Dublin Ireland

Wednesday we arrived in Dublin.  The weather was blustery and quite chilly as we began a 4-hour walking tour of the historic part of the city.  In Merrion Square, a park adjacent to the childhood home of Oscar Wilde, We viewed the Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture.  Wilde was a famous Irish poet and playwright during the last half of the 1800s.  He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for “gross indecency”, imprisonment, and early death at age 46. 

Dublin, the capital and largest city of the Irish Republic, has a population of nearly 600,000 people with 3 times that number living in the greater Dublin region.  Their economy is robust and many residents live downtown in modest apartments costing €2,300 per month.

In the historic district the front doors of the apartment homes are painted bright colors.  This tradition dates back to the death of Queen Victoria when the government ordered all citizens to paint their front door black as a sign of respect and mourning.  The Irish would not be told what to do, so many defied the order and painted their doors a bright color.

In a modern downtown shopping gallery notice the design painted on the kick boards of the stairs leading to the mezzanine level.

Dublin is the home of the Guinness Brewery and the Jameson Distillery, so a visit here required a taste.  With more than 1,000 pubs to choose from, we stopped at Kennedys, established in 1850.  It was typical of most pubs in Dublin, cozy and crowded.  (They did sell Coors on tap.)

Jan sat on a high stool in the back corner of the pub (the only seat available).  After one sip, she gave the perfectly drawn Guinness a thumbs up.

At Trinity College, we entered the courtyard to view the spectacular bell tower.  Trinity College is widely considered the most prestigious university in Ireland and among the most elite in Europe, principally due to its extensive history and unique relationship with both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Fall classes begin next week so the courtyard was filled with students socializing. By this time we were experiencing 24 MPH wind gusts.   (Notice the flyaway hair of the student on the left.)

Notice this informational sign.  In Ireland, all public and private signage is in both the Irish and English language.

Tonight we cross the Irish Sea and will arrive in Liverpool UK by early morning.