took me back to my
Maths A Level! :)
Thanks for this, and the other reports, which I'm enjoying. Just back
from Dublin, so the city is still very fresh in my mind!
--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
nospam...@dcs.ed.ac.uk
> The streets were full of people who seemed to be returning from some
> sort of sports event. They didn't look very happy, so I assume their
> team had lost. A lot of them had shirts referring to "Azzurri". This
> means "blue" in Italian, which is the colour of Italian national
> teams (soccer and others) and is shorthand for the Italian team in
> any international match. We were curious if Dublin also has a team
> of Azzurri.
It couldn't have been the Italian rugby team could it? Last time we
were in Dublin it was full of French rugby fans, who were, curiously,
the same colour; they were all calling out "Allez Les Bleus!" Since
we're Scottish and our rugby team's colour is *also* blue, we could
agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment.
I absolutely agree about the Book of Kells. Well worth seeing.
And thanks for taking the trouble to write all this down, too.
--
-- Chris.
Jordi
B Vaughan ha escrito:
> [Part II of report on trip to Ireland in June 2004. See lodging and
> dining sections for specifics of those topics.]
>
I just put all of your report on a sole .txt file, that I will
patiently read.
As I'm leaving for Dublin in a couple weeks I'm sure it will be a
wealth of information for me.
Thanks :)
J.