Sightseeing Dublin, Ireland

Laura and I arrived in Dublin with our trusty Lonely Planet, Discover Ireland guide.  We were jet lagged and sleep deprived after the overnight flight from Toronto. Nonetheless we walked about the O Carrall Street neighbourhood of our Best Western Academy Plus Hotel that first day.  I attended the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland Austism lectures at the Ashling Hotel and then came home to a glorious sleep.
The next day we were veritable troopers walking all over downtown Dublin. It’s truly a walking city.  We got to all the sites that Lonely Planet recommended for a 4 day visit in that one day.  Their ‘tour guides’ had a lot of stopping at pubs and visiting the Guiness and Jamieson Factories.  I admit that in my day if I’d followed their guide on this matter I personally might have taken up residence in Dublin.  I don’t drink anymore but it’s certainly a convivial drinking man’s town.
The fact is, Ireland has a major alcohol problem.  The cost of work safety, health care, and early loss of life due to alcohol as well as it’s contribution to crime is staggering. The great irony is that the church and state only really got interested in addressing their alcohol problem when it was realized that the young were getting into booze so early it was affecting their ability to get good soccer drafts.  Something about stunting one’s growth or ruining one’s ambitions.  There’s no doubt a further contribution of teen age pregnancy , assuming young men are affected in anyway like I was by alcohol.  All the women looked incredibly sexy and their breast got much larger with every pint I consumed.
Without being slowed down by booze we were able to tour Trinity College and the Book of Kells and the Old Library that first day. Then we headed along Dame Avenue to Dublin Castle and City Hall catching a bit of the Temple Bar atmosphere before getting onto Christ Church and the Dublin Wall.  We saw Four Courts as well. We loved St. Stephens Green with the baby swans.  We even made it to the National Museum of Natural History and Archeology.  After that there was still time for Laura and I to visit a Irish Sweater shop where I bought a marvellous blue Irish sweater. Next door to the sweater shop was the Irish Tweed store where I bought an Irish tweed patch vest.  I’d bought Laura a silver and gold celtic bracelet while she’d been buying presents galore all day for her family.  The gift shops at Trinity College, Dublin Collge and the National Museums were the very best places to buy fine Irish gifts. There’s schlock and bric brad everywhere.  We both loaded up with fridge magnets and key chains as well as the post cards.
The next day we were very slowed down. A trip to the chemist got me some ibuprofen. All that exercise had a profoundly negative effect on the feeling in my lower back and feet.  Once I got moving again I was fine. The breakfast at the Best Western Hotel was so attractive as to draw me from bed to shower and down to the waiting eggs and sausage and fruit and coffee.  Once we were moving again the aches left me and we hiked over to the National Gallery where I was just uplifted by the works of the great masters.  We then hiked cross town  to St. Patrick’s Cathedral where we loved the history, architecture, craftsmanship and art. It’s a truly spiritual place of peace and worship.

Then last night we attended Sean O’Casey’s incredible play Shadow of a Gunman at the Abbey Theater, the National Theatre of Ireland which had as a director in it’s day W.B. Yeats.  The play was riveting.  An incredible drama that slowly built then cresce
ndoed to an amazing surprising conclusion.   The acting was truly amazing.  Both Laura and I couldn’t recall another experience like it. And I’m a real theatre goer, one whose seen Maggie Smith and Alec Guiness on stage in London, Lauren Bacall and Jeremy Irons in Manhatten and always having seasons tickets to theatre in Canada. I love Pacific Theatre in Vancouver. But there was nothing like this.
The young Irish Band Script was playing to 80,000 in the park this night so there’d been young people all over town when we’d gone out early in the evening. It was an older crowd at the theatre, at least over 30.  On the streets daily we’re struck by the high density of 25 to 35 year old vibrant Irish young people.
Dinner of cod and chips after the theatre was fabulous.
Yesterday we attended early eucharist in the Lady Chapel at St. Patrick’s Church, attended a meeting at Molesworth Hall, and heard traditional Irish folk music with banjo and guitar at the Old Storehouse in Temple Bar. I ate the most delicious Irish Stew.
We have been enjoying ourselves.  Great weather, sunshine and pleasant spring tempter.  Dublin is certainly a tourist city.  Exciting place to live with all the book stores and music. Everywhere we’ve heard Irish music.  Van Morrison, Donovan, U2 and so many more original artists have come from Ireland.  The Irish tenor is world renown and there’s the Riverdance and all that artistic energy exported to us overseas.  It’s been a joy to be here.  Today we catch a train to Belfast

