A city rich in history

Today was our only real full day in Dublin and we had many things planned.  But before starting anything, we enjoyed the Hampton’s complimentary breakfast.  Because we are in Europe, there are many more things available like meats, cheeses and blood sausage.  After getting fuelled up, it was time to go.

Many people told us that Kilmainham Gaol Museum which is a former prison should be visited when in Dublin.  Because we knew that access to the museum is by guided tour only, you have to pre-book your tickets (8 Euros for adults, 6 Euros for seniors).  We made sure to do that since it sells out.  We booked the first tour of the day which was for 9:45am.

First some facts about Kilmainham Gaol.  It was built in 1796 and closed its doors as a prison in 1924.  There were times during its history when men, women and children were housed together.  Yes I said children.  I believe the youngest to be incarcerated was a three year old boy.  In the 1960’s, restoration began and it was opened to the public in 1966.

We started the tour off in the courtroom where we met our guide Alan.  He led us through some holding cells on our way to The West Wing, the oldest part of the prison.  We learned that when this section was first built, there was no glass in the windows and no heat or light.  Prisoners had a blanket and a candle for warmth.  At times, there were five people living in the cells.

From there we went to a newer part of the prison, The East Wing which was built in the 1860’s.  There are ninety-six cells in total all facing a central area.  There is a huge skylight which fills the space with light.  This wing has been featured in movies like “In The Name of the Father”, “Michael Collins” and a U2 video.

The last part of the tour took us to The Stonebreakers’ Yard.  Originally this area was used by the male prisoners to break up stone.  But in May of 1916, it was the site of the execution of fourteen leaders of the Easter Rising.  There are two crosses commemorating this event.  This was a fascinating tour that I can highly recommend.

When we got done, it was getting close to lunch time.  So we hopped on the bus and made our way to Mongolian Barbecue.  We used to have a restaurant in Waterloo called Mongolian Grill and we were so sad when it closed down.  While doing research, Karen stumbled upon this place and made sure to add it to the itinerary.  It was just like old times … picking your vegetables, meat, spices and seasonings and then watching it get stir fried on the grill.

Besides Kilmainham Gaol, people said that we should visit Trinity College.  Established in 1592, it is Ireland’s oldest university which sits on forty-seven acres in the centre of Dublin.  The college is famous for having The Book of Kells, which is an illustrated manuscript of the four gospels of the Christian New Testament from 800 AD.  The only way to see it is to take The Book of Kells Experience (25 Euros for adults, 20 Euros for seniors).

The experience starts at The Old Library Building where you first learn about the making of the book.  You then go to The Treasure where the book is on display.  Unfortunately you are not allowed to take any photos.

We then next stepped into The Long Room which is the main chamber of The Old Library.  It was built between 1712 and 1732.  It is twelve metres wide and sixty-five metres long and usually holds approximately 200,000 books.  Most of them have been removed as part of a conservation project.  The Long Room also has Gaia which is a floating illuminated piece of artwork.  It features NASA imagery of Earth.

We finished up our visit to Trinity College exploring The Front Square.

Because we had one more thing we were doing tonight in the area, we decided not to go back to the hotel.  Instead we spent some time exploring Grafton Street and ended up at Sheehans Pub for dinner.

For my birthday, Karen got me tickets to see Riverdance’s 25th Anniversary Show  at the Gaiety Theatre.  The show was spectacular and the dancers are so talented.  We were not allowed to take any pictures of the show but here is a YouTube video.

This action packed day ended with the twenty minute walk back to the hotel.  We needed to pack up and get a good night’s sleep.  For tomorrow we are leaving Dublin and heading into Northern Ireland.