We ended our trip with a few days in Ireland with very good friends of John's
Liam and Elaine Murphy live in Kildare and had been inviting us to come for years, so we decided it was time
John and Liam met when they lived in Johannesburg
and the two of them did some mad rallying with Volvo in their late 20s - the stories are epic!
John had been given a choice of where to go to, as Lynne had been several times to Dublin and Ireland
His choice was a historic monastery in the country or a visit to Dublin
He chose Dublin as he said "its unlikely we will ever get here again" but who knows... The Irish are very hospitable
So we caught the train
Lamp, post, crow and lichen - Ireland is very green and rather damp
Liam
St Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare and its Round Tower viewed from the station
At the train station
Ireland has something good other countries need to copy
All local public transport travel for pensioners is free and each one can take a companion for the day!
Local train arriving
Liam and Elaine, our very generous hosts
The Guinness brewery, opposite the railway station in Dublin
Henry Street getting into the Christmas spirit
A shopping arcade, at the rear of the historic General Post Office
The Spire of Dublin, alternatively titled the Monument of Light (Irish: An Túr Solais),
is a 120 metre tall stainless steel, pin-like monument, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar
on O'Connell Street, the main thoroughfare of Dublin
The General Post Office (Irish: Ard-Oifig an Phoist) is the former headquarters of An Post — the Irish Post Office
It remains its registered office and the principal post office of Dublin
and is situated in the centre of O'Connell Street, the city's main thoroughfare
It is one of Ireland's most famous buildings,
not least because it served as the headquarters of the leaders of the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland
It was the last great Georgian public building to be erected in the capital
O'Connell Street is wide and spacious with trams and buses
A bronze replica of The Proclamation of the Republic (Irish: Forógra na Poblachta),
also known as the 1916 Proclamation or the Easter Proclamation during the Easter Rising in Ireland,
which began on 24th April 1916
The interior of the General Post Office
Cuchulainn
Busy streets, we are headed for the University
Good to see the SA flag on this legendary pub
Memorial to Daniel O’Connell (1775—1847) in O'Connell Street
He was a lawyer who became the first great 19th Century Irish nationalist leader
and, like all statued politicians, a resting place for pigeons
The River Liffey from the O'Connell Bridge
The first Parliament of Southern Ireland building, the premises of the Bank of Ireland
Another view of the same building
Some more historic buildings, simply because John liked the conical roof
The entrance to Trinity College, Dublin's University
The modern Trinity College Library
The Book of Kells in the Old Library is an illuminated medieval religious manuscript
Written in Latin, it contains the four Gospels of the New Testament
and would have been crafted by the Celtic monks in the Columban monastery on Iona, in circa 800
Nowadays, you do a tour of the rooms and get to see replicas of some the pages with explanations
You can also do a free tour with headphones
An enlargement of the text above
About Oghams system of writing
Incredible detail and true art
The created Alphabet
And some of the decorated words in the script
Some are a bit strange and difficult to work out...
The Long Room in the Old Library
The library is ancient and the books are being catalogued, restored and renovated to preserve them
One of the many busts in the Long Room - William Shakespeare
The vaulted ceiling
The animated globe, apparently showing the current weather round the world
The Proclamation of the Republic (Irish: Forógra na Poblachta),
also known as the 1916 Proclamation or the Easter Proclamation,
was a document issued by the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army during the April 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland
The Old Library is an invaluable depository of old books
The Brian Boru harp, the oldest surviving Irish harp, is the model for the insignia of Ireland.
Traditionally, but mistakenly, linked with Brian Boru, high king of Ireland who was killed in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf
(now in the suburbs of Dublin), it probably dates from the later middle ages.
Made from willow and oak, with 29 brass strings (originally 30),
its elaborate designs, silver neck mount and embedded crystal suggest that it belonged to a master musician,
such as would have played for the noble households of Gaelic Ireland and Scotland.
It was restored and re-strung in 1961.
