We popped into Dublin Castle for a quick peak. The views are the tower and Chapel Royal, inside the chapel & the organ. Instead of being built of stone, the chapel structure is wood, plaster, and a thin veneer of stone. Apparently, the first, heavier structure sunk into the soft riverbed ground underneath.
This is the courtyard and state apartments beyond. Used for state functions now - it was the seat of the British government 1921.
We jumped on the Jump On - Jump Off bus and headed west to the Kilmainham Gaol. Now a museum, it was originally built in 1796, with an addition in the 1800's.
Here's one of the original cell blocks and a cell door. No heat, stone floor, maybe some damp straw - pretty brutal.
The new, modern cell block built in accordance with modern jailing principles: single, separate & supervise. Wooden cell floors (much warmer), carpets outside the cells so guards could monitor prisoners without their knowing and lots of sunlight to aid rehabilitation.
During the Potato Famine, when begging and stealing food got you thrown in here, the crowding became so bad, there were up to 5 prisoners per cell. The jail held males, females, & children (youngest was 5 years old).
One of the darkest periods for the gaol was after the 1916 uprising, when 14 of the uprising ringleaders were executed. One, Joseph Plunkett, was married to Grace Gifford in the jail the night before his execution. Grace stayed in prison after the execution and painted the walls of her cell, seen through the door's peephole.
This picture is of the Stone Breaking Yard, where the executions took place. One man, James Connolly, was so sick from gangrene he couldn't stand, and was tied to a chair to be shot.
If you were lucky enough to be released from Kilmainham, you got to exit through this door.
Kilmainham was closed in 1924, after the Irish Civil War and was left to deteriorate. In 1960, it was decided to fix it up and turn it into a museum, using volunteer labour. It has appeared in various movies and this video by U2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UMwpjxOV_M
To end things on a happier note, we had dinner in the oldest pub in Dublin, the Brazen Head, established in 1198.
I'm up bright & early on a sunny morning - finally adapted to the time change.
Out for a quick walk.
The news here is refreshingly low on Trump's antics, and Canada doesn't make it (somebody e-mail me if Vancouver Island sinks).
The biggest issue here is the May 25 vote on the Abortion Issue ("Repeal the 8th"). Tons of Yes and No campaigners on the streets, handing out leaflets. We've seen one No campaigner out on his soap box (literally) in 3 different parts of the city in the last 3 days. We haven't seen any screaming matches and have only been approached once (we must look like tourists).
The lamp posts around town are just plastered with signs. It will be a while before they are cleaned up.
Since it's sunny I got a nice shot of the Ha'Penny bridge, nicknamed thatbecause of the toll charged back in 1816 when it was built.
A close shot of a bunch of 'love locks' on the bridge. I thought about cracking that nice, black combination lock, but figured that would be a bit tacky.
Time to wake up her majesty and get some brekky.
Breakfast & coffee over - off to Trinity College!
The 30m high Campanile in Library Square.
A building on the north side of the square. They all had temporary signs in front, "Quiet - Exams in Progress." Take that you students!
The "Sphere Within a sphere" sculpture, with a selfie of yours truly if you look carefully - right beside where the sticker was peeled off.
The Book of Kells exhibit - no photos of the actual book, and only non-flash pix in the outer exhibit, so you may want to Google it for better views. Here's the Wikipedia link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells
This page shows the four apostles whose gospels comprise the book: Matthew, Mark, John & Luke
Laura wants to go for dinner & a beer - I'll add more later.
I had Bangers & Mash & a couple of pints for dinner - ole 'Half Pint' had two glasses. Back to the Book of Kells:
This is a portrait of St. John. Remember - the book is smaller than a table picture book, so the poor monks doing the amazingly intricate artwork in poor light and even poorer working conditions had to be super talented.
The chronology of the book - it's amazing that it survived at all.
This is the Chi Rho page - some of the the most intricate artwork in the book.
That's it for photos of the exhibit - I can't do justice to it. From this exhibit we went in to the Treasury where the actual book is on display. Very inspiring. The engineer in me wondered how the monks could do such detail. I realize I haven't included any photos of the actual text, but it is also delicate and beautiful.
Here's the 'Long Room,' the actual old library of Trinity College, with 200,000 volumes.
A view of the upper floors of volumes.
Busts line each side of the main hall.
Here's a book that was on display - a mere youngster from the 14th century. It's subject - Early Irish Laws on Beekeeping!
This is a little higher resolution description of the text. I hope you can make it out. It was shot through smudged Plexiglas.
That's it for a very short tour of Trinity College - didn't want to disturb exams.
Up the road a ways is Dublin Castle.
Here's one of the original cell blocks and a cell door. No heat, stone floor, maybe some damp straw - pretty brutal.
The new, modern cell block built in accordance with modern jailing principles: single, separate & supervise. Wooden cell floors (much warmer), carpets outside the cells so guards could monitor prisoners without their knowing and lots of sunlight to aid rehabilitation.
During the Potato Famine, when begging and stealing food got you thrown in here, the crowding became so bad, there were up to 5 prisoners per cell. The jail held males, females, & children (youngest was 5 years old).
This picture is of the Stone Breaking Yard, where the executions took place. One man, James Connolly, was so sick from gangrene he couldn't stand, and was tied to a chair to be shot. 
