More Dublin Sites

     National Gallery, established in 1854, but was not built until ten years later. The gallery houses 3000 pieces of the national collection of Irish and European paintings. The old Victorian building just keeps going from one gallery to another. In fact we did get a bit lost and had to ask a guard to show us the way out! There was a sold our concert that evening in the gallery, but we heard a good part of it as we wandered around looking at paintings. We also stopped for a snack in the gallery café.

Next door is the Natural History Museum, referred to by locals as ‘the place of dead animals’. Housed in another Victorian building, all the specimens are displayed in lovely old Victorian cabinets and showcases. The museum has a huge collection covering  four floors. A graceful staircase leading from both sides of the building meets at a middle landing on the second floor.

      Dublin Castle represents 700 years of British rule and now is the symbol of Irish statehood and is the heart of historic Dublin. More a palace than a castle, it stands on a strategic site at the juncture of the River Liffey and its tributary the Poddle, where the original fortification may have been an early Gaelic Fort. Later a Viking fortress stood on the site. The Drawing Room in the Bermingham Tower dates back to 1411 and was rebuilt in 1777. The Record Tower is the earliest of several towers and is the largest remaining relic of the original Norman structure. The clock tower now houses a library. The south range houses the magnificent State Apartments, which were built as residential quarters of the vice regal court. Now they are the venue for presidential inaugurations, state functions and entertaining  heads of state.

    O’Connell Street, previously known as Sackville Street, is the most famous thoroughfare in Dublin. The 150-foot wide street changed its name in 1924. After the devastating 1916 Easter Uprising. The street had to be almost entirely rebuilt which took until the end of the 1920s. At the end of the street there is a large monument dedicated to Daniel O'Connell erected in 1854. Seated winged figures represent courage, eloquence, fidelity and patriotism. The four ancient provinces are represented by their coat of arms. O’Connell is wearing a glove on one hand, as he often did in real life as a self imposed penance for shooting a man in a duel. This is a busy street with lots of traffic and pedestrians. The focal point was the Nelson pillar that was destroyed in 1966.

     One morning we started out for our most distant point which was City Hall where there 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 to 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.

      One afternoon we rode the bus to the far side of the city to Phoenix Park to visit the zoo. Covering 1760 acres, the park is the largest enclosed public park in Europe. Livestock graze the pasturelands and deer roam the wooded area. The Presidential Residence is on the park grounds. Ashtown Castle sits next to the visitor center. Dry rot demolished the castle and now it is a fully restored modern house. Easily viewed from the main street is the large white cross commemorating the pope’s visit in 1979. A large obelisk marks Napoleon’s defeat by Wellington.

     The Dublin Zoo, three kilometers from the city center, was established. in 1830. It is the world’s 4^th oldest public zoo. Set in 60 acres of attractive and colorful gardens within Phoenix Park, the zoo has a large collection of exotic animals. The lion used in the MGM logo before each picture was born at the Dublin zoo. We wandered all over the zoo. It was not the best zoo we’ve ever visited, but it was a good one. The Amur tigers from Russia and China were huge beautiful animals.

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.

THE GUINNESS EXPERIENCE

                        A Fascinating Museum and a Surprise at the top

       I am a wine drinker and not a beer drinker, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t visited a lot breweries and distilleries in my travels.

      The #1 attraction in Dublin, Ireland is the Guinness Brewery built on 60 acres in 1759. That year Guinness inherited $150 and decided to acquire what was then a small, unused and ill-equipped brewery at St James's Gate. The lease, signed on 31 December 1759, was for 9000 years at an annual rent of £45.

      Arthur Guinness was born in 1725 near Dublin in the town of Celbridge, County Kildare where his father, Richard Guinness, was a Land Steward. Part of Richard's duties included supervising the brewing of beer for the workers on the estate, and it is probable that young Arthur learned the art of brewing from his father. The brewing industry in Dublin at that time was suffering because English beer was taxed less severely than the home-produced product.

