In March 2019, daughter Jill and I went on a ten-day tour of Ireland – three days in Dublin on our own and seven days on a guided tour of the Emerald Isle with CIE Tours International. Click HERE to read a short introduction to our unforgettable trip.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our second day in Dublin.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our second day in Dublin.
Dublin, Republic of Ireland (Tuesday, March 12, 2019) Good morning Dublin! Jill and I were exhausted when we fell asleep last night after arriving in Dublin on a red-eye flight yesterday morning followed by a full day of sightseeing. No wonder, then, that we slept 10 hours and woke to the alarm, recharged and ready for another fun day in the Kingdom of Dublin.
Before we headed out, though, we had a light breakfast in our room – fruit, yogurt, and hot cross buns we bought at a Tesco Express as we made our way back to our hotel last evening. Yes, hot cross buns ARE for real…although as you can see in this photo, they were not “one a penny, two a penny” as the nursery rhyme led us to believe. Instead, they were 4 for 2 euros. Ahhh, the ravages of inflation!
So perhaps you are thinking, “What is this about the Kingdom of Dublin? Is this city, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, ruled by a Queen or King, or perhaps both?” No, it is not. Rather, the Kingdom of Dublin is a historical reference to the city’s Viking heritage, as explained on the website “Historica Wiki”:
The Kingdom of Dublin, also known as Dyflin, was a Viking
kingdom in Ireland which existed from 853 to 1170, with Dublin
as its capital. Vikings had raided Ireland for years, but, in the
winter of 840-841, they over-wintered in Ireland for the first time
at Lough Neagh, and it was not long before they began to settle
in Ireland. In 1171, the Normans of England conquered Ireland
and killed the last Viking ruler of Dublin, Ascall mac Rangaill.
kingdom in Ireland which existed from 853 to 1170, with Dublin
as its capital. Vikings had raided Ireland for years, but, in the
winter of 840-841, they over-wintered in Ireland for the first time
at Lough Neagh, and it was not long before they began to settle
in Ireland. In 1171, the Normans of England conquered Ireland
and killed the last Viking ruler of Dublin, Ascall mac Rangaill.
If you would like to know more about Ireland’s Viking past, click here to read about the Vikings in Waterford.
The weather was nearly picture-perfect – the morning temperature was in the mid-40s (and it was a bit warmer in the afternoon) with a slight breeze and plenty of sunshine after the early morning clouds burned off. However, my weather app showed a slight chance of rain late afternoon, so we took our umbrellas just in case the weatherman was right.
Jill and I were greeted by an important “public service announcement” as we crossed Lord Edward Street a few steps from the hotel – one we were mindful of throughout our stay in Ireland. You see, as in England and other European countries we have traveled to, motorists in the Republic of Ireland drive on the “wrong side of the road!” Well, at least they do from an American’s point of view.
The Former Seat of English Rule
Our first stop was Dublin Castle, built as a defensive fortress in the 13th century during the reign of King John of England. Portions of the Castle severely damaged by a fire in 1684 were rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries. These rebuilding projects transformed the medieval fortress into a Georgian palace, including a new building, the State Apartments, with a suite of grand rooms.
The grounds of the Castle were excavated in 1985-86 ahead of a major redevelopment project. Guess what? Archeologists found remains – defensive stonework and artefacts – from a Viking fortress that was built on this site!
We have found some artefacts going back to the 10th century
when the Vikings settled in Dublin first… We have found some
bone combs, what may be a saw and amber beads and other
artefacts from that period.
Conleth Manning, National Parks and Monuments
when the Vikings settled in Dublin first… We have found some
bone combs, what may be a saw and amber beads and other
artefacts from that period.
Conleth Manning, National Parks and Monuments
From 1204 to 1922, Dublin Castle was the administrative headquarters for representatives of the English (and later, British) monarchy. The British turned the Castle over to Ireland when Ireland gained its independence in 1922. Since then, Dublin Castle has been the site where newly elected Presidents of Ireland were inaugurated.
Jill and I went on a self-guided tour of the State Apartments (the building in the photo above). Our tour started at the Grand Staircase, which, like many aristocrats and debutantes before us, we climbed from the first floor to the second. Created in 1749, the one-percenters (of their time) ascended the Grand Staircase to attend a ball, dinner, or ceremonial presentation. It was a magnificent first impression!
|
|
For the next hour, we wandered the halls and rooms opened to the public, each filled with interesting period pieces. Here were our favorites:
|
A set of opened doors beckoned us into a long hallway – the State Corridor. Designed in 1758, the corridor provided access to formal reception rooms, the Viceroy’s living quarters, and a Council chamber. We loved the symmetry and beauty of the architecture – the arched ceiling, inlaid gilded molding, and Waterford crystal chandeliers.
