DUBLIN, IRELAND

                                     A Busy City

       Approaching Dublin we arrived into the world of traffic lights and where motorists were nowhere as pleasant as in the country. Approaching the city we noted a McDonalds—the first we’d seen in nearly two weeks.

      Dublin started as a Norse trading post in the 8^th century and is an older Viking settlement than Stockholm, Sweden or Oslo, Norway.  Dublin, a city of Georgian elegance, gets its name from the Black Pool—Dubh Linn that was on the site of Dublin Castle. Dublin, the Fair City with over a million people, is thought to be the friendliest capital on earth. It is a large city but lacks the high rises of most metropolitan areas and might be referred to as low high-rise city. By the late 17^th century Dublin was the second city of the British Empire.

      The River Liffey runs through the city and many bridges link the north and south parts of the city.  Starting at Sally Gap in County Wicklow the river travels 125 kilometers through the center of Dublin, into Dublin Bay and finally into the Irish Sea. The bar is a walkway along the River Liffey. Compact and easy to get around, Dublin is a walking city with interesting alleys, nooks and crannies.

      The 18^th century was Dublin’s golden age. Colorful doors grace lovely Georgian homes. The city has many graceful squares. Now a boomtown, half of the country’s population lives in the capital city. The city is 10 miles north to south and 6 miles east to west. There are over 10,000 pubs n the city.

      In 1728 the corner stone for the Parliament building (Leinster House) was laid and then in 1801 the Act of Union put Ireland under English rule until its independence in 1921.  In 1970 an old Viking village was found and excavated. The city’s largest private home, built in 1745 by the Duke of Leinster is a rather unusual building as it has a different façade on the front and rear sides. On the Merrion St. side the style is of a country home, on the Kildare St. side it resembles a town house.

     Temple Bar is considered Dublin’s cultural center. Developed in the 19^th century and situated in the heart of the city, its narrow cobbled streets run close to the banks of River Liffey. After years of neglect a massive redevelopment took place in 1991-92. The streets now are pedestrian walkways meant for strolling.  Artists, designers, and young entrepreneurs with creative ideas have set up small art galleries, cafés, theaters and colorful shops.

     Government Buildings are the last buildings in Dublin built by the British. In 1904 they were the College of Science, then the College of Engineers and later British headquarters. By the 1940s the buildings had become blackened and in disrepair. In the 1990s a huge restoration took place using Irish craftsmen and all Irish materials.

     The Ha’Penny Bridge is Dublin’s oldest pedestrian bridge crossing the River Liffey and is a symbol of the city. Built in 1816 as the Wellington Bridge, it acquired its nickname because of the halfpenny levied on all users of the bridge until 1919. It is one of the earliest cast iron bridges of its kind.  A 2001 restoration returned the Victorian Bridge to its original sparkling white. It was the only pedestrian bridge until 2000 when the new Millennium Bridge opened. Temple Bar is on the south side of the bridge and Mary and Henry Street on the north side. The bridge is very pretty and to me much more attractive than the modern Millennium Bridge. There are several bridges across the River Liffey that handle motor traffic.

      The Molly Malone statue, located at the end of Grafton Street opposite Trinity College, always drew a crowd and often a fellow who played the bodhran drum. It was very difficult to get a good picture of Molly Malone, the semi-historical-legendary figure who was commemorated in the song Cockles and Mussels. The fishmonger-working girl died in one of the cholera epidemics, which regularly sweep through Dublin. The statue is affectionately nick named ‘The tart with the cart’, ‘Trollop with the scallops’ or the ‘Dish with the fish’.   

    

 POSTS: Trinity College & Book of Kells  2-5-14

MORE ABOUT IRELAND

                                       Irish Tid Bits
         From 1939 to 1945 air travel from America was by flying boats that landed at Foynes, County. Limerick after a long 18 hour flight. The passengers, chilled by the boat trip from the seaplane to the terminal, sometimes in cold, damp weather conditions, appreciated a hot cup of coffee or tea on arrival. The youthful manager of the Foynes catering service believed that passengers would welcome something stronger. The head Chef at Foynes rose to the occasion, developing, after some research, what is now known as Irish Coffee.

         In 1929 Guinness advertising proclaimed, “Guinness is good for you.” 

         In 1971 Gilbeys of Ireland set out to create a uniquely Irish drink that would embrace two of the country's finest products: fresh dairy cream and Irish whisky, and celebrate one of Ireland's finest traditions - just passing time and chilling out with friends. No one had managed to blend cream and whisky before, and it took years of patient work, plus a little chocolate and vanilla, to create the truly amazing taste.

         Finally, on November 26th 1974 a new type of drink was born: Baileys® Irish Crème, a cream liqueur.  Now it is the best selling liqueur brand in the world.  Baileys® uses the finest fresh cream from local dairies and whisky from Ireland’s most renowned distillery. The alcohol in Baileys® preserves the cream in a wholly natural way and guarantees its freshness over long periods.

   Gallagher’s in Temple Bar (an entertainment area of Dublin) is known for its traditional Irish food, but we passed it up. First we’d had plenty of Irish food and secondly we had no desire to return to Temple Bar. Music in the pubs does not start until about 9:30ish, and everyone was emphatic about the ish. It ends at 11:30. If one wants a drink after that he must go to a bar which is open until 2:00AM. The pubs have been smoke free for a decade but were always very crowded and noisy in the evenings. We concluded that such a scene is for the young, not us old folks.

  

          At City Hall there was is an interesting multimedia display of city history. In 1867 there was a proposal to move a marble statue of O’Connell inside the building as it was not considered to be weather proof. It still stands in the refurbished rotunda. In the center of the marble rotunda floor is a 1898 mosaic of the coat of arms. The ceiling is beautiful. In 1915-19 frescos were added at the ceiling. Repairs due to dry rot were made to the building in 1926 and a wonderful restoration was done in 1998. Outside, the front façade still shows some bullet davits from the civil war.

        Dublin was the first place we ran into having to use your room card to start the elevator. It’s a common occurrence now.

       St. Stephen’s Green, occupying 27 acres, is an oasis in Dublin’s city center. It was once an open common for punishment. It is the oldest park in the city (1664). After a long period of decline, it became a private park in 1814 and mid century residents had keys to enter the park. In 1880 Lord Ardilaun, chairman of Guinness, bought all the keys and landscaped the area before giving it to the city. Among the meandering paths are a Victorian bandstand, flower gardens, formal lawns and ornamental lake with waterfowl, bridges and islands. Buildings surround the green.  We were in and out of the green several times. The park seems always to be pretty crowded, especially near the entrances.

       Oscar Wilde’s house is directly across the street from Merrion Park. Wilde’s father was a well known eye and ear physician who was knighted. His mother was a poet and he probably got most of his literary

urge from her. At the corner of the park is a lounging Oscar Wilde on a huge rock. Fourteen different rocks are used in the statue. His face is a bit unusual as it portrays different moods when viewed from different angles. From the left he appears rather sad, face on he appears contemplative and from the right he appears happy. He is high enough to peer over the fence onto the busy street.  The Georgian homes were primarily built by Protestants as Catholics were excluded from representation and were not allowed to vote 1690-1840. In 1794 the Free Men were 3000 strong in a city with a population was 130,000.

  The round metal covers in the sidewalks in the Georgian area of Dublin are old coal shoots where coal was once delivered for heating.