Dublin, Ireland

It took us a day and a half to sail to Dublin, Ireland, our first port on this cruise. Dublin is chock full of beautiful buildings and history. 

 I took a shot of two motorcycle police officers, which I found very interesting.

Did you notice that the front has two wheels?

We found some trees turning, such as this one. However, most of the trees were still very green.

An old two-masted schooner.

These figures were placed in the park to memorialize the great potato famine. Notice how thin they are.

The sculptor had done research prior to creating these and this figure here is of a father who walked 10 miles with his son on his back to a soup kitchen. The story is that when he got there, they were out of soup so he walked back home the ten miles. The next day he set out once again for the soup kitchen and when he got there discovered that his son had died sometime during the walk.

This building has signs from the great lock out of 1913. It started with the transportation workers who struck for higher wages and eventually spread throughout the city. Instead of bending to the striker’s demands, the employers locked their doors and refused to allow anyone to work. It was a troublesome time and one that helped make Dublin the city it is today.

This is on one of the tallest buildings in Dublin and there are some we talked to that feel it is too gaudy for the cityscape.

One of the bridges, which is quite ornate.

Here is one of their government buildings. Notice the flower put on the roof?

Because they did not want the ugly chimneys to show, they built these flower pots around the chimney to camouflage them.

We are looking towards one of the most modern items in Dublin and this is the Millennium spear. We have found that many of the cities we have visited this year all have built a massive building or piece of art for the millennium.  Dublin is no different.

Some typical downtown streets in Dublin.

This is a sculpture of Molly Malone, of lyric fame. By day she sold cockles and mussels. Not making enough money during the day, she apparently worked another profession by night.

A guard (policeman) at the gate to the government house.

One of the things that was most noticeable in Dublin was that the street lamps were all this ornate.

There is a section of Dublin known for its Georgian Doorways. The area is now a historical site and originally the buildings were identical and the owners made their doors ornate and different to differentiate their homes. 

Here are some of the doorways we saw.

Because the original streets were dirt, each entrance way had at least one of the ornamental boot scrapers.

Today, Elvis has been found. He must be living in one of the row houses. J

On the other side of the street were newer homes, even though very similar to each other.

Notice the chimneys sticking up through the roofs.

This was a small commercial building.

Even other streets had their famous doors.

This sign was on the side of a building advertising a local pub. I never did make the connection between an Irish Pub and Venice.

Look at the stained glass canopy on the old Olympia Theatre.

Our next stop was at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

A couple of stylized shots of St. Patrick’s. Fancy, huh?

In the courtyard was a fountain. Even the pigeons thought this was a nice place.

 The first clock in Dublin was placed in the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Tower.

In 1988 Jameson Distillery paid to remodel the courtyard and included memorials to Irish poets, writers, and artists. We also discovered that between Jameson Distillery and Guinness Brewery, these two had companies had helped rebuild or remodel most of the churches and cathedrals in Dublin.

James Joyce is proudly represented here.

Next, we drove by Christchurch Cathedral.

As we took some time out to shop, we discovered this mural on a side street. It was amazing.

Next, we walked through Temple Bar, which is about four blocks long. This is the site of the original Viking settlement and later was owned by a merchant named Temple. Bar refers to the bank of the river and since this area was next to the river, it became known as Temple Bar.

Of course, even modern businesses show up in this tourist area.

Some views from this historical district.

This here is Merchants Gate and was the main entrance from the river into this area. The reason it is called merchant gate because the merchant lived above the gate.

 More views of Temple Bar.

Not sure what was going on, but this young man took off his pants and paraded around the area for a few minutes while everyone looked on. Not sure why, but it may have been an initiation of some type as his friends were certainly encouraging him.

This building on the left was the Meeting House and the area is known as Meeting House Square.

This bar here was established in 1694. Original bars did not allow women into the establishments, but this one did. There was an area that was called the Snug and that is why the signed out front advertises SNUG on their sign.

In Ireland, they don’t fill the pubs with a little truck carrying bottles, they use large tankers full of Guinness. If you believe that, then I have some land in Ireland to sell you. J

Notice the friezes on this building. Quite elaborate.

Many buildings included mosaics such as this one recognizing the Viking heritage.

We did see a tram in the city, but they are not nearly as prevalent as in the European cities we visited in June.

The North Star Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Dublin.

We didn’t quite get the story behind these palm trees, but some traveler brought them back and they are throughout one section of town. It is a special hybrid that grows in the cold weather. I thought these were only fund in hot climates, but what do I know?

We next drove to the town of Howth, which is nestled against the ancient ruins of Howth Abbey. Below is the fishing harbor and marina.

Here we had a “typically Irish” four course lunch with some Irish entertainment during our meal. Very nice.

Some shots from inside the restaurant. This was a real old restaurant with stone walls, stained glass windows, and wood. Plenty of wood.

Rexie sitting outside the restaurant waiting on the bus. One might think she is enjoying herself too much, but you can never enjoy yourself too much.

Here is a portion of the regular menu for the restaurant. We thought the prices not too bad considering what we had paid for items in London.

Here you can see how the Abbey Tavern sits high above the water.

 This is John, our driver. After a little discussion, I found out that he is a nurse and teaches at a local college two days a week. The other days, he loves to meet people and drives tourists around the area. Once he found out that I taught classes on-line, we had a discussion all day long as he wants to put his classes on-line.

These fortifications were built during the French-Napoleonic wars as watch towers. They were built in site of each other to spread the word should an invasion occur. Some have been destroyed, others have been made into offices, and others like this have been made in to houses.

There are still a number of gypsies that live in the gypsy camps and they love to keep the old ways when possible, such as using horses to get around.

We end our day with a towel animal from our room steward  that made us chuckle.

I am ready to go back to Dublin again as I found this a lovely place with lovely people.

I must be off!