I Went Down to Dublin Town, to See What I Could See

I think some of my earliest memories involve books; specifically very detailed children’s books like Jan Brett’s, and in particular one about the production of the Book of Kells. I remember from those bygone days a certain fascination with the intricacy of the Celtic knot work. I got older, and my interest grew. My favorite history comes from the British Isles and Ireland, and when I finally realized jewelry could be more than plastic, I always drifted towards the Highland Games and Irish festivals to find the local jewelers who always had the best options for cheap, pretty knot work. Even now I have a ring of a dog in the Irish style. It never fails to attract interest.

And then there was the music. I like pretty much everything under the sun, but I never had much interest in going to concerts because I never liked any band enough to want to spend the money. That changed freshman year of college when I discovered Great Big Sea, a Newfie band that plays a mix of original works and traditional songs, often of Irish descent. With them came Gaelic Storm, again a mix of original works and tradition.

Suffice to say, there’s a personal interest in Ireland: the people, the culture, the history. Add to that the family background. The Irish side of the family is the only one I can actually claim to know much about. So, a weekend trip to Dublin should have been a good time.

Dublin is pretty much the best thing ever. I’ve had lots of great experiences; Prague was wonderful, I loved Nice, but Dublin is great.

First off: English is everywhere! I don’t speak Gaelic, and it’d be nice to learn the language, but that’s not happening anytime soon. Better than that- oodles of history and literature! Do you know how many Nobel Prize winners hail from Dublin town? There’s Yeats, Beckett, Heaney, Shaw…everyone except James Joyce is on the list. It’s rather impressive to look at the notable graduates from Trinity. Oh, and Trinity. I thought I liked Oxford, but Trinity is just too beautiful, and they have the Book of Kells! My favorite medieval manuscript is right there!

Um, Second- Guinness and Jameson’s. Both of the original distilleries of the city have shut down, but the shells and tour remain. I love visiting distilleries; they’re such fun, and every employee is happy to see you. I like seeing people content with their careers. Then you get out to the pubs, and there’s always music, frequently live, and lots of friendly people and the locals all get confused when the poor little American girls ask for Guinness. It would appear that girls do not drink beer in Europe; far more appropriate for women to take wine or something else. No one mentioned this. I’ve never had such good fun.

Our first night out my party met a number of wonderful people, including one gent who offered us the use of his Masters in Irish history to give us a tour of Dublin. Very nice to be taken around and have 1916 and the process of Home Rule explained.

This is a bit muddled, so let me clarify the past weekend:

Wednesday: Fly out of Milan, and get to the hostel. Kinley house is very nice, and has a bed for tired little students.

Thursday: Up and out. Discover the hostel is next door to Christ Church. We find our way to the Kilmainham Gaol, which dates form the mid eighteenth century; notable for holding many a political prisoner, especially the leaders of the Easter Rebellion of 1916. Out and around to visit the Guinness storehouse; the top level provides a 360-view of Dublin, well-labeled with Joyce quotes. After that it was Grafton Street, and the great quest for fish and chips. Remarkably, it’s far easier to get a kebab than fish, but fish we found! I also discovered that half the convenience stores sold Tim Horton’s doughnuts, further confirming my conviction that Dublin is the greatest city in the world. After food back to the hostel for naps before trying out Temple Bar.

Friday: I did some private exploring in the morning, discovering the Oscar Wilde statue, several parks, and finally Trinity and Kells. No end of wonders, and then across the Liffy. I met the group and our Irish guide at two for touring, and some museums before hunger sent us into Hard Rock. Do not doubt the wonders of a Hard Rock Café; it’s far classier than succumbing to the lure of McDonalds. Again, another evening discovering the local flavor.

Saturday: Rain. Oh, it had rained before, but this was annoying. As was the discovery that on the weekend Dublin Castle is only open 2-4:45. So much for that. We ended up at the Library to see the W.B. Yeats exhibit; pretty good, and lots to be known about Yeats’ mysticism tendencies. Ahhh….the origins of celebrity interest in mysticism religions better left to people who actually understand what’s going on. Well, maybe not. Yeats seemed to know what was going on. Out from there to attempt some shopping and other wondrous activities before Jameson’s. Not my favorite distillery, mainly because it wasn’t active. I like being able to smell the process, and see the whiskey being made, rather than just finding the end product in the gift shop. Still, learned a lot about whiskey I hadn’t known. Irish whiskey is always distilled three times, providing a smoother flavor, and the peat taste of Scottish whisky comes from the roasting process of the malts. Final night of exploring local culture, but not before meeting a boy from New Zealand and a girl from Australia; both were very nice, and I learned quite a lot about higher education. Amazing the power of the hostel.

Sunday was home again, leaving the Emerald Isle. As beautiful as it is in the mountains, I miss Dublin. I’d like to go back and get out into the countryside, maybe the Ring of Kerry and Galway, but that will have to wait for another day. My list of cities still to see or return to continues to grow longer. I may need to get a job with Frommer’s or Lonely Planet to achieve this. Or just find a nice pile of money to support my increasingly expensive needs. Did I mention the Republic of Ireland has one of the highest costs of living in the EU? Might need a work visa, and be prepared to settle for a time.