Day 2: Historical Dublin

After a great nights sleep (11 hours) and a lazy morning, we decided to learn more about the history of Dublin today.

On the way to Dublin castle we bought some plums from a farmers market and listened to some great blues from some street players on Henry street.  Liz said that that bass player reminded her of her Uncle Rob.

Marilyn and me

Interesting architecture 

Dublin castle is the site of the original Viking settlement, then the Norman fort in the 12th century and finally the Irish mansion for the Viceroy.  The decision to take the guided tour was another awesome choice by Marilyn.  

A map of the Dublin Castle

Record Tower

The Viceroy's Chapel

Steps from moat to walls

Foundations of the Powder Tower

The tour began by explaining the history of the site and explored the base of the powder tower.  The Normans were great builders who were obsessive about defensive security.  The walls went out at the bottom so oil poured off the top was distributed for maximum effect.  The stairs from the river were wide enough for one person and had uneven steps to slow down invaders.  The door in the wall opened outwards to send invaders tumbling down the steps.

The steps to the Mansion

Our Tour Guide and the Doors into the Mansion

The Harp is the official seal not the Shamrock

The Proclamation of 1916

The ceiling showing Apollo

The official room used for State Visits and Inagurations

Marilyn, Liz and Jim looking snooty on the steps

Next we saw the mansion that was built after a fire destroyed the fort in 1684.  The mansion hosted British monarchs when they visited and is the location for inaugurations of Irish presidents.  A room is devoted to the 6 leaders of the failed Irish revolt in 1916.  Although it was unsuccessful, it did lay the seeds for the Irish rebellion in 1919-1921 and resulted in the vote that saw 26 of the 32 counties become the Irish republic.

After a trip to the Queen of Tarts, and a late lunch for Liz, Jim and me, we headed to St Audeon's church.  This is one of the 2 churches inside the walls of hte Norman fort.  St Patricks was built outside because they would not pay the taxes.  St Audeon is a 7th century saint from Normandy.  After the reformation it became Anglican.  You can take a free tour of the ruined part of the church, then learn about the history and finally, see the small part that is still an active church.

Who are those Queens of Tarts?

Christ Church Cathedral

St Audeon's Church

Marilyn checking out the ruins of St Audeon's

After a cab ride to the museum area we had a brief tour of the Museum of Natural History.  After arriving at 4:45 we learned that it closed at 5:00!  When we were escorted off the grounds, one of the employees mentioned that the National Gallery was open until 8:00.  The national gallery is being renovated so only a small galery is open to the public.   A friendly guide told us some of the history of how the gallery got its Carravaggio painting from the Jesuits and its Vermeer painting from a transpanted British Lord who made his fortune in diamonds.  The Vermeer is the most valuable painting in the collection and the only other privately owned one  belongs to the Queen.

Liz stealing cockles and mussels from Molly Malone

If you look closely, you will see why Molly Malone was so popular.

You gotta love the names of stores here.  

I wanted to write a strongly worded complaint about this false advertising

After some shopping in Kilkenny store we had a beer and dinner in the Temple Bar area.  I discovered Harp, another good Irish lager.  After the dinner we toured the area to find some live entertainment and, of course, more good Irish beer.  Fitzsimmons next to the river had both.  Crean's Irish lager was delicious and the singer played plenty of popular singalong songs.  We enjoyed watching a group of German girls who danced and sang to every song.

After a search for traditional Irish music, and a table, we gave up and walked back to the apartment enjoying the warm Irish night.  Another great day in Dublin!  We will wait until the Irish countryside for our fix of traditional Irish music.