Coming to light in Limerick in the eighteenth century,
it was presented to Trinity College Dublin by William Burton Conyngham (1733-96)
One of the busts of eminent women, all have recently been added to the room
Rosalind Elsie Franklin (1920-58)
Since her early death at the age of 37, Rosalind Franklin has become mythologised as the victim of male prejudice,
the unsung heroine who took the crucial X-ray photograph enabling James Watson and Francis Crick
to build their double helix model of DNA, and was unjustly deprived of a Nobel Prize
She would neither have recognised nor endorsed this description
Franklin regarded herself first and foremost not as a woman, but as a scientist,
and her DNA research occupied a relatively brief period in her successful career working on a variety of topics
In particular, on top of her famous investigations into DNA,
she also made foundational contributions to modern understandings of coal, graphite and viruses
Another part of the university
Elaine Murphy coming out of the museum shop
Variegated plane leaves showing autumn colours
Off to see more of Dublin
Environmental protestors outside the Dáil Éireann (Parliament)
We were happy to offer them some moral support
Dáil Éireann (Assembly of Ireland) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature),
which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann
The Prime Minister's Irish title is Taoiseach
Entrance to The National Museum of Ireland
The Gold Collection
The collection of prehistoric goldwork ranges in date between 2200 BC and 500 BC
Most are pieces of jewellery but the precise function of some is unknown
During the Early Bronze Age the principal gold products were made from sheet gold,
and include sundiscs and the crescentic gold collars called lunulae
Used to close a cloak
Impressive neck adornments
The remains of a Viking boat from about AD 800
The Ardagh Chalice
This silver chalice, found at Reerasta, Ardagh, Co. Limerick is one of the greatest treasures of the early Irish Church
It is part of a hoard of objects found in the 19th century by a young man digging for potatoes near Ardagh, Co. Limerick
It was used for dispensing Eucharistic wine during the celebration of Mass
The form of the chalice recalls late Roman tableware, but the method of construction is Irish
The Tara Brooch is an Irish Celtic brooch, dated to the late 7th or early 8th century
It is of the pseudo-penannular type (with a fully closed head or hoop), and made from bronze, silver and gold
Its head consists of an intricately decorated circular ring, and overall, its front and reverse sides are equally decorated
Each holds around 50 inserted cast panels packed with filigree
The brooch was constructed from numerous individually made pieces
All of the borders and its terminals contain multiple panels
holding multi-coloured studs, interlace patterns, filigree, and Celtic spirals
The brooch is widely considered the most complex and ornate of its kind
and would have been commissioned as a fastener for the cloak of a high-ranking cleric
or as ceremonial insignia of high office for a High King of Ireland
Entrance to The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology
High fashion
When we could walk no more, and we did about 5 miles, it was time for a late lunch at The Duke
on historic Duke street, it takes its title from the little street named after the 2nd Duke of Grafton
and has been providing liquid refreshment and sustenance to the people of Dublin since 1822
We were lucky to get a table, it's a very historic and popular pub
Gin with tiny bottles of tonic; you need two if you want a long drink
We were encouraged by Liam (Murphy but no relation!) to try this dark stout instead of a Guinness
and we must say we enjoyed it very much and would certainly order it again if it appears
Spicy and crisp Nachos with all the trimmings
Spicy chicken wings
A toastie with chips
All these bars have a huge selection of beers and alcohols
Lynne's watch with the total so far. We still had to get back to the tram and train...
She thinks that is a miserable trade off of calories!
It takes a lot of energy if you walk that far with a bad hip
The footsteps of author James Joyce and his dog, preserved in bronze on a pavement in O'Connell Street
Swans on the Liffey
So serene
Politics is everywhere - rush hour traffic
Catching a tram to the Railway station was quite a squeeze,
little Lynne nearly got left behind and really had to push to get on
and a train back to Kildare
at rush hour. The ladies found seats, the men stood
Thanks to polite young people who recognise exhausted age .... What a wonderful day
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