Posted by DUBLIN
we arrived in the early afternoon and fortunatley there was a parking station just 50m from the Trinity Townhouse Hotel we were staying at. having had a big lunch at Jonnie Fox’s we were heading out to find a good pub with music for the evening so off we went towards Temple Bar. There was an odd atmosphere in the ait with both purple and yellow banners everywhere promoting a NFL fooball game between two USA college teams and there were big boofy blokes everywhere in their footy shirts being very loud everywhere they went. Both mid-west state colleges and it was evident they were fooball mad, but in a weird american way. We could not avoid them and tried our hardest son when it started to rain we poped into a pub that had good sounds coming from it, The Half Penny inn and settled in for some great somes from a solo performer.
The streets were packed and on the way to the pub we watched a few great buskers in action and of course went past the famous Molly Malone outside the St Andrews Church.
The River Liffee runs through Dublin and life spans boith sides equally these days so we wandered over the bridge to cruise around the North side before heading back into the old town and Dublin Castle.
Inside the Hairy Lemon was a hive of activity and good fun on all three levels.
We dropped into the Hairy Lemon, known as one of Dublins most vibrant Pubs and that it was with both locals and tourists alike getting into the Craich and Guiness.
we visited the serene St Stephens Green and the famine sculpture at the south end and such a pointagnt reminder of the utter tragedy it was. The Green was once owned by the Guiness family and was given to the city over 100 years ago.
There are plenty of Church’s in Ireland as you could imagine but there are also declining attendances so many have been sold and this one below was the old St mary’s and is now one of Dublin’s major food venues aptly called The Church Bar and cafe.
More aimless wanderings around the myriad of streets taking in all the various periods of Dublins History
The Dublin Castle zone has been the seat of power for over 1,000 years in various incarnations and like all great city centres it has a grand square for events and parades.
The Old castle dates back to the Norman Invasions of the 12th century with a small section of the original walls still intact
The Paris of Dublin area was a very fancy space near where we were staying
Dublin Georgian and Victorian townhouses stand side by side throughout the St Stephens Green area and all have the quintessential coloured doors of Dublin.
The Guniness facrory is a huge attraction, but not to use so we stayed on nthe bus as we went by and there were also plenty of Whiskey Distilleries throught the city as well.
We lunched at the Grabd central Hotel one day and very nice it was with a very fancy bar inside an old bank.
The Dublin Neddle close up and from a distance standing in the middle of O’Connell street close to where the statue of daniel O’Connell stands and always with a pidgeon on his head.
The Museums of Dublin were well served by the Queen Victoria who supported some magnificent buildings erected in her honour.
The History museum was fantastic with the bronze age jewellery and sculpture amazing
Dublin doors and Victorian architecture in Dublin.
St Stephens Green, the lungs of central Dublin.
Dawson street, also known as Little Paris street
Our last night in Dublin and we splashed out at the FIRE steakhouse resturant located in the Mayors original dining Pavillion. stunningly designed in late Victorian/art nouveau style, it was a great experience.
The best pub we found in Dublin was The O’Donohues near St Stephens Green with great music and plenty of atmoshere. Down at Merrion Square Park there is a fabulous state to Oscar Wilde reclining on a rock with a myriad of his quotes etched in glass around the area.
Nothing like a bit of Leprechaun magic in the streets of Dublin.
THE HILLS OF TARA
Tara is the ancient location of where the Kings of Ireland were crowned and where ceromonies were held in lavish display at the winter and summer solstice. Plenty of fertility shenanigans were also a part of the times. The stone was a special part of the ceromonies where chiefs would ride their charots around it and the worn bit at the bottom was from those superior drivers who could scrape their spears around it as they went around it.
All the lumps and bumps and cerimonial paths had significance buut now all buried under centuries of soil and grass.
Bru na Boinne, KNOWTH
The whole region around Dowth known as the Boyne valley has significance in ancient Irish history going back thousands of years to 3,200BC and beyond with the burial mounds of Knowth, Dowth and the Newgrange site the most significant and are serviced by the Bru na Boinne Visitor centre which is located central to the three monuments. In the photo below, takenn from the centre you can see Newgrange in the centre. From here you are taken by bus to the sites so very controlled and well managed.
The 18 Mounds, or Cairns at Knowth are symbolised by the stone bases with many carvings and the passage chambers beneath. They have been strenthened by concrete rings around the base above the stone to protect their longevity.
Built over hundreds of years it is unknown what the significance of each tomb is and what difference the size means
The views from the top of Knowth main mound are panoramic looking across the Dowth countryside.
The Tree stands represent a similar meaning to the standing stones and were very common thoughout Ancient Ireland where Stone was not easy to transport unless a significant King deemed it so.
The Main mound of Knowth from above really gives a clear impression of its size and scope with the various features above
NEWGRANGE
The most well known of them all is Newgrange. it has been extensivley restored by archiologiest with the stone faceing wall being recreated using all the stones that hasfallen off into the pattern that once was. The big feature from the outside is the passage entry and its carved stones but the hero is the passage itself with its amazing structural and decorative stone work and the solctice lighting.
These are stock photos as you are not permitted tpo photograph inside the chamber.
The standing stones have been placed around the mound but it is unknown what part they played.
Not as big as Knowth but its all about the chamber at Newgrange and the restored walls.
