Dublin, Ireland – Days 1 & 2
Kells, Castles and Craic
Revisiting Ireland was on our travel list for years, and this summer, Dan and I finally made it happen—with grand kids in tow. The trip was organized through a local Irish agency, which took care of everything: hotels, meals, guides, a private driver, even entrance tickets. All we had to do was show up—have fun (the Irish word is “craic”) with rain jackets at the ready.
Our journey began in Dublin, a city with a long history and the sky with a flair for drama. Rain came and went—here one moment, gone the next—so we kept our rain jackets on and zipped them up when it came. We stayed at Stauntons on the Green, an elegant Georgian townhouse facing St. Stephen’s Green, a large public park used by locals for gatherings when the weather cooperated, and sometimes when it didn’t. The park was a daily passageway for us, with bright flowerbeds in purples and reds, swans gliding across the lake, fountains, locals dancing to big band music under the bandstand and statues of historical figures who led rebellions.
The hotel was old world with a relaxing garden and rooms that open onto a small courtyard with a table and chairs. The only problem was the lack of air conditioning, which was needed during our stay.
St. Stephen’s Green
That first evening, purely by luck, we wandered into Café en Seine, one of Dublin’s hottest bars. Think Gatsby-meets-Ireland: glowing shelves of liquor reaching to the ceiling, mirrors, and a glamorous art deco vibe. Dan and I lowered the average age by at least two decades. Guinness, Five Lamps and O’Hara’s and Harp flowed, a new love for porn star martinis (vanilla vodka, passoã, passion fruit, lime juice) bloomed, and by night’s end, we surrendered our table to a bubbly group of young moms on a rare night out.
On day 2 we met a local guide, Gerry Cullen, a former history teacher at the hotel and the streets of Dublin while he talked about Irish history, particularly the events leading to its independence. The history lesson went from present day to the Viking Age. We walked Kildare Street to Leinster House, currently home to the Irish Parliament.
He paused outside Dame Tavern to show us the Proclamation of the Republic, a formal assertion of Ireland as an independent state on April 24, 1916. (We saw the original in Trinity College.)
In the courtyard of Dublin Castle, Gerry unraveled nearly a millennium of history, to the Viking Age, in the 13thcentury when the castle was built. From 1204 to 1916 it was the seat of English rule in Ireland. It is now a government complex and used for state ceremonies. The area next to the tower behind the Chapel Royal was under construction.
Dublin Castle
South of the Chapel was the stone wall enclosed Castle Gardens. The large grassy area in the center is the Dubh Linn Garden which has sea serpents cut into the lawn. This is where the Vikings harbored their ships who arrived in the 8th century. Nearby, a memorial honors fallen Irish police officers. Sadly, the museum café (and its bathrooms!) were closed.
Dubh Linn Garden
No visit to Dublin is complete without a photo stop at the iconic statue of Molly Malone, immortalized in the ballad Cockles and Mussels. Legend has it she was a fishmonger by day, a “working girl” by night—a fact that inspired her nickname, “The Tart with the Cart.” Her polished bronze bust gleams from constant tourist “attention”, reportedly for good luck, to return to Dublin or just to be ornery.
The Temple Bar district was already buzzing at on a Sunday at 10 a.m.—cobblestone streets jammed with tourists and overpriced pints. It has lost its charm to modern-day tourism.
By the time we reached Dublin’s oldest university, Trinity College, for a self-guided tour of the Book of Kells, it was raining horizontally. While entry tickets were needed and purchased months in advance, the exhibit area before viewing the book was packed with people meandering through the large concave placards explaining the history and importance of the Books of Kells. The 9th century manuscript of the four gospels in Latin text and intricate illustrations sits in a darkened room. It is enclosed in a glass case and can be viewed from all four sides. No photos are permitted.
Trinity College, Book of Kells and Long Room in Old Library
The exit led to the Old Library, where 200,000 books have been removed for in redevelopment project. The double story Long Room with a curved wooden ceiling contained mostly empty shelves, the mostly empty stacks were lined with busts of historic and literary figures. It was still architecturally impressive. The Proclamation of Irish Republic written during the Easter Rising rebellion in 1916 when the Irish declared sovereignty from the British was on display. At the end of the Long Room was a lighted 3-D model of earth (Gaia) which slowly spun. Animated films explained the origin of the Book of Kells, created by Columban monks around 800 AD in Ireland or Scotland. The manuscript was moved to the Abbey of Kells, Ireland to avoid seizure by Vikings. It was stolen in 1006, and the bejeweled cover was ripped off and never found. The manuscript was found a few months later and remained in Kells until 1654, when it was sent to Dublin and presented to Trinity College, where it has resided since 1661.
That night, we dined at Madigan’s on O’Connell Street, an old-world pub with hearty food and pints of Guinness. One grandson declared their whiskey-infused garlic chicken wrapped in smoky bacon one of the best meals of his life. To get there we needed to cross the Ha’penny Bridge over the River Liffey and walk by the Spire, which looks like a very tall flagpole.
We ended our the night listening to live music at O’Donoghue’s Bar.
The days in Dublin were craic!