The State Drawing Room, fashioned in 1838, was used as a formal sitting room by wives of the Viceroys. The walls were lined with a collection of gilt-framed portraits. The furnishings were beautiful period pieces (although the Victorian era furniture did not look comfortable to me!). |
Another collection of portraits – Irish Viceroys – gave the Portrait Gallery its name. Functionally, it was (and still is) a dining room for State dinners, with seating for 16. The crystal was Waterford (no surprise!), and the dinner service was adorned with Ireland’s national symbol, a gold harp.
|
The Throne Room was created in 1788 as a chamber where the Viceroy received guests. It was also where debutantes experienced their “coming out,” a rite of passage into Society. The throne in the photo to the right – its fabric dyed in royal purple – was made for King George IV, who visited Dublin Castle in 1821. The paintings in the photo below are two of six mythological depictions by Italian artist Gaetano Gandolfi, painted in 1767.
|
|
|
The Castle’s ballroom, St. Patrick’s Hall, took its name from the Knights of St. Patrick, a chivalric order of knights who used the hall as a meeting place. It was hard to miss the azure blue (“St. Patrick’s blue”) walls and carpet. Equally hard to miss in this mid-18th century hall were three very large canvases painted on the ceiling by Italian artist Vincenzo Valdre. The painting visible in the photo to the left was titled “King George IIII Flanked by Britannia and Hibernia.”
|
I will admit that I included Dublin Castle on our itinerary because, well, I thought we would see a castle (and I LOVE CASTLES!). Perhaps I did not read the fine print about the castle, and so, in a sense, I was a bit disappointed because there was not much in the way of a “castle” here to see. But, still, Jill and I thought this attraction was well worth the visit, as the State Apartments provided a fascinating look at several centuries of Irish history. After my initial disappointment, it turned out to be a delightful hour!
The Bank on College Green
|
I planned our itinerary – our day of sightseeing – as a series of short walks, no more than 15 minutes or so between destinations. Our next stop, a restaurant for a proper breakfast, fit nicely within this parameter.
Located in the oldest part of Dublin (think Vikings), the Bank on College Green was, as the name suggested, a former bank (a branch of Belfast Bank, built in 1893) located near a college green (Trinity College). The original building, with its distinctive red Scottish sandstone façade, was once described “as one of the foremost jewels of Victorian Dublin.” The ornate interior – mosaic tiled floors, carved capitals atop the two-story pillars, paneled walls, spindled railing fronting a second floor mezzanine – was restored to its former grandeur. It was beautiful! |
|
|
|
As Jill and I perused the menu, our eyes glossed over the standard fare - organic granola, homemade porridge, and egg omelet – but locked in on The Full Irish. This was a "traditional Irish breakfast" that included grilled bacon and sausage, roasted cherry tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms, a fried egg, baked beans, hash browns, toast and…Clonakilty black and white pudding. The black pudding was Irish beef made with beef blood and the white pudding was Irish pork with no blood. Our breakfast was amazing - all the different textures and tastes, and so deelish!
Through experience I found it best to be flexible even with a well-planned itinerary, as I often encountered unexpected “inspirations” – a street-side marker or church spire, for example – that led me to see something I had not planned for. And this was what happened this morning, when Jill spotted a post on Instagram as we finished breakfast – a display of colorful suspended umbrellas somewhere in Dublin. Jill said, “We have to see this!” Ok, then. I Googled “hanging umbrellas in Dublin” and found that this display was located in front of a bar called Zozimus on Anne’s Lane, not too far a walk from The Bank. (Later I learned that this was one of many similar displays – public art? – in other cities around the world.) Cute, huh?!
|
|
|
Trinity College
We backtracked from Anne’s Lane to Grafton Street, and as we headed north, we soon caught sight of Trinity College, recognized internationally as Ireland’s premier university. We will visit Trinity College, which was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, with our CIE tour group tomorrow…so today was just a look-see at the beautiful architecture of the buildings on the main quad.
