The Church Lady...

Now that we have a guide, all forty-one of us are off on a bus tour of Dublin directed with folksy charm by Bernard, our specialty guide.  Today is a bank holiday so many businesses are closed.  At 9AM the traffic is light as we meander down O'Connell Street, that we have come to know so well, and pass both Trinity College and the Bank of Ireland before our first stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

We pass through beautiful Georgian neighborhoods named for King George I, a Hanovian king, in 1710. This style of architecture was popular through the time of all his successors through 1820.  This stately area was nothing more that slums in the 1970 and many buildings were torn down replaced with low end housing in the 1980's.  But by 1990 the economy picked up and gentrification began with safeguards in place to prevent some of the shoddy, Soviet Bloc style of buildings that had been demolished.

Now it is both lovely and historic.  We pass the birthplace of Oscar Wilde and the adjacent park centered around a bronze of the play-write.  George Bernard Shaw is also a Trinity alum and donor to the National Gallery of Ireland the royalties from his Pygmalion.  That money is still rolling in.

We are in Viking territory.  Their business model was always to quickly pillage from the sea. Dublin is only two miles up the River Liffey from the coast and easily accessible.  Once they realized the real money was in the monasteries, they built a walled land settlement to use as a base for their raids.  About 100 yards of the original wall remains.  Twelfth century Christchurch Cathedral is built within the area of the Viking walls and further along down the hill and outside the walls sits St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Personally I love touring churches.  They are fonts of history and the first real museums.  Erected in 1432, St. Patrick's sits on a lovely green and enjoyed a major renovation courtesy of the Guinness family.

 It has the requisite stained glass windows and intricate Celtic floor. Attached to the property is the St. Patrick's Cathedral Choir School.  Famous alum is Bono of U2.  

We are given a brochure and I thought the schedule of service hardly looked Catholic.  This is because we are standing in the Anglican National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland   At the time of the Reformation, this previously Catholic church, along with Christchurch Cathedral, were taken by the Crown and became Church of England.  So in this predominately Catholic Dublin there is no Catholic cathedral.  Who knew?

After passing the Brazen Head Pub, continuously serving ale since 1198 and the oldest pub in Ireland we head through the 1372 acres of Phoenix Park.  Home to the Dublin Zoo and the President of Ireland (no relation) and the U.S. Embassy it hosted Pope John Paul II in 1979.

Presidential Residence

To house the altar a tall hill was erected at the far end of the park, topped with a massive Papal Cross.  Gathered on the vast acreage at the Pope's feet were 1.2 million of the faithful.  Today I can image the space, now sprinkled with a handful of children and dogs, as a vast living congregation.

We are deposited back at the hotel and left to our own devices.  I had tried to purchase entrance to The Book of Kells online and were told they were sold out. While disappointed, I chalked it up to procrastination.  Imagine my surprise when Lisa presented me with a ticket.  A contingent from Lawrence, Kansas joined our tour and we learned at breakfast that four members had to cancel due to illness.  Their tour director gifted Lisa with a ticket which she gave to me because she knew I would write about it and post pictures.  Two sweethearts!

I set off with Kris and Cynthia.  We're only ten minutes away on foot.  Today has been a good weather day, chilly and no rain.  I take full credit for this because I am wearing my Blondo waterproof boots.  Spring is starting with trees budding and some in flower.

Trinity College received their charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1592,  built on the site of a ruined Catholic monastery, began amassing an extensive library.  At the time of the Easter Rising in 1916, the attempt to become an independent Irish Republic, the Crown both closed and guarded the College.  Not spared was the Thomas Bindery where one half of the volumes needing refurbishment were destroyed.

We likely all know a little about the book of Kells, the illustrated volumes of the four gospels, particularly if you've read How the Irish Saved Civilization.  The exhibit was interesting and of course the protected manuscript was time travel back through the ages. No photos allowed and I don't think I can engage you with the convoluted history.

The real treasure lies upstairs in the form of the Long Room, the massive multi-story library housing over 200,000 of Trinity University's oldest books. Reached by stair from a lower level, a hush falls upon the visitors as they have their first glimpse of this magnificent room.

 Two stories of stacks reached by an intricate curved stairway and equipped with tall ladders rise to a beautiful barreled ceiling. Originally flat and done in plaster, the ceiling was re-engineered to support the weight of the book bearing walls.

There is a wonderful old library scent and given the number of people it is reverently quiet.  Forty-two marble busts stand sentinel in front of the stacks and represent many great philosophers, writers and men who supported the college.  One is former Dean of St. Patrick's and prolific author Jonathan Swift.  There is no J in the Latin derived alphabet used in the library so a D for Dean is placed with his name

The Long Room is also home to a leaf from the Guttenberg bible of 1455, the first book printed with removable type in Mainz, Germany.

Study in this library was often called Ice Age Study.  The library was unheated until the advent of central heating because of fire risk.

On our exit we were surprised to find Lisa, my ticket benefactor.  She did not take NO for an answer, found herself a student guided tour of the Quad.  The helpful student successfully took her in and right up to the ticket counter.  So she too enjoyed the experience and was full of information from her guide.

The beautiful Georgian building at the far end of the Quad is residential housing, mostly Fellows and post-grad candidates.  Location makes it very desirable despite the drawback of having only two showers for the complex, reached only from the outside through the blue doors!  BRRR! The large stump in the foreground is what remains of an Oregon Maple, one of two planted in the 1840's in Library Square.  It was destroyed in a heavy storm in 2018 and the sister tree was deemed unstable and also removed.

We are very near Grafton Street, that pedestrian mall of both quaint and luxury shops and home to Bewleys 1840, a three story emporium of sumptuous baked goods and specialty teas and coffees. 

 Sleek with walnut, brass and marble and studded with an occasional working fireplace, it was the perfect spot for tea and a crumbly scone with the works...a fitting end to a well spent day.

Good Night, Dublin!