Four seasons in one day (Dublin)

 Now, that could be a challenge, to entitle every blog entry with a song reference.  Today, I refer of course, to Dublin’s weather.  Although it was a tad chilly, it was a beautiful morning, brilliant blue skies and still.  It didn’t last, but that was OK.

We began the morning by finally connecting to the internet, clearing email, uploading the blog and skyping home.  This brought it’s own issues, 1^st world, 21^st century problems – we couldn’t get a video link with skype.  We could talk and we could see Cait, but for reason my computer doesn’t like to let us be seen.  Yes, yes, keep your clever comments to yourselves.  I discovered this problem before we left home and ultimately deleted and re-installed skype which solved the problem.  Temporarily at least.  The same remedy did not work today.  As I said, 1^st world problems.  But, like Magilla Gorilla, we always carry a spare.  The iPad worked the way the system was supposed to.

St Patrick's Cathedral

We wandered up towards the main precinct of Dublin where we jumped the ‘hop on, hop off’ tourist bus to commence our day of sight seeing.  Our first stop was St Patrick's Cathedral, rumoured to be the actual site where St Patrick baptised hundreds of people in his crusade to convert the population.  Mass was about to commence and we were on a tight schedule so we didn't have time to go inside for more than a quick glance and a brief walk through the park next door.

The Guinness Brewery 

 The next stop was the St James Gate Guinness Brewery.  Mr Guinness was certainly an entrepreneur, signing a 9,000 year lease on the site in the 1700s.  By the time we had meandered our way through the different levels of the storehouse and arrived at the Guinness school, the sun was over the yard arm (as my father-in-law used to say).  I was successfully tutored in how to pour the perfect Guinness and as a reward, I got to drink the fruits of my labour.  And I have another diploma, although I’m not sure if I will include it on my CV.

By now it was time for lunch.  We thought this would be a quick trip, but it was obvious we weren’t going to fit everything we wanted to do today.  Naturally, the Guinness storehouse had a range of lunch options, Mr Guinness would be proud.  There were four different cafes/restaurants all selling ‘Guinness inspired’ food.  One in particular stood out and we couldn’t go past it.  It was called Gilroy’s! Nice.  And so was the food and the view.  The only problem is the amount of food in each serve.  Way too much.  We have reverted to a previous practice of having our main meal at lunch-time and not eating in the evening.  Most civilized.

Kilmainham Gaol

By the time we left the brewery we had only time for one more major attraction.  In the end this was determined by opening hours, so we got back on the bus and headed for Kilmainham Gaol.  Suitably, the weather had turned and the wind was biting, although the rain restricted itself to the periods when we were indoors.  The inhospitable weather suited the gaol perfectly.

It was a fascinating tour and holds such a significant place in Ireland’s political history and it’s struggle for independence.  We learned about gaol design and how this was influenced by the purpose behind the gaol itself.  The introduction of light was to do with salvation and looking towards heaven to engender more noble thoughts from the criminals.  Seriously.  All the while they were being starved and frozen and deprived of freedom and family – unless they were wealthy and could buy extra supplies from the guards.  Or in later times, if you were a political prisoner so that it was easier to allow you to have several ‘cells’ filled with your own furniture while you were fed with restaurant food and entertained visitors.  Has much changed?  Graft and corruption through the years in the corrective service industry.  In a nice touch the altar of the Catholic Chapel was placed over the doorway to the original gallows which were at the front door of the gaol.

Ireland has spawned so many great thinkers and writers, from Jonathon Swift and Oscar Wilde through to Darren James Conway, I wonder how many have pondered man’s inhumanity to man (pardon the gender bias, especially given the ratio of male to female prisoners was 50-50 for many years) as a result of their understanding of what happened at Kilmainham Gaol.  The final indignity was the execution of James Connolly, a leader of the 1916 rebellion, who was too sick to stand for the firing squad.  He was dying in hospital before being removed to the execution yard where he was tied to a chair and shot.  There was no way death was going to get in the way of justice.

Trinity College

That was pretty much the day.  We arrived back in the city centre around 5pm and then decided to walk home.  We tend to walk a lot while we are on holidays, in part to balance the good lifestyle we enjoy.  The footpaths are very narrow which makes it very difficult for Jayne and I to hold hands as we walk.  To balance this, there is always something to watch and comment on, generally the people on bikes.  There would be road carnage if bike riders in Sydney did what these people do – and they don’t wear helmets.

Trinity College and the Book of Kells will have to wait until tomorrow.  After that we head towards Belfast, although there are a couple of things we wish to see on the way.