June 6 - Grandma and Auntie Gwen!

Sunday - Dublin

Sunday, after church, we drove across the country to Dublin. The brand new motorway now makes the drive a mere 2 hours, whereas before one would have had to work their way east on intersecting minor roads.

We arrived at Phoenix Park, where we were planning to attend 'Bloom in the Park' - a weekend event that I learned of when planning our Dublin itinerary. As we approached the entrance, it became apparent that it was in large part a commercial flower show. Not that any of us ladies wouldn't have loved it, but we couldn't have bought any of the gorgeous plants that were being sold inside (we envied all the people leaving with theirs). With 45 min before closing time and the cost to enter pretty steep, we chose to turn around and begin a leisurely stroll along the boulevard. We enjoyed a beautiful choral-colored peony as we walked behind it's proud new owner for a while...

"Phoenix Park is one of the most magnificent city parks in Europe. Laid out in the mid-17th century, it is the green lung of Dublin - a vast expanse of woodland, lakes, hillocks, streams, monuments, formal gardens and ponds in the city center - and a popular haunt of Dubliners seeking respite from the congestion of urban life."

It is Europe's largest enclosed city park, double the size of New York's Central Park. It was created in 1663, following instructions from King Charles II "to enclose with a stone wall the lands of our ancient inheritance...and to store with deer". The boundary wall is 7 miles long with eight gates for vehicles and six additional pedestrian entrances. The park still contains around 500 deer - descendants of the original herd. We didn't see any deer, but we saw lots of 'evidence' as we walked along.

There were several of these taxi bikes for hire.


We set out on our walk...pretty much aimless. I read the tourbook, pointing out interesting facts along the way...yes, I am very much a nerd, but you miss so much when you don't know what you're supposed to be noticing...

...I still don't catch everything. We were kind of looking for the "formal gardens" and we saw two women ahead of us enter through this gate. It looked promising, so we approached.

Had I gotten further in my reading, this sign would have stopped us...

...but I'm not a very fast reader, and also don't know Irish.

Reaching the gate, we were greeted by a friendly security guard. I didn't catch the beginning of the conversation since I was hanging back taking the above pictures, but in general, it went like this, "Could we come in and see the gardens?"

"Sorry, this is where the President of Ireland lives, so, no, I can't just let you in to explore the grounds. But, see over there? You may be interested to know that that is the American Embassador's residence. Maybe you'd have better luck getting in there, you dumb Americans."

Honestly, though, he was very nice to us. I imagine that a foreigner making the same mistake at the White House encounters a little more intimidation.

The aformentioned American Embassador's residence.

Further on, the President's Residence (Aras an Uachtarain) was visible from the path. We got very close to it with no security around...easily a stone's throw away.

Nine Acres, the home of the Irish Polo Club.

We saw a game in progress, but it was just ending. By the time we got close, they were cooling down their horses.

"Phoenix Park has long been a popular sporting ground, and it's a common sight to see joggers, children practising hurling skills..."

Yeah, Gwen nearly got smacked in the head by one of these "children practising hurling skills" - the leather balls are hard!

Aaron struck this pose and asked me to take a picture. :)

After a long walk we drove further into the city in search of a park with flower gardens. Relying on my trusty tour book, we headed for St. Stephen's Green.

I took this picture of the row of Georgian houses on the South side of St Stephen's Green. I found out later about the historic significance of the large gray house and the smaller gray one to the left. They are called Newman House - the photos of the interior which was decorated in plaster by famous Italian artist brothers in the 1700's, are very impressive.

www.ucd.ie/conferences/newman_house_brochure.pdf

Over the entrance to Newman House.

Entering St Stephen's Green.

"The Green was originally a piece of common grazing ground and, close to a leper colony, it was used for public hangings. Building round the square began in 1663, when wealthy citizens could construct a house only if they planted six healthy sycamore trees on the Green. Before long, it became a private residents' square, and by the latter half of the 18th century it was the place for the aristocracy to promanade in their finery. The four sides, each nearly 500m in length, had their own named 'walks', the most fashionable being the 'Beaux Walk' on the north side. The Green was eventually converted into a public park in 1880 by Arthur Edward Guinness, the owner of the Guinness Brewery. Today this 22-acre 'National Historic Park' holds a special place in Dubliners' hearts, with its manicured lawns, formal Victorian flower displays, picturesque paved walks, ponds, fountains and bandstand, not to mention the memorials to many of the city's famous citizens."

We enjoyed our walk through the Green!

Silas and Aaron ran in opposite directions to smell the flowers.

All she ever wants to do is crawl around and she hadn't been able to do much of that all week. She's not content to be still very often.

