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.
Dinner last night in the Temple Bar area - Temple Bar too busy and rowdy for us old F**ts. Our restaurant had the saying "God created alcohol to stop the Irish from ruling the world." Good Seafood stew (Laura) and good Irish Stew (lots of lamb) for me.
Yesterday was a whisky distillery, today is the Holy Grail: The Guinness Brewery!
You don't actually get a tour of the brewery, but of one of the older buildings (called the Storehouse) converted into historical & brewing displays as well as a serious souvenir shop. They sell lots of Guinness goodies.
I didn't get many photos inside, but here's a few:
One of the little work engines dragging ingredients around.
The Cooperage display with a neat video of barrel making in the old days.
One of the characters in past Guinness advertising.
I don't quite understand it, but I guess it sold beer.
You could get views of the entire city from the top of the Storehouse. It was so grey out that you couldn't see much detail.
This is a view of part of the original factory from the late1700's.
Unfortunately, as I said, a very grey day.
My 'spelcheker' actually knows when I spell Guinness incorrectly. That's scary!
We signed up for a city bus tour. Lots of good information that I can't remember and a bus driver with a sense of humour doing the commentary. Here's the Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park.
And, here's another view of Christ Church Cathedral showing the flying buttresses. I'm a fan of this architecture, so you'll see a few more in the coming days.
I had some time in the afternoon, so I took a short bike ride to adjust my brakes (working brakes are a good thing). I managed to get out of the downtown to a dedicated bike trail heading to Howth, where we hope to get to Wednesday. There isn't a great set of bike trials in town and no good documentation on those that do exist. Therefore, the motto for cautious cycling by foreigners is:
RIDE LIKE EVERYBODY IS TRYING TO KILL YOU!
There are lots of locals screaming about on bikes, with maybe 50% helmet usage. Once they get familiar with their routes, they seem to get crazy.
It had gotten even more grey for my ride, so only a photo of a rather 'snazy' pedestrian bridge not far from the centre of town.
Enough for today. We had fish & chips for dinner. What they dredge out of the Atlantic around here does not come close to a nice piece of fresh halibut.
Yesterday a distillery, today a brewery, what tomorrow? Trinity College & the book of Kells.
We both got some sleep last night, although there was rowdiness outside for a while. Muggy, too.
Two bikes are now assembled. No spare or missing parts. My brakes will need adjusting (stopping is a good thing). The boxes were sure beaten up on the flights over.
Out for a walk. Noon and the pubs are open and busy. Must be some hair of the dog happening. No hair on us, though.
Here's Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral: Founded in 1030 and rebuilt in 1172. We didn't go in. I'd be all day in churches if we did.
Next church: St. Audoen's: We went in here. Built originally in 1190; rebuilt and added to various times. Interesting display showing the additions. It's easier for me to give a link to Wikipedia than to describe it incorrectly here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Audoen%27s_Church,_Dublin_(Church_of_Ireland)
Some of the oldest wall, from the 14th century.
The portion still in use
One of the later sections where the roof collapsed. Various headstones in the yard.
Ooops - neither one of us took a photo of the outside.
Just down the street is a small restaurant with their events(?) board.
So much for religion - now to culture - the Jameson distillery. Originally dating from 1780.
In the older part of the building, now the tour & sampling centre. Note the chandelier and the wooden beams - still a bit of char from an old fire.
Speaking of samples .......
One of the old kettles.
Last photo for now - rental bikes. The stands are all over the city centre, many almost empty, but this one is full. They have an interesting magnetic locking system to lock the bikes to the stand.
One of a number of panhandlers. I saw one
using a Starbuck's cup - if he can get coffee from Starbuck's, business can't be too bad.
Last photo for now. A side street with some typical and neat row housing.
We're off for another walk and maybe dinner. Tomorrow is a bus tour and the Guinness storehouse
Tired, bedraggled, sore from sitting, and my eyes look like two peeholes in the snow. But that's what happens with 3 flights,11 hours flying, a couple of delays and no sleep. We're at the Arlington hotel waiting for our room, which will be ready in a couple of hours. Then it's snooze time.
Our bikes made it, although the boxes were pretty smashed up and the tops were open - either the tape broke or they were opened.. I'll start assembling them tomorrow and see if anything is missing or broken
First impressions of Ireland from the plane - nice looking farmland with a couple of wind farms. The city is busy; our hotel is right on the (dirty) River Liffey. A beautiful, warm Saturday afternoon and the place is teeming with people. We wandered about downtown for an hour but gave up due to exhaustion.
Photos: Our hotel. Looks like it has a great bar.
The O'Connell Street Bridge. No beer cans floating down the river in this shot. A couple of kayakers, a paddle boarder and a river tour boat, built for the low bridge.
Typical street full of cars. I think this building is from the 1840's. Downtown all the buildings are built right out to the sidewalk.
One of the pedestrian streets. The Temple Bar has been around awhile, too.
Off for a nap now. Maybe start on a bike later, and a Guiness tonight!
This post shows the full cycle trip itinerary. We get into Dublin a few days early, so we can get some cycling in and check out the Guinness. At the end of the trip we are staying a few days extra in Copenhagen.
Looking more closely at the schedule I notice that we don't stay in France at all. I think we land there when we get off the ferry from England, but we pedal right through that day.
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. 