St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland

Laura and I were walking through funky Temple Bar, vaguely heading towards St. Stephen’s Green.  I had a map. No compass, mind you.  We weren’t lost.  Never lost.
Laura just wondered, in a non accusatory way, if we were going in the right direction.  I have explained that my walking tours of cities involve a lot of just seeing what’s around the corner and going in the general direction of wherever it is I’m heading. I only am concerned when not uncommonly I find myself heading in the opposite direction of my intended path.  We actually came across the immense Four Courts functioning judiciary complex this way. We only learned what it was by seeing it's grandeur and also a sign on a fence 'no photography'.  I asked a young woman dressed immaculately in a business suit what this place was.  She replied, with just a slight raising of her eyebrows, "Four Courts".  It's a massive complex.  So asking what it was, was a bit like asking what is 'Buckingham Palace" was in  London.  The joy of being a 'foreigner' is that you're allowed to be daft.
We'd crossed over River Liffey from North Dublin to south Dublin at the Ha penny Bridge.
In response to Laura's 'slight concern' as to our position, I answered really rather gleefully,  having travelled so often in countries where I don't know the language and locals are so happy to appear helpful not knowing at all where they are or what you're asking:
“It’s so easy here. We know the language. We’ll just ask someone where St. Stephen’s Green is?"
At that exact moment, a well dressed attractive woman in her thirties, passing us, turned her head in our direction and without interrupting her own progress,  said with a smile and that fabulous Joyce Goodwin lilting Irish accent, “St. Stephen’s Green is down that road till it forks then turn left and you’ll be right there.”
"Thank you", we said simultaneously to her receding back.  I’m not even wearing a St. Christopher’s Medal yet we’re having repeated God's in charge experiences like this in Dublin. Everyone is so friendly.  I've been called 'darling' and Laura is forever getting, "God bless you, dear!"  The Irish are just so helpful everywhere we go. Tourist information services are everywhere too. I’ve never been in a country where people are so friendly and helpful to tourists.
St. Stephen’s Green is a mini Stanley Park in the heart of Dublin. A little Hyde Park or a little Central Park, whatever your reference greenspace is.   The trees and grass and lagoon are all so quiet, peaceful and welcoming after the loudness of streets,  cars and buildings.  It’s just a wonderful refreshing church of nature.
Walking through this lovely park I so appreciated seeing the Taksim Square Istanbul bit of green where neighbours and students and leaders of community battled the corrupt Istanbul government their rapacious condo development cronies. Those ignorant materialists  had wanted to take that rather tiny bit of green space, the last in the area of Taksim from the people who lived their and knew it's intangible value.   The people en mass rebelled.  This wasn’t a sports riot. This was urban dwellers wanting to be able to access a bit of God’s nature without having to travel miles to the outside of the city.  They will always be heroes in my mind.
The lush loveliness of St. Stephen’s Green is testimony to the glory of green spaces in a city.  Hundreds of people were out and about, sitting on benches, sitting on the lawns, reading, chatting, communicating as if they were at a beach or in a living room. It was marvellous to see. The flowers were lovely too.  Then the lagoon was favourited by seagulls but there were a few mallards. The piece de resistance though were the swans and their babies.
All this  was in the centre of Dublin.  Just lovely.  I hope everywhere city dwellers stand with the heroes of Taksim Square and city planners realize the value of nature. I would see all the new parking lots and high rises built under ground.  But then I have always loved Canada’s Joni Mitchell’s song Big Yellow Taxi.  Her immortal lines are   “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot!”
In St. Stephen's Green, I especially loved the little girl awed by the baby swans.  Naturally young couples came there for their wedding pictures too. St. Stephens Green used to be a place for hangings.  I much prefer it’s use today.  Some city spaces definitely need to be re purposed.