|
|
From Trinity College, Jill and I headed north on Westmoreland Street to the River Liffey, which we crossed on the O’Connell Bridge to O’Connell Street. The original bridge, named Carlisle Bridge in honor of Frederick Howard, the 5th earl of Carlisle, was built in the late 18th century. It was reconstructed and widened in the 19th century, and renamed for Daniel O’Connell, a nationalist leader in the first half of the 19th century. That is Mr. O’Connell – well, a statue of him – in the photo to the left.
|
|
|
O’Connell Street was lined with commercial, residential, and retail properties, and outside one of the shops we stopped for a fun photo op. Jill’s crime? Loving the sights of Dublin too much! Further along O’Connell Street, we paused for another photo op, this time at a statue of Irish novelist James Joyce.
|
Spire of Dublin
|
These photo ops were a prelude to the next waypoint on our itinerary: the Spire of Dublin, which conjured up an image of a long silver spike reaching ever upward. It was striking, I thought, set against the deep blue sky!
Designed by British architectural firm Ian Ritchie, the Spire rose 390 feet in height (it was engineered to sway as much as five feet in high winds) and had almost 12,000 tiny holes in its base (bottom 33 feet) that emitted light when illuminated at night – thus the official title, the Monument of Light. Not everyone was enamored with the Spire when it was unveiled in 2003, as it was given several unflattering nicknames, including Stiletto in the Ghetto and the Nail in the Pail. |
|
|
It was early afternoon, and as we made our way to our hotel for a bit of R&R, we walked through a pedestrian-only shopping district where we meandered in and out of several shops along the way. I bought a box of chocolates at Hotel Chocolat for my wife Debra and a knit tassel hat for me at Carrolls Irish Gifts, which proved invaluable on the (cold) days ahead.
|
|
|
|
Make Mine a Guinness
|
After 30 minutes of “feet-up” time, Jill and I hoofed it to one of Dublin’s most famous landmarks: the Guinness Storehouse, a spectacular visitor center located at the site of the brewery that Arthur Guinness opened in 1759.
Fact or Fiction? Mr. Guinness was so confident in his brewery that he signed a 9,000-year lease for the site at 45 pounds a year. It was a fact, my friends, as the visionary Mr. Guinness was “in it for the long haul”! |
Arthur Guinness was fondly regarded as the magical
5th ingredient of Guinness. Arthur was a bold man, a
visionary thinker, and philanthropist. He is remembered
for his great influence on Dublin, the people who worked
for him, and the Guinness business.
5th ingredient of Guinness. Arthur was a bold man, a
visionary thinker, and philanthropist. He is remembered
for his great influence on Dublin, the people who worked
for him, and the Guinness business.
The current building, completed in 1906, was used as a fermentation plant – a brewery – until 1988, when Guinness opened a new plant on the River Liffey.
|
|
The seven-story Storehouse, which surrounded a dazzling glass atrium in the form of a pint of Guinness, was opened in 2000. With over 1.7 million visitors in 2017, I think it was easy to say that this was one of the biggest tourist attractions in Dublin. By the way, there was a copy of the 9,000-year lease in a glass and steel case at the base of the atrium (middle photo).
|
|
|
Guinness registered the harp – the emblem of Guinness beer – as its trademark in April 1862. It was based on a famous 14th century harp known as the “Brian Boru” harp, named after the High King of Ireland in the early 11th century. This harp, which also became the national symbol of Ireland, was presented to Trinity College in 1782. As Jill and I would learn tomorrow, the Brian Boru harp was on display in the Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College. That’s Jill standing behind the harp in the photo to the right.
|
|
|
I booked a self-guided tour of the Guinness Storehouse online – 15 euros per person, which included a guaranteed start time (highly recommended) AND a pint of Guinness at the end of the tour.
We rode an escalator from the street-level entrance to the first floor of the atrium. There, through storyboards and interactive exhibits, we learned about the history of Guinness, the beer’s four ingredients (water, barley, hops, and yeast), and the brewing process (mashing, boiling, fermentation, and more). In case you were wondering, these are photos of barley (left) and hops floating in water. |
|
|
Guinness aficionados – which we weren’t – would devour (or was it “drink up?!) the abundance of information about Guinness. Yet, we were interested in learning more than we knew about this dark Irish stout. Here were a couple of takeaways for us: The beer’s unique color and taste was achieved by roasting the barley to 232 degrees Celsius (almost 500 degrees F) and it took 119.5 (“point five!”) seconds to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. The latter, I guessed, meant we wouldn't be shotgunning our pints!
|
|
As we wandered from floor to floor, we also saw many pieces of brewery equipment, like the Steele’s Masher (1880), Copper Vat (1878), and Triple Ram Pump (1958).
|
|
|
I LOVED this clock – the writing below the hands says, “Every day at 10am, a small team of expert tasters here at St. James’s Gate check each and every brew of GUINNESS for quality consistency. Someone’s got to do it!” I wondered, “Hmmm…are they hiring?”
|
Funny, but as we finished the tour, we were thirsty (!), and only one thing would quench our thirst – a pint of Guinness. We hopped on the escalator, which deposited us at the Gravity Bar, located on the seventh floor of the Storehouse, about 140 feet above street level – making it one of the tallest buildings in Dublin. There we enjoyed a pint of Guinness – after we watched the bartender make the “perfect pour” – and a stunning 360-degree view of the Irish capital. I have to say that our pints tasted SO MUCH BETTER than the bottled version in the States. If I lived here, perhaps I would become a Guinness aficionado!
|
|
An elevator took us to the first floor, where we stopped at The Store, a gift shop with everything Guinness. Jill shopped for her and her fiancé, while I shopped for my son and me. (My wife, Debra, would have no interest in anything in The Store, which was why I bought chocolates for her earlier today!) Both of us left with a couple of bags of merchandise.
We hailed a taxi and rode to the hotel, where we stayed just long enough to drop the goods we bought in our room.
Musical Pub Crawl
|
Did you remember that “chance of rain” I mentioned earlier? Well, the weather forecaster got it right – albeit a light sprinkle that lasted just long enough for Jill to pop her brolly – UK slang for an umbrella.
|
|
I was in charge of planning our daily itineraries – what we would see, where we would eat, things we would do, and the best routes to take. So far, for the better part of two days, so good! Now it was dinner time, and for dinner this evening, I had picked Oliver St. John Gogarty, a pub and restaurant named for the Irish poet and author. It was located in the heart of the popular riverside neighborhood of Temple Bar.
Outside the restaurant, we caught up with a couple of “friends” – Jill, who leaned in for a kiss, clearly knew them better than me…or was she still feeling the effect of the Guinness pints we had this afternoon?!
|
Full disclosure: I did not pick this restaurant for its food, but rather for its location. We went light this night – seafood chowder and a salad. "Tasty" is about all I can say.
|
|
“So,” you ask, “if it was not the food, why did you go to there?” When I browsed a list of fun things to do, up popped a pub crawl. It was not just any pub crawl, though – no, it was a musical pub crawl. I mentioned it to Jill, she said, “Absolutely!”, and I booked a reservation for two online for 16 euros each. The crawl started in an upstairs room of Oliver St John Gogarty ("Ahhhh," you think, "that was why you ate there!"), where we joined a small group of like-minded tourists for a night of Irish music as we visited two of Dublin’s many pubs, the Ha’Penning Inn and Flanagan’s.
Our crawl – a moving concert – was led by the two gentlemen you see in the photo below – professional musicians who played a variety of instruments, including the Irish drum, penny flute, Irish pipes, and sang songs in English and Gaelic. Jill and I enjoyed the music, sang a few lyrics here and there, downed a couple of pints, and saw Dublin lit up at night as we crawled (no, not really…we walked just fine!) from pub to pub. It was great fun!
Our crawl – a moving concert – was led by the two gentlemen you see in the photo below – professional musicians who played a variety of instruments, including the Irish drum, penny flute, Irish pipes, and sang songs in English and Gaelic. Jill and I enjoyed the music, sang a few lyrics here and there, downed a couple of pints, and saw Dublin lit up at night as we crawled (no, not really…we walked just fine!) from pub to pub. It was great fun!
|
|
|
|
|
|
When the last song ended, we said our goodbyes and strolled back to the Harding Hotel. It felt like we had walked 100 miles today, as we saw and did so much. But when I checked the walking app on my phone, I found that it was a mere 7 miles from our mid-morning start to our late-night finish – testament to how easy it was to sightsee Dublin on foot.
Today was a blast – another fun-filled day in Dublin! We still have half a day in Dublin on our own tomorrow morning, and then after lunch we will start our seven-day guided tour of Ireland with CIE International. I look forward to sharing more stories with you!
Today was a blast – another fun-filled day in Dublin! We still have half a day in Dublin on our own tomorrow morning, and then after lunch we will start our seven-day guided tour of Ireland with CIE International. I look forward to sharing more stories with you!