Public diaper change. She is so uncooperative!

We eventually found our Bed & Breakfast then drove down the street to find supper. We took it across the street to eat by the Irish Sea.

We wondered how our night would go with the kids all in the room with us. The boys had left their halos in Galway and were acting more like their usual selves today.

Monday - More of Dublin

The kids slept well and woke up all smiles...

...they thought is was fun to be sleeping at a different place.

We were served a "Full Irish Breakfast" - fried egg, rashers (thick cut of bacon) and sausages, black (blood) pudding and white (without blood) pudding (sausage containing oatmeal) as well as a buffet of fruit, toast, cereal and juice. Our tummies were ready for our last day of sightseeing!

Our hope for the morning was to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College.

We signed up for a tour of the oldest part of the campus...

...and we think our tour guide, a recent grad with a degree in history, is a long-lost Parsley sibbling. Stephen had a gift for story-telling. I wasn't expecting a tour of old university buildings to be very entertaining, but it was. I won't attempt to re-tell it the way he did.
Trinity College Dublin was founded in 1592 by royal charter from Queen Elizabeth of England. It is a Protestant college which was always open to Catholics, though until the latter part of the 20th century, very few attended. For a long period of time, a Catholic wishing to study here would have to obtain special written consent from his or her Bishop or face excommunication. Now Catholics make up 70% of the student population.

These next few pictures are a look around the square.

This weekend was the Dublin Shakespeare Festival.

The square is the original part of the College and was built on the site of an Augustinian monestary...thus the whole place is a graveyard. Good fertilizer, Stephen respectfully pointed out.

Our informative and comical tour done, we got in line to see the Book of Kells.

No photos are allowed in the display area or the famous Library, so you'll have to trust me - it was really amazing to see!

"Although surprisingly small, the Book of Kells is undoubtedly one of the finest manuscripts to survive from the first Christian millennium. It contains a lavishly decorated transcription, in Latin, of the four gospels, inscribed on vellum (calfskin) parchment and intricately ornamented with colourful patterns, human figures and exotic, fanciful animals. It was discovered in the town of Kells in County Meath, Ireland, but it was probably written by four Irish missionary monks on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, around AD 800. It is thought they fled to Kells in AD 806 after a Viking raid, and completed the book there. The Irish Church at this time was largely monastic in organisation and the message of the life of Christ was spread primarily through gospel books; the scribes and artists who produced them held an honoured place in Irish socity. The book was sent to Dublin around 1653 for security reasons during the Cromwellian period."

Ten different colors were used, many of them imported from half-way around the world. The calfskin pages had to have been brought over from the mainland. The time and effort that went into this book is astonishing, let alone the artistry. There are designs that can't be seen without a magnifying glass more powerful than what was invented at that time...researchers assume the artists must have been near-sighted.

If this interests you, this website gives some other intersting information as well as PHOTOS of the book.

http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/assignments/beowulf/book%20of%20kells/kells.html

Leaving Trinity College, we drove through Dublin.

O'Connell Street

St Patrick's Cathedral

"According to legend, the cathedral was built near a small well in which St Patrick is believed to have baptised his converts to Christianity in the 5th century. Today, a stone in St Patrick's Park, beside the cathedral, marks the site of the original well. Because of this association with St Patrick, a small wooden church probably existed here as early as AD 450. The Normans built a stone church on the site in 1191, which was rebuilt in the early 13th century. However, by the 19th century the church had fallen into a poor state of repair and much of it was rebuilt in a major restoration project financed by the Guinness family."

Don't let these sweet faces fool you...

...the boys were not behaving today. They'd reached their limit.

Plaque over the well of St Patrick.

Inside Dublin's second great Protestant cathedral, and the largest church in Ireland.

This was the mood today.

'Roll of the Knights of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick'

Relics of the Knights of St Patrick

To the Memory

of the Very Reverend

HENRY RICHARD DAWSON, A.M._M.R.I.A.

Dean and Ordinary of St Patrick's.

This statue has been erected by friends who loved and admire him. As minister of the church his record is on High. He faithfully testified the gospel of the grace of God,

"teaching and preaching Jesus Christ".

And he exhibited in a useful and devoted life the practical influence of the truth he preached.

To his exertions the institutions of the deanery of relief of the destitute and education of the young owe their origin and prosperity:

And although the cultivation of the literature and antiquities of his native country was a recreation, yet his happiness was found in labours for the poor.

His mortal remains are deposited in this cathedral,

which he assisted at his own expense to beautify and adorn.

His spirit rests with the Saviour he loved and glorified.