       At first Arthur brewed ale, but by the 1770s a new strong black beer called porter was being exported from London.  Arthur took a chance on brewing this new product and the rest as they say is history. Just FYI, Stout contains more hops than either lager or ale. It takes 119 seconds for Guinness to settle. A pint is shy of 200 calories and contains 4.3% alcohol.

       The Guinness Storehouse is a 1904 cast iron and brick warehouse that now serves as a museum. We were able to get in on the senior rate everywhere in Dublin that had an admission. At Guinness the senior rate was 9.50 Euro compared to 14 Euro.

      The museum’s six floors circle an atrium. There were a lot of people, but the museum in the Storehouse is well spread out and with everyone moving at their own pace it worked just fine. The displays included multi-media and lots of old equipment. It was most interesting as we moved slowly up four stories. At that point we could take an elevator up the next couple of floors to the Gravity Bar. But a crowd was waiting for the elevator so we opted to continue walking. The Gravity Bar at the top offers a spectacular view of the city.

       It was a beautiful clear sunny day and the 360 degree view of the city was awesome. After rotating around the room soaking in the scenery we found a couple of empty seats just as people were vacating them. I went to the bar to get my friend her pint and asked for a half pint for myself. I drank about half of it. It was not as strong as I anticipated. Eventually it got pretty warm sitting in front of the sunny window, so we took the elevator back to ground level to continue sightseeing.

      This exhibit is unique in its layout and is very well done. It’s certainly worth one’s time to visit when in Dublin, regardless of one’s preferred drink.

GEORGIAN TOWN HOUSES

                                    GEORGIAN  TOWN HOUSES

            In Dublin, Ireland legend says that years ago a fellow was too drunk to find his own house so his wife painted the front door a different color from all the rest of the houses.  Georgian townhouses are joined together like the row houses in the eastern part of our country. The doors have a distinctive design with a half circle window above. The different colored doors on the brick square homes are most attractive, lending a Georgian grace to the city.

            Georgian houses of the 1700s were mostly built the same. The kitchen and servants quarters were in the basement. Servants never entered through the front door. The dining room was on the ground floor so food did not have to be carried very far. The drawing room and living room were on the next floor and on the top floor were the master bedroom and children’s rooms. The windows are shorter on the top floor to protect the children and to give the illusion of height to the building.

            Early one morning we walked the Georgian area with a local guide. We stopped in front of Oscar Wilde’s house, directly across the street from Merrion Park. The guide told us, “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 we found 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. The statue sits high enough to peer over the fence onto the busy street.

            We learned the round metal covers in the sidewalks were old coal shoots where coal was once delivered for heating. The Georgian homes were primarily built by Protestants as Catholics were excluded from representation and were not allowed to vote between 1690-1840.

            The Georgian neighborhood was quaint, attractive and interesting. We learned several things we did not know. Several small parks in the area add to the ambiance. 

           Georgian homes appear in a lot of other locales, but the district in Dublin was rather extensive and colorful.

            Some of the other things we saw and found interesting another time.

BOOK OF KELLS

Dublin’s Trinity Collage and its Treasure

            Trinity College. Ireland’s oldest university, established in 1592 by Elizabeth I, sits on a 40-acres in the very heart of the country’s capital. The old campus has maintained much of its ancient seclusion and cobbled squares. It was rather hard to walk on the old cobblestones, not that such pathways are ever easy. Everything on the campus is cobbled. Catholics were not admitted to the college until 1793 and women not until 1908.

            A unique collection of buildings dating from the 17^th to the 20^th century is nestled among its parks and gardens. A round tower, for protection against Vikings, still remains part of the original monastery where the Book of Kells was created over 1000 years ago.

            The Book of Kells is the centerpiece of an exhibition which attracts over 500,000 visitors to Trinity College, each year. Signs led us to the university library. Before getting to the book we walked through an extremely informative exhibit telling about the book.

