– the whole package, frivolous fun and solemn –
Ni had some business in Dublin, so we decided to make the most of it and spend the weekend. This wasn’t our first time in Dublin, so we were interested in seeing some of the sights that we hadn’t caught up with on our previous visit. As it turned out, some family events conspired against us so the weekend didn’t run as smoothly as we had hoped. So I thought it best to put together some highlights only.
We decided to stay in Temple Bar which had both its positives and negatives. It’s extremely central, which is a plus, because we could duck in and out at will through the day. But on the minus side, it’s in the thick of party-central, which is great if that’s your thing. But if screeching bachelorettes and howling bachelors plus roaring music until the early hours of the morning don’t suit you, it’s probably best avoided. Luckily we had an internal hotel room and our hotel provided complimentary ear plugs in the room, so we survived!
These are the streets of Temple Bar mid-morning:
Late afternoon:
And evening:
There’s no mistaking that the area has a huge buzz and you can be reassured of plenty of this at all times of the day. Also, busking in Dublin is absolutely next level in terms of any other city I’ve visited.
This is a country of singers through and through. Even the kerbside drunks would join in – remarkably in fine voice and without missing a beat!
We enjoyed visiting two of the city’s largest cathedrals, both medieval and built within decades of each other. Christchurch is possibly a little more modest.
Sometimes the smallest things amuse, like this motif on the floor tiles, repeated on the backs of the seats.
They look like wolves on some kind of pilgrimage!
And someone back in the Middle Ages had a sense of humour, judging by this little addition secreted away at the rear of the church – clearly they knew what monkeys looked like back then..
N also pointed out the touching inscription on this memorial plaque.
What a nice way to be remembered! Other than this (!) the Cathedral was constructed and decorated pretty much as you would expect.
St Patrick’s Cathedral is famous for a couple of reasons. It’s reputedly at the site where St Patrick first converted the heathen Irish to Catholicism. It’s also where Jonathon Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) served as pastor.
Again it looked much like any other medieval cathedral (I’m starting to sound a bit jaded aren’t I? – I’m an ungrateful sod!), with the exception of this wonderful detail in the choir. Not sure if that’s the right term, because in this case it’s where the Irish nobles would sit – as indicated by the banners and helmet details above their seats.
Another highlight and absolute must was the Chester Beatty Library. Mr Beatty was a rich American philanthropist who collected rare manuscripts and then donated them to the Irish State on his death. It’s an awe-inspiring collection. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take many good photos, but the thing which blew me away were some of the earliest known version of the gospels written about 200AD on papyrus and discovered in Egypt.
I had also never seen Hindu composite animal paintings before. No photographs were allowed and the bookshop had no reproductions – which is so sad – but they’re worth chasing up. I was very tempted to surreptitiously sneak in a photo of one, but N wouldn’t have a bar of it. Drat! Anyway here are some photos of some other treasures – which I was allowed to take!
Just a tad suggestive don’t you think!
We spent a lot of time just wandering the streets of Dublin – here are snapshots of some of the more evocative sights we saw.
This photo is for N – until this visit to Dublin I had no idea that he was a fan of Thin Lizzy – he searched for this statue the entire time we were there. Turns out we had walked past it maybe 5 times without noticing it!
And finally, one recommendation. If visiting Dublin, make time for the small National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology. This is the one sight we made a point of revisiting in Dublin on this second visit and it didn’t disappoint. The Celtic goldwork, in particular, is so beautiful especially when you have regard to how crude their tools were and how bitterly hard life would have been at the time that these exquisite pieces were made. This is my absolute favourite piece from the Broighter Hoard:
Overall, I think Dublin is the place you visit for good food and good music with friends. It bears too much of its history in terms of poverty and rebellion to be classified as architecturally interesting. It’s forte are its people and the culture forged through their solidarity.