He died Oct 24th 1840, aged 48 years.

When it was unearthed in 1901, this stone covered the remains of the ancient well believed to be St Patrick's well outside the cathedral. Scholars believe the stones were carved some time between 800 and 1100.

"St Patrick's most celebrated dean was the passionate social reformer, satirist and author of Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift. He served here from 1713 to 1745 and is buried under a brass plaque set into the nave floor."

In England, Swift reached the height of his political power between 1710 and 1714, when he served as a publicist for the Tory government of Queen Anne. However, his outspoken manner offended many leaders in both church and state. Despite his hopes for appointment in England, Swift had to be content with the position of Dean of St Patrick's. Although Swift was reluctant to return to Ireland, it was not long before he began to attack the policies that prevented Irish people from controlling their own affairs.

Jonathan Swift commented upon the issues of the day with biting satire. He displayed this gift forcefully in Gulliver's Travels, published when he was Dean of St Patrick's. Often regarded as a children's book, it is in fact one of the most powerful expose's of human folly ever penned. In A Modest Proposal 1729, Swift mocked indifference to the plight of the Irish poor. He suggested that by encouraging people to cook and eat a quarter of Irish children under age two, the government could solve the problems of starvation and poverty.
As much as Swift's writings irritated some readers, they spurred others to action. Beginning in 1724, Swift published The Drapier's Letters, a series of scornful pieces opposing a plan, backed by the English government, to flood Ireland with a debased currency. Such an uproar resulted that eventually the government backed down. In gratitude, the corporation of Dublin hailed Swift as a patriot and awarded him the Freedom of the City in 1729.

Driving north, we left Dublin...

...and after some difficutly due to poorly marked roads, we arrived at the United Nations World Heritage Site of Bru na Boinne (a bend in the River Boyne).

"The tranquil 9-mile stretch of lush farmland at Bru na Boinne in County Meath, 33 miles north of Dublin, marks the cradle of Irish civilisation. Today it boasts Europe's richest concentration of ancient monuments - forts, henges, standing stones and the mysterious grand passage tombs of Newgrange, Dowth and Knowth."

We walked in a soft rain to catch the bus going to Knowth.

Passage tombs at Knowth.

The fertile river valley was first settled during Ireland's Stone Age and soon became the most important settlement in the country. The Great Mound at Knowth was built over 5000 years ago and is surrounded by 18 smaller satelite mounds. It is oblong, 80 meters wide and 95 meters long. The Great Mound has two passages with entrances on opposite sides which line up with the sunrise and sunset on the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes. Sunlight penetrates deep into the passages only on these two days of the year. The decorated stones both around the outside and lining the chambers here at Knowth comprise one quarter of all the megalithic art in Western Europe.

Just inside the entrance of the Great Mound.

It is not safe for the public to go into the passage at Knowth. Our tourguide has been down this passage into the chamber room. She said at the end it is a belly crawl through the collapsed chamber because for millenia Knowth remained a significant place, and various peoples built small settlements or forts on top of the mound.

Perspective.
Of the 127 "kerbstones" around the bottom of the Great Mound, 124 survived. They are each apx 2.5 meters long and almost all of them are decorated. This seems more impressive when realizing that this was done in the Stone Age...before there were metal stone-cutting tools in Western Europe. Stone chipping away at stone.

The entraces were further decorated with quartz covering the ground.

The art on the stones is what we have come to think of as Celtic design....but the Celts wouldn't come to Ireland until two thousand years after these mounds were made. The Celts borrowed the art of these Stone Age dwellers.

It was windy on top!

Two of the surrounding 18 smaller mounds.

Our brains were full for the day...time to head back to Galway.

We ran into trouble finding an entrance onto the motorway. We found a few overpasses with no way to enter. Frustrating! We worked our way west on those intersecting minor roads I already mentioned.

We happened to pass Trim Castle - right out of a fairy tale!

We eventually did find an entrance onto the motorway to our great relief...remember the boys weren't having a great day...

...then we passed what must be the entire Irish military convoy - like 50 vehicles, 30 or so of them armored like these...with the soldiers in complete uniform sticking out the tops. We were definitely curious to know what it was all about! I don't think we'll ever know...probably just a training run. This country has always been "neutral" in foreign affairs, so there's no chance they're planning an offensive strike....let's hope so anyway.

Tuesday - Farewell

The end of a wonderful nine days! The boys said their 'good-byes' and fought over pulling the luggage to the door.

Thanks so much to all of you Ladies for coming and for such a fun time!!!

(Quotes taken from the AAA Dublin travel book and Swift information from poster at St Patrick's Cathedral)