            In the 6^th century pocket gospel books were common and they were written on calf skin called vellum.  It took 185 calf skins for the pages of the Book of Kells. Monks used quill pens made of swan or goose tail feathers and sometimes pens made from reeds.  The ink was a brownish iron-gall ink made from oak, apples, sulfate of iron, water, and gum. However, this ink tended to fade with time. Some of the pages were printed with a black carbon ink. It took four scribes working in a production-style process to write the book. Three major artists were involved. Originally the book was laced to a board.

            Each day one page of the ancient four-volume Book is turned.  Written around the year 800 AD, the Book of Kells contains a richly decorated copy of the four gospels in a Latin text based on the Vulgate edition (completed by St Jerome in 384 AD). The gospels are preceded by prefaces, summaries of the gospel narratives and concordances of gospel passages compiled in the fourth century by Eusebius of Caesarea. In all, there are 340 folios (680 pages).

            The script is embellished by the elaboration of key words and phrases and by an endlessly inventive range of decorated initials and interlinear drawings. The book contents were originally bound in a single volume.  It was rebound in four volumes in 1953 for conservation reasons. Two volumes are normally on display, one opened at a major decorated page, the other at a text opening. The large crowd moved around the showcase table slowly in the dim room.

            Afterward, we went upstairs to the 65-foot long room where 200,000 old books are stored. Many books were opened in display cases down the center of the room. Also on display is the oldest and smallest Irish harp made of willow. Its 29 strings were restrung in 1961.

            For many the Book of Kells is the highlight of their visit to Dublin. It was pretty awesome to be able to view such an old book! The old college is lovely and quaint. Students were everywhere as class was in session.

It was a memorable way to start a visit to Dublin, an exciting city with a lot of history and so much to see and experience.

IRISH MEMORIES AND TRIVIA

                                    Fun Moments

            Between the walking and sightseeing in Dublin we stopped late one morning at Bewley’s Oriental Café for Irish coffee and a pastry. Bewley’s coffee and tea was founded by Quakers in 1842. Stain glass windows and marble top tables decorate the café on Grafton Street. The place was crowded, but we were lucky to find a small round table for two just as a couple was leaving. The pastries in Ireland were scrumptious and I really enjoyed too many of them.

            We learned and confirmed every day that main courses are served with vegetables that represent the colors of the Irish flag. The green might be peas, broccoli, beans; the orange often was carrots or turnips and the white may be potato, cauliflower. It’s a pretty neat concept.

There is a meandering path around the harbor to Kinsale that ends at the city. The Scilly (pronounced silly) trail is paved and weaves alongside homes overlooking the harbor. The homes on the hill were landscaped obscuring them from the path below. Our progress was interrupted often as we stopped to pick and eat wild blackberries. I estimate I ate about a cup of them before lunch. Yummy!

Temple Bar is a section of Dublin known for its traditional Irish food. In the area is a restaurant called the Bad Ass Café. I had to take a picture of the sign as no one would believe it existed. Although we did not eat there I understand the food was good.

At a bus stop I spotted a large sign in some city I presently can’t recall that  said Neuter Your Best Friend. Of course it meant a pet, but I turned to my buddy saying, “You’d better be good now or I’ll neuter you.”

A bar is a walkway along the River Liffey in Dublin.

            The unveiling of the Nelson pillar in 1868 in Dublin provoked serious sectarian riots in Belfast. The monument was destroyed in 1966 and replaced with the Millennium “needle” called The Spire, a 400-foot high abstract sculpture. Pointing skyward over the historic Irish capital like an enormous needle, the monument, built at a cost of a million Euros, is the focal point of rejuvenating the O’Connell Street district, Dublin’s traditional shopping and cultural hub. 

            It took 130 tons of hot rolled stainless steel to create the Spire, which tapers from a nine-foot base to 15 centimeters at the tip where a powerful light is housed. The competition to replace the Nelson monument was won by a London architectural firm.

In Ireland a park is a green. St. Stephen’s Green, occupying 27 acres, is an oasis in the city center. The oldest park in Dublin (1664) was once an open common for punishment. After a long period of decline it became a private park in 1814 and mid-century certain 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 heartland.  We were in and out of the lovely green several times. It is a great area for a bit of respite in the middle of a